Julie's Review: Long Way Down

Author: Michael Sears
Series: Jason Stafford #3
Publication Date: February 5, 2015
Publisher: Putnam
Pages: 352
Obtained: Amazon Vine
Genre:  Thriller, Crime
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Another great installment that gives you an insight into white collar crimes and murder thrown in for extra excitement
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Summary: He approached me in the street—bone-thin, gray-bearded, holding out a small envelope. “The man said you’d give me five bucks for it.” Inside was a one-word message: RUN. Two years in a federal prison has changed Jason Stafford, is still changing him, but one thing it has taught him as a financial investigator is how to detect a lie. He doesn’t think Philip Haley is lying. An engineer on the verge of a biofuel breakthrough, Haley has been indicted for insider trading on his own company, and Stafford believes him when he says he’s been set up. Haley does indeed have enemies. He is not a nice man. Doesn’t make him a criminal. It does make him dangerous to be around, though. The deeper Stafford investigates, the more secrets he starts to uncover, secrets people would kill for. And that’s exactly what happens. Soon, it is Stafford himself who is under attack and, worse, his family—his fiancée, his young son—and he is a fugitive, desperately trying to stay one step ahead of both the killers and the law. ~amazon.com

Review: Long Way Down, is the 3rd in the Jason Stafford series. With each book, Mr. Sears' writing gets stronger. Jason Stafford is a fantastic character. He admits his flaws and acknowledges that he's not innocent. For me, that's what makes him a great character. He's not squeaky clean, which adds an edge to him.

It's the interaction with his family, his son, specifically that redeems him. Although, when he's working a case he tends to get wrapped up in it, which can cause some issues with safety for himself and his family. This case centers around a wealthy-man who is accused of insider trading who, of course, claims he is innocent. Jason is hired by the man's bank to see if he is innocent and if so, how do they clear him?

Of course, things aren't always as they appear and the further Jason digs into the rabbit hole, the more he falls in it. He's not sure who he can trust and not sure who to share his information with.

Long Way Down is a quick and enthralling thriller and this case highlights Jason's knowledge of the financial markets. It also deepens his relationship with The Kid and his fiance, Skeli. There is also a great cast of secondary characters that help to add a bit of humor to the mix. Sometimes a bit of levity is needed when you are on the run.

Mr. Sears writes white collar crime, specifically financial crimes, so that the reader can understand it. These are crimes that are not always easy to understand. Obviously, his financial background helps in this manner. 
I can't wait to see what's next for Jason and his friends.


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Julie's Review: Undeniably Yours

Author: Heather Webber
Series: Lucy Valentine #5
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Blue Dandelion Press
Pages: 448
Obtained: purchased
Genre: Mystery, Paranormal
Rating: 4.5
Bottom Line: Another fabulous Lucy novel
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Blurb:  NO GOOD DEED While still recuperating from injuries sustained in her previous case, the last thing psychic investigator Lucy Valentine wants is to dive into another job. But when Detective Lieutenant Aiden Holliday comes calling for help in finding a missing woman, saying no is not an option. TV journalist Kira Fitzpatrick has vanished without a trace. There’s little for Lucy to go on except picking up Kira’s current investigation where she left off. The fearless reporter had been close to cracking one of the year’s biggest cases: the disappearance of a two-year-old boy. 

GOES UNPUNISHED Now Lucy must use her abilities to find both of them. As she follows a twisted trail of lies and deceit, she uncovers a shocking twist to Kira’s exposé that someone is desperate to keep secret. It’s a race against the clock as Lucy struggles to discover who’s telling the truth…and who’s willing to kill to keep her from solving the case.

Review: I don't know if you've noticed but Jenn & I adore this series. It really does have a little bit of something for everyone: mystery, romance, paranormal. Plus you've got a plucky heroine in Lucy Valentine. 

Undeniably Yours picks up where Perfectly Matched leaves off. Which is good because that one left quite the cliffhanger. It doesn't take long to get roped into the story, the mystery of the novel. Ms. Webber always does a good job of creating an intriguing plot. Lucy always finds herself in the thick of things but its usually because someone she cares about is also in the thick of it. This time it's her detective friend Aiden Holliday, who happens to be engaged to her friend Em. 

Lucy joins Aiden in searching for Kira Fitzpatrick, a missing investigative reporter. She was in the middle of blowing the roof of of a missing child's case when this happens. It is up to Lucy and Aiden to pull together the pieces before it's too late.  

While the case is one of the more heart-wrenching ones Lucy gets involved in, as usual it is the relationships that she has that make me love her and these books. Between her parents and their unusual relationship to her own relationship with Sean, they are the heart of these books. I have loved seeing Lucy grow up and fall deeper in love with Sean. She has begun to accept how her gift can help people and not view it as a burden. 

If you haven't read this lovely series, then I beg you to start from the beginning with Truly, Madly. I'm pretty sure you won't regret it. 

Jenn's Review

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Julie's Year in Review

In Lieu of a "Best of" post because frankly I'm sick of them; I'm just going to post here what I read in 2014, in order of completion. It was a great year for both reading and other things in life. I didn't make my initial goal of 85 books but that's ok because I had a lot going on during the last quarter of the year. It was wonderful to start off the year with such a fantastic read (Bella Cora) and to end the year with yet another gem from Sarah Addison Allen. Do you see anything here that you read as well? What are your thoughts?

Julie's 2014 Reads

Julie's favorite books »

Julie's Review: The Silver Star

Author: Jeannette Walls
Series: None
Publication Date: June 3, 2014
Publisher: Scribner
Pages: 304
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.75/5
Bottom Line: Coming of age story for adults
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Library

Summary: It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who “found something wrong with every place she ever lived,” takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that’s been in Charlotte’s family for generations. An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears many stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Because money is tight, Liz and Bean start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town — a big man who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Bean adores her whip-smart older sister — inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist. But when school starts in the fall, it’s Bean who easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz. Jeannette Walls, supremely alert to abuse of adult power, has written a deeply moving novel about triumph over adversity and about people who find a way to love each other and the world, despite its flaws and injustices. ~powells.com

Review: The Silver Star is a interesting look at life in a small town during the 1970s. Bean and Liz venture to Byler, Virginia when there mom disappears for a few days. Where there mom, Charlotte, hated and couldn't wait to leave Byler, the girls adapt fairly easily to the slow ways of Byler. Sure, Uncle Tinsley is a recluse and a hoarder but at least he's trying to do right by the girls.

Bean and Liz want to do right by him as well so even though he tells them not to get jobs, they go around town until they find someone who hires them. That person is Jerry Maddox and well you already know he's not a good person. Since the girls are new in town they don't understand the history between their Uncle and Jerry but they do know enough to hide it from their Uncle.

My favorite part of the story was how Bean learned about her dad and bonded with that side of her family. I also loved that Uncle Tinsley encouraged it for her. It seems like if Charlotte had been there, she would have had a big problem with it. I adored how her Aunt Al just accepted her in immediately and she found a kindred spirit with Joe. Bean found where she belonged.

Ms. Walls does a good job of bringing social commentary into the book without it overshadowing the journey of the girls. While the girls were adapting to their changes, the US was going through it's own changes. I think that she captured that parallel extremely well.

I think the Jerry Maddox storyline was pretty easy to spot coming but I liked the way it helped to shape Liz. I like how Bean was there for her every step of the way. Even if some of her steps were missteps.

Check out Alice's Review



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Jenn's Review: The Blood of Olympus

Author: Rick Riordan
Series: The Heroes of Olympus #5
Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Pages: 516
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  YA Fantasy
Rating: 5.0
Bottom Line: The final epic battle!
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Blurb:  Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

Review:  I read The Blood of Olympus shortly after it came out in October.  I've re-read it several times since then.  I should have reviewed it ages ago, but in all honesty I just haven't been ready to say goodbye to such a fabulous group of characters. I love that the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series started as Middle Grade novels and grew with the characters into the YA series The Heroes of Olympus. The demigods have grown up and we have been watching and cheering them on all the way.

This final novel starts with the team reunited but with seemingly insurmountable tasks ahead of them.  Being separated has bound them together and made them appreciate each other even more, more than that they've learned to trust themselves and rely on each other.  I think the relationship that shows the most growth is between Percy and Jason.  As sons of  Posiedon and Zeus they are naturally a little wary of each other but they learn that their father's quarrels are their own.

The individual characters that go through the biggest development are Reyna, Nico, and Jason. Jason has to reconcile his Greek and Roman side, as he more than any of the heroes was affected the most by Juno's deception.  In the end he decides that he will control his fate.  Meanwhile Reyna and Nico are thrown together on a quest.  Nico has come to the forefront in the last two books and the reader suddenly becomes painfully aware that while all the characters have been interacting and growing Nico has remained painfully isolated.  It takes a quest with others for Nico to accept himself, trust his friends, and come out of his shell.  For Reyna, it is in helping Nico that she finds herself.

I won't spoil the ending for anyone.  Suffice it to say I laughed and I cried.  I will miss these characters immensely.  It is the interactions between the characters that make Riordan's novels so rewarding --isn't that true of all the best novelists?  Rick Riordan left a small loop hole that leaves the possibility of more --and I sincerely hope there will be more.  Until then, I've started reading them to my daughter from the beginning and (who am I kidding?!?) I know I will be re-reading them for myself!

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Jenn's Year in Review

Another year has come and gone and it can be marked in many ways but around here we mark it in books.  (Of course the collage below doesn't count the books I re-read, just ones I read new.)

Jenn's 2014 Reads

Jennifer's favorite books »

As I look at my books from this year I see some I love and some I... didn't.  I see that I will be starting the year with another Sarah Addison Allen book --the perfect way to start the year in my opinion as I love her work!  But mostly I see books missing.  I feel like I didn't read enough this year, not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't have time to write reviews.  (I have two reviews to write from October!)  I know lots of bloggers can keep reading and go back and do it later, but I feel like I'm doing a disservice to the author, his/her work, and our readers by not reviewing it while it's fresh in my mind before moving on to something else.  So I have to make a decision whether I'm not going to review every book I read or whether I'm going to continue to allow it to slow me down...

...any thoughts?  How was your year in books?


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