New Challenges: R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril and Bloggers Recommend Perpetual Challenge

I've signed up for two more challenges. I'm ahead on my annual reading goal over on Goodreads and I've been doing really well on both the 2013 Debut Authors Challenge and Ellie's 2013 Translation Challenge so I figured what the heck. Plus, one of these two is a challenge right up my alley with creepy fall reads!

First up, the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril challenge, or R.I.P. VIII hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings. Both Jenn over at Jenn's Bookshelves and Kelly at Kelly's [Former] France Blog are taking part so I decided to jump on the bandwagon, too.

Here's the lowdown:

Starting September 1 and ending October 14, read (or watch) anything:

Mystery.

Suspense.

Thriller.

Dark Fantasy.

Gothic.

Horror.

Supernatural.

Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.

And that's it. There are different levels to the challenge as well as a group read. I've decided to sign on with the Peril the First, Peril of the Short Story, and Peril on the Screen portions (so four book, short stories, and suitably scary movies/tv shows). 

The trick for me will be remembering to track my posts!

As of right now, my plans include:

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (of course!)

The Necromancer's House by Christopher Buehlman

The Seance Society by Michael Nethercott

A Cold Season by Alison Littlewood

Teen horror bonus - 3:39 by Gretchen McNeil

Let the Old Dreams Die by John Ajvide Lindqvist (shorts)

Twittering From the Circus of the Dead by Joe Hill (short)

Insidious Chapter 2

The second new challenge is the super informal Bloggers Recommend Challenge hosted by Michelle over at My Books. My Life. This one simply involves choosing at least one book from the monthly Bloggers Recommend newsletter and incorporating it into our monthly TBR. Easy peasy since the Bloggers Recommend folks recommend some of the best and brightest out of each month's new releases. 

I've already done my first Bloggers Recommend title (post will go up next week). I'm excited to get started on R.I.P. VIII now as well!

Equilibrium by Lorrie Thomson

Good morning, everyone! As promised, here's my second TLC tour for the day: Equilibrium by Lorrie Thomson.

It's been almost one year since Laura's husband, Jack, killed himself. A writer who suffered from bipolar disorder, he'd attempted suicide twice before but the third time, in this case, really was the charm. While Laura struggles to take care of her two teenage children and pull their lives back together, she lived with Jack and his disorder long enough to know it was the sickness. But her own two children face the possibility of this genetic roll of the dice and Laura fears for their future, watching intently for any signs they may suffer like her late husband. It doesn't help that thirteen year old Troy seems to be reeling without a father figure and fifteen year old Darcy is dating the new bad boy in school. 

I kind of loved Lorrie Thomson's debut! The time I spent with this family was heartbreaking but also touching. Laura and Darcy both come into their own in the story: Laura finally examining her relationship with her husband and starting to move on and Darcy, a true daddy's girl, coming to the realization that her father wasn't at all perfect. 

What I think I liked most was Thomson's ability to integrate so many different aspects of the family and their lives here. It's not just the family facing the year since Jack's suicide and it's not just the fear that one or both of the kids could also be bipolar, it's Darcy's teen angst and revelations about her own friends, it's the effect Adain - the family's tenant - has on the family as well. It's Laura's challenge of being a single parent, something she comes to realize she kind of always was, and gaining more self confidence in the things she let slide while Jack was in their lives. And of course it's Laura's and Darcy's love stories - Laura beginning to consider the possibility of love once again and Darcy's first serious relationship. Thomson masterfully weaves all of these elements into one cohesive and captivating read. The Kleins and the characters that revolve around the perimeter of their story are all so vivid and real that I left Equilibrium feeling a bit as though I'd become friends with a new family in the neighborhood. Very close friends that I wanted to wrap up in a big hug!

Rating: 4/5

To see more stops on the tour, check out the official TLC tour page here.  

For more on Lorrie Thomson you can visit her website here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. 

Bait by J. Kent Messum

Morning, everyone! Today I'm on two tours with the TLC folks.

First up, Bait by J. Kent Messum, a messed up horror-ish psychological suspense/survival tale that pits a bunch of junkies against each other on a deserted island.

Six strangers awaken to find themselves stranded on a remote beach. They don't know each other and they don't have any idea how they got there, but they do have one thing in common: they're all a slave to their addictions. On the beach they find a trunk with limited food and a letter. The letter claims there are more resources and some of the drug they're all craving just one mile away on the next island. With withdrawal symptoms already hitting some of them, the strangers know that time is running out. Either they risk it and swim, or the sweat out detox with no more food and no help coming. 

I don't know where to begin here. On the plus side, Bait is short. On the negative, I didn't actually like any of these characters. Unlikeable characters are never a deal breaker for me, but in this case it weighed the book down. I didn't sympathize with these people or their captors.

The six junkies are nasty and manipulative. They're more concerned about their next hit than they are in simply surviving the situation. Frankly, they spend all of their time trying to figure out how to get to the drugs rather than trying to figure out a way out of the mess they've found themselves in. The characters didn't have the appeal or seeming chance for redemption that, say, Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad has going for him. Fortunately it's not because the characters aren't well developed. Messum does accomplish a lot in his short novel and giving each character a good bit of personality and background are amongst those things. The tension in the book is also quite good and keeps the book moving at a super quick pace. I just didn't know that I cared all that much.

The driving force here for me was in seeing why these people were chosen for this feat, what motivated the captors, and how/if any of the characters would survive. Had the book been longer or not quite as suspenseful, I'm not sure that I would have had the motivation to see Bait through to the end.

Rating: 3/5

To see more stops on the tour, check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on J. Kent Messum and his work you can visit his website here. You can also like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

Luther Giveaway!

It's here! It's here! It's here! The new season of Luther starts tonight on BBC America and I can't wait to watch. It'll be four nights of Luther awesomeness! Sadly, though, my excitement comes with a bit of sadness as well. This is the final season of Luther. *sniff*

This show rocks my world in so many ways. Luther, played by Idris Elba, is a Dexter type anti-hero in that you root for him in spite of the bad things he does because at heart his motivations are somewhat pure. Plus, Luther just has really shit luck.

Show writer and creator Neil Cross has one Luther novelization out to date and it seems, according to the rumor mill, that this book could become a Luther film. Which would because for major happy dances and celebration!

The book in question is Neil Cross's Luther: The Calling, a prequel to the first season of the show. (You can read my review here.) I happen to have one extra copy of the hardcover in my hot little hands at the moment and I want to give it away!

If you're interested, just fill out the rafflecopter below before September 16. US only please.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Should Be Required Reading/Paired with Required Reading

I've decided to jump on board with Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week the topic is: Top Ten Books that should either be required reading or should be paired with required reading. 

This is kind of tough. I feel like some of my should bes probably already are (though weren't during my school days) plus my own required reading list was quite odd. But here goes:

1. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury - any Ray Bradbury, to be honest, but in this case I just remember all of the agonizing short stories that we had to tread through in school. Ray Bradbury's shorts are great reads and I think would have been more appropriate (age and entertainment wise) in a lot of ways and could set a great appreciation for shorts and sci fi in young readers!

2. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum - some cool schools may have this on their lists, but mine certainly didn't. 

3. Something by Wilkie Collins - we spend so much time on Dickens but I think his contemporaries, certainly the inventor of detective fiction, should get some attention as well. 

4. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - I know this one is a little tough with all the world building but how better to put the "classics" in a new light for readers?!

5. Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris - I adore this story. Harris's writing is exquisite and the dual narrative (flashback) works brilliantly. The incorporation of history makes the book one of my all-time favorites. (Part of this one concerns France during WWII.)

Pairings: 

6. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and Rebecca's Tale by Sally Beauman - I thought Beauman did a brilliant job continuing the story and adding more depth to Rebecca as a character (even though she's not present in either book)

7. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden trilogy (for fairly obvious reasons)

8. Othello and Nicole Galland's I, Iago (and no, Othello was never on my school reading list)

9. Jane Eyre and Susan Hill's The Woman in Black (simply because I love the idea of teaching more Victorian gothic in school. My own Jane pairing was Wide Sargasso Sea, which I have no fondness for)

10. Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and The Hunger Games

The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon

Fans of fairy tale retellings aren't going to want to miss this latest from Turgeon (author of Fairy Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story and Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale). The Fairest of Them All is actually a combined retelling of Rapunzel and Snow White.

The story opens with Rapunzel and her guardian, Mathena. The two escaped the kingdom long ago, wiping their memories of their time there. Together they've lived in almost complete solitude, protected by the forest that surrounds them and by Mathena's spells. Their only visitors are those who seek out Mathena for her potions and herbs, looking to heal a broken heart, recover from illness, or any number of things the woman can assist with. Through the years, she's taught Rapunzel everything she knows and has kept her safe from the outside world. But one day, the prince discovers their little haven. He and Rapunzel fall madly in love and have a brief but passionate affair - an affair that ends when the prince weds another. Heartbroken, Rapunzel vows to move on but fate has more in the cards for this fair maiden.

The Fairest of Them All is a little quirky. I've read Turgeon before so it wasn't unexpected, but the twist in this tale did still come as a surprise. Turgeon's ability to build unexpected twists is one that I truly appreciate, even if it does turn out a bit oddly in some of her stories.

The blending of the Rapunzel and Snow White tales was done really well, but I did feel that there could have been more to the story. The whole book is told from Rapunzel's perspective and given the Snow White I currently have in mind is the one created for Once Upon a Time, I really would have loved to get part of this particular book from her point of view as well. It's not at all a criticism, simply something I think I would have enjoyed seeing from Turgeon (and would have considered an added bonus with The Fairest of Them All). All in all, I did find the book to be a bit on the short side. Nonetheless, it does make for a quick and enchanting read.

Rating: 3.5/5

New Releases 9/3/13

Some of the new titles hitting shelves this week are:

Margot by Jillian Canto

Alex by Pierre Lemaitre

Mage's Blood by David Hair

Happy Hour In Hell by Tad Williams

Swimming in the Moon by Pamela Schoenewaldt

Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson

Never Go Back by Lee Child

The Ludwig Conspiracy by Oliver Potzsch

Leading Man by Benjamin Svetkey

The Given Sacrifice by S.M. Stirling

The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell

The Wishing Thread by Lisa van Allen

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain

MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood

Angel Stone by Juliet Dark

Strangled in Paris by Claude Izner

Dark Lycan by Christine Feehan

The Last President by John Barnes

Hearts of Sand by Jane Haddam

Monsters of the Earth by David Drake

Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Clean Burn by Karen Sandler

Lineup by Liad Shoham

Cold Tuscan Stone by David P. Wagner

Cain's Blood by Geoffrey Girard

Bitter River by Julia Keller

Project Cain by Geoffrey Girard (YA companion to Cain's Blood)

Projection by Risa Green

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

I Am Alice by Joseph Delaney

The 100 by Kass Morgan

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

New on DVD:
Now You See Me
Cockneys vs Zombies
The Iceman