The Excorcist by William Peter Blatty Review

The Exorcist

By William Peter Blatty

Ok so in case you have been living under a rock for the past forty years and have no idea what this novel is about, here is a brief synopsis. What begins with eerie noises and items being moved around turns into a mother’s worst nightmare when eleven year old Reagan soon begins to show signs of demonic possession.

It has been ages since I have seen the movie but I remember certain scenes that I am sure scarred many others as well as me. The book however is about ten times worse than the movie, it is scarier and more graphic than I had even thought possible. This is another novel I would highly recommend listening to the audio book, with narration by William Peter Blatty and Eliana Shaskan you are drawn thoroughly into the world Mr. Blatty created. I mean who tells a story better than the author himself? There are certain parts when the demonic voices will certainly send chills down your spine. If you haven’t read the book you definitely should, just be sure not to be eating I made that mistake during one of the more “graphic” scenes and I don’t recommend it!

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A Stir of Echoes By Richard Matheson Review

A Stir of Echoes

By Richard Matheson

What started as a parlor trick by his brother in law soon left Tom Wallace with abilities he never knew he possessed. The nightmares start with seeing a woman leaving Tom in a panic but then he begins to hear people’s thoughts around him as well.  As the woman becomes more persistent and his family is beginning to suffer he decides to put an end it to once and for all.

I am a huge fan of the movie Stir of Echoes, I actually had no idea it was based off of a book and as soon as I found out I had to read it. This is another one of those instances that Hollywood has taken several liberties with a novel, and in this case the novel was so much better than its counterpart. The story is highly in depth with twists and turns at every corner making this a remarkable read. One of the best features of this novel is the ending, I thought I had, had it all figured out and was even beginning to become bored with the novel when Richard Matheson came out of left field with an ending I would never have expected. Employing spooky ghosts and eerie dreams the author has created a fun horror novel.  

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Memoirs of a Geisha By Arthur Golden Review

Memoirs of a Geisha

By Arthur Golden

In 1929 Sayuri’s mother has fallen ill and her father is no longer able to care for her and her older sister, she is soon sold to a representative of a geisha house in the Kyoto district.  The she works as a maid and is trained in music and dance with hopes of becoming a geisha one day. But when she is caught trying to run away she is deemed too much of a risk to continue her training, until an accomplished Geisha decides to take her under her wing and teach her everything she knows to introduce her into the society. As she is an apprentice she comes across a man, the only man that had shown her kindness when she was a child, increasing her determination to become a Geisha and gain his approval.

This is not only the story of a Geisha it is the story of Japan during the great depression and during world war two, beautifully written around the struggles of a woman who must work as hard as she can to support herself. The romance is flawless and the drama is poignant and breathtaking this was an amazing read. The movie that followed this book is one of my favorites, though the movie could not come close to the beauty within this novel.

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Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly Review

The Lincoln Lawyer

Mickey Haller Series Book One

By Michael Connelly

Mickey Haller is a criminal defense attorney whose client list ranges from bikers and prostitutes to drunk drivers and drug dealers. One day a bail bonds man who is “on his Christmas list” calls him up with what they call a franchise case, a person who can pay your high fees and a trial that will subsequently drag on, but when Haller takes on the case of the innocent rich kid supposedly attempting to murder a prostitute, he may get more than he had bargained for. What happens when the client in question turns out to be truly evil?

The main character is not your ordinary sleazy lawyer, but a man with two ex-wives whom are still a part of his life, a daughter, and compassion for the so called criminals he defends even if they are guilty. The way the author not only has his main character feel compassion for the criminals he defends but you soon find yourself having the same empathy. The main character seems to be rounded out by the cast of this novel, taking him from an almost despicable man to one whom you care for in the end. Not only does Michael Connelly do a brilliant job with his cast of characters but he also had a storyline so full of twists and drama that this is a remarkable read.

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Something Borrowed By Emily Griffin Review

Something Borrowed

By Emily Griffin

Rachel has spent her entire life catering to Darcy’s needs, and always coming in second to the high strung and gorgeous Darcy. Then on Rachel’s thirtieth birthday she drinks a bit too much and finds herself in bed with Darcy’s fiancé. Rachel knows it is wrong but soon she can’t help the feelings that have grown inside of her as she realizes she loves Dex.

For the first time someone has taken the “other woman’s” side and though it may be an interesting perspective she is still the other woman, and with that comes the stigma of “she is such an idiot.” Emily Griffin manages to create such an unlikable character in Darcy you can’t help but side with Rachel no matter how hard you try, and just when you start to sympathize with Darcy and think Rachel is indeed a bad person she pulls something out of her sleeve that will make you rethink taking Darcy’s side to begin with. This wasn’t a bad book, it was certainly well written, I think this is one of those books that will be torn between sections you will either love it or hate it no middle ground.

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The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook

By Nicholas Sparks

He comes every morning with his tattered notebook to read to her, the story of Noah and Allie. It started with a summer romance, but after that summer they are separated thinking they will never see the other again. Until one day Allie sees a house in a newspaper, it is the house that Noah had always said he would restore and he did. Allie who is engaged to be married decides she needs to see Noah and to tell him of the engagement herself and hopefully be able to move on with her life, but soon they fall in love all over again.

Nicholas Sparks is an evil, evil man I never begin any of his novels without a box of tissues by my side, I have only come across one of his books so far that didn’t leave me in tears, but this novel put the others I have read to shame. It is so beautiful and moving, the love the main characters share is so strong that the thought of it can cause me to emit a heartfelt sigh. I had put off reading this book for a while now because I had seen the movie and if this book was anything like it I knew I would be crying like a baby, but I was not prepared for what awaited me. Whereas the movie focuses a lot on the summer the two spent together this novel focuses on the time that came after and I don’t think it could have been better. I wish I had read this a long time ago it was absolutely amazing.

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Must Love Dogs by Claire Cook

Must Love Dogs

By Claire Cook

Divorced forty year old Sarah Hurlihy is finally ready to start dating again, after much urging from her rather large and obnoxious family. Her sister decides she needs to place a personal add in the local paper and then after much nagging she concedes, from here thing get a lot more interesting in Sarah’s life and she soon has more male attention than she knows what to do with.

I fell in love with the Movie Must Love Dogs when it came out and I had, had no idea that it was based on a book when I found this out I of course had to read it. Unfortunately the book fell flat compared to the movie, the romance between John and Sarah was not very believable it just seemed she had decided after she exhausted her other two options to go with him. I had hoped for more details but we actually get less in the book than we do with the movie. I hate it when Hollywood out does a book but this is one of those rare instances.

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Beastly by Alex Flinn Review

Beastly

Kendra Chronicles Book One

By Alex Flinn

Kyle Kingsbury rich, popular, and he thinks he is God’s gift to everyone. One day he asks an over-weight ugly girl to the prom, only because he already had a date and just wanted to humiliate the girl for fun. When it turns out that the girl is actually a smoking hot witch he soon figures out that he may have made a mistake. Now Kyle Kingsbury no longer exists he is a beast with fangs and claws that can walk upright and speak like a man. The only thing that can save him is true love.

This is an interesting re-telling of beauty and the beast, set in New York City with a modern spoiled rich kid as the “Prince” character, but not only this I love the incorporation of the beast chatting with other cursed characters in a forum it was fun to hear from a mermaid, a cursed frog prince, and of course the beast himself all while Mr. Anderson is trying to help them cope with their curses. The tale is a classic but the way the author brings it to life is altogether original and flawless.  The romance is beautiful; the author did a wonderful job with this book I look forward to the next book in this series.

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The Running Man by Stephen King Review

The Running Man

By Stephen King

Writing as Richard Bachman

In a time where poverty is the norm, Ben Richards is willing to forfeit his life to save his eighteen month old daughter who is dying of influenza. Richards is soon chosen for The Running Man, a reality TV show where everyone is hunting him for a prize. When nowhere is safe and you must survive to earn your prize what would you do to win?

I don’t remember watching this movie but I know if I were to ask my mother she would swear I have seen it, growing up with a Stephen King buff I probably have, but when I first started this book the first thing I thought was Jebus it’s the original Hunger Games, without children killing each other. Ben Richards is an average guy in hard times which makes him highly relatable, well unless you are a spoiled rich kid I guess, and he is just doing his best to support his family which adds into the story a sympathetic dimension. All in all it’s an interesting read; if you are a fan of the dystopian genre then you should definitely pick this one up if you haven’t read it already.

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The Amityville Horror By Jay Anson Review

The Amityville Horror

By Jay Anson

December 18^th, 1975 the Lutz family moves into their dream home, purchased at a steal because there had been a gruesome murder in the house. The Lutzes believe a house is just a house and are not afraid to move in, they will not stay more than a month. This is a true account of what happened to the Lutz family the terror that will forever change their lives.

Some of this story I don’t quite believe, such as they thought it strange that the wife woke up in the middle of the night and the next day didn’t remember doing it at all. Well, for me this is something I do all the time since I was a child and people will tell me all sorts of weird things I did or said while I look completely aware and conscious at the time I am still fast asleep, I must be possessed then according to this book. There were other little things that I could easily dismiss as over reactive imagination or any number of things but when it came to floating off the bed, they had me there. Even if these events aren’t real or exaggerated it is a fun read with some truly spooky scenes.

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The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson Review

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Millennium Trilogy Book One

By Stieg Larsson

 Mikael Blomkvist was a respected financial journalist but after being found liable by the courts is now a pariah in his field with no idea what he will do with his future he is suprised by an offer to ghost write a memoir of the Vanger family and find out what happened to Harriet Vanger in 1966. When he hits a wall with his research he enlists the help of Lisbeth Salander to research possible connections to Harriet’s disappearance what they come across is far more sinister and intriguing than just the disappearance of one girl.

 

Let me start with the fact that I have never read this book nor seen the movie, that being said though this is an interesting read it is very predictable. From the very beginning I knew what had happened but this also gave me the chance to say “Ha! I knew it!” The story is quite enthralling though and there are several aspects that leave you guessing which make up for the fact that the main plot is so easily figured out. The romance in this novel is subtle and beautiful, I didn’t care much for Mikael’s character he seemed like a womanizer but Salandar is a remarkable character with several depths and such a strong character you cannot help but like her. The only other problem I found with this book is that it is rather slow, the first half of the book is all build up with very little action or even events taking place but if you can make it through this it turns out to be interesting and is well worth the read.  

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The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger Review

The Devil Wears Prada

By Lauren Weisberger

Andrea Sachs has recently graduated college and is trying to find a job that will someday lead her to working for The New Yorker, when she is hired by the most exasperating and demanding woman on the face of the planet, Miranda Priestly. Throughout the novel Andrea is forced day after day to do increasingly demeaning tasks and sacrifice her relationships with everyone around her, when she begins to change into someone unrecognizable even to herself she decides enough is enough.

The entire book is a satirical look at having a demanding boss which I am sure everyone can appreciate in one form or another. It’s witty and well written the only fault I have with it is that Lauren Weisberger seems to have some problem with southern people and describes them as tasteless, the main character even belittles the fact that her sister and brother in law live in Houston and have started to speak with southern accents. I am not quite sure why she finds this necessary but coming from Texas, I didn’t enjoy it whatsoever. It is completely unlike the movie which is a good thing I didn’t particularly enjoy the movie, the ending of the book was very lacking however it almost feels as though it didn’t end at all she just decided to quit writing. This is definitely a book you will have to read for yourself to see if you like it or not as for me it had its good points and it’s bad so I am not even sure if I did.

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