The Mark: Review

The Mark
Author: Jason Pinter
Publisher: MIRA Books
Pages: 377
Series: Henry Parker #1

Summary:

Right as I'm about to die, I realize all the myths are fake. There's no white light at the end of a tunnel. My life isn't flashing before my eyes. All I can think about is how much I want to live.

I moved to New York City a month ago to become the best journalist the world had ever seen. To find the greatest stories never told. And now here I am - Henry Parker, twenty-four years old and weary beyond rational thought, a bullet one trigger pull from ending my life.

I can't run. Running is all Amanda and I have done for the past seventy-two hours. And I'm tired. Tired of knowing the truth and not being able to tell it.

Five minutes ago I thought I had the story all figured out. I knew that both of these men - one an FBI agent, the other an assassin - wanted me dead, but for very different reasons.

If I die tonight - more people will die tomorrow.

My Thoughts:

This book was Jason Pinter's debut novel and I thought it was excellent! It's a very fast read that I found hard to put down. Henry Parker is the main character in this novel and I found myself rooting for him the whole time. I just wanted to jump through the book and tell these people that they were wrong and explain the truth to them. On the cover it says "...a gripping page-turner you won't be able to stop reading." and I found that to be very true. I couldn't agree more. I felt sucked into this book. So if you like thriller books full of suspense I honestly believe you will love this book. I look forward to reading more of Jason Pinter's novels!

Have you read this book or any others by this author? What books have you had your nose stuck in lately? I would love to read your comments!

Fallen in Love: Review







Fallen in Love
Author: Lauren Kate
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 201
Series: Fallen - Book #3.5

Summary:

Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story.

And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories intersect over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding and losing love. Arriane pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first - and last - time, Daniel and Luce spend a night together like none other.

Lauren Kate's Fallen in Love is filled with love stories . . . the ones everyone has been waiting for.

My Thoughts:

I really did enjoy this book! I have read the first 3 books of the Fallen series and really liked them so when I found this book I had to pick it up! I didn't realize when I bought it that it wasn't an actual "novel" it's really like 4 short stories which sort of disappointed me. But to Lauren Kate's credit, it *does* say "A Fallen Novel in Stories" directly on the cover. I just happened to miss that I guess. The book was pretty short and a very fast read.

It tells the story of Shelby and Miles, Roland, Arriane, and Luce and Daniel. I really loved how you got to know the other secondary characters a lot better and got to read their stories. The story of Shelby and Miles was extremely cute! The story of Arriane was absolutely intriguing! The story of Roland revealed a little more about himself and last, the story of Luce and Daniel just made me want to read Rapture, the next book in the series. I'm excited to see how these in between stories tie in to the next novel.

Ohhhh . . . . isn't the cover *beautiful*!?!

Have any of you lovely readers read this series or plan on reading it? What were your thoughts on this book? Leave your comments! I would love to read them!

Teaser Tuesday!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers:

"Sometimes love was not about winning, but about wise sacrifice and the reliability of friends like Arriane. Friendship, Roland realized, was its very own kind of love."

*Page 110, "Fallen in Love" by Lauren Kate

Please leave a comment with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesday post, or share your "teasers" in a comment here if you don't have a blog! I look forward to reading every one's "teasers"! Have fun!

A Wedding in December: Review

A Wedding in December
Author: Anita Shreve
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Pages: 325

Summary:

At an inn in the Berkshire Mountains, seven former schoolmates gather to celebrate a wedding - a reunion that becomes the occasion of astonishing revelations as the friends collectively recall a long-ago night that indelibly marked each of their lives. Written with the fluent narrative artistry that distinguishes all of Anita Shreve's best selling novels, A Wedding in December acutely probes the mysteries of the human heart and the endless allure of paths not taken.


My Thoughts:

It was really hard for me to get into this story and I found the writing style confusing at times. The story often switched characters and also switches from past and present. I didn’t really know who to root for in this book. The summary of this novel sounded intriguing to me and I’ve heard a lot of people praising Anita Shreve’s writing, so I truly though that I would enjoy this book. I didn’t really understand what the point of the book was and what I took from it was that it’s okay to be unfaithful to your spouse as long as it makes you happy in the end. *Which I don’t agree with.* I found it disturbing that almost all of the characters in this book were involved in affairs at one point or another. There was also supposed to be a long-ago night that marked each of their lives, and this didn’t really seem that important in the story like the summary made it out to be. There was also a story within the story which was somewhat interesting, although I’m not sure of the relationship it has with the original storyline. I don’t believe it would have affected the story if it would have been removed. I also found the ending to be abrupt and I feel that it left many questions unanswered. Maybe it’s just me but I like to *know* what happens. So all-in-all I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you are just looking for something to pass the time. I didn’t hate reading this book but I do feel that it could have been *much* better. I may attempt another Shreve book in the future.

Have you read this book? What were your thoughts on it? Have you read any other Anita Shreve novels? I would love to read your comments!