Summer is one of my
favorite times to read.
I was off work this past month so I've had plenty of time for it. So
much so, that I broke my book review for June into two parts.
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Book Description:
Famed Harvard
symbologist Robert Langdon answers an unexpected summons to appear at
the U.S. Capitol Building. His planned lecture is interrupted when a
disturbing object—artfully encoded with five symbols—is discovered in
the building. Langdon recognizes in the find an ancient invitation into a
lost world of esoteric, potentially dangerous wisdom. When his mentor
Peter Solomon—a longstanding Mason and beloved philanthropist—is
kidnapped, Langdon realizes that the only way to save Solomon is to
accept the mystical invitation and plunge headlong into a clandestine
world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and one inconceivable truth . .
. all under the watchful eye of Dan Brown's most terrifying villain to
date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of
Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol is an intelligent, lightning-paced
story with surprises at every turn--Brown's most exciting novel yet.
My Review:
While I know that Dan Brown's books follow a very similar "
formula," I still always enjoy them. This was the first book, I can mark off my
summer reading list. Dan Brown's books always get me very curious and I end up Googling a lot of stuff. This is the 3rd book about the character, Robert Langdon. To me, these books are very hard to put down. Even though they're thick, I keep reading because I want to know how it's all going to turn out. I have to admit, this one had a good twist at the end. There was also one spot that had me very concerned for the main character. If you're a fan of Dan Brown's previous novels, I think you'll enjoy this one too. Just don't go in expecting something new and different.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
Book Description:
Tessa Russo is the
mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric
surgeon. Despite her own mother's warnings, Tessa has recently given up
her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic
happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life. Valerie
Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie--a
boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, she
has given up on romance--and even to some degree,
friendships--believing that it is always safer not to expect too much. Although
both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively
little in common aside from a fierce love for their children. But one
night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one
could have imagined. In alternating, pitch-perfect points of
view, Emily Giffin creates a moving, luminous story of good people
caught in untenable circumstances. Each being tested in ways they never
thought possible. Each questioning everything they once believed. And
each ultimately discovering what truly matters most.
My Review:
**If you want to read this book, you might want to skip my review. There are some spoilers in it.**
Let me start by saying that cheating is bad. In real life, I would not take the side of someone who was cheating. But...in a novel....my morals are looser I guess. This is the story of two women. Tessa is married to a doctor whose patient's mother is Valerie. Valerie develops a relationship with Tessa's husband. In my opinion, the author makes you sympathize with Valerie and dislike Tessa. You see that Tessa's marriage was falling apart even before the affair. You see the doctor and Valerie falling in love and for the most part, their relationship isn't even physical. I was rooting for this cheating couple! The whole book builds up this bad marriage and this new love that is forming. THEN, without warning, the doctor breaks it off with Valerie, confesses everything to his wife, and after she gets over her initial anger-they stay together. The ending tries to emphasize grace and forgiveness. It didn't seem believable to me. Not after everything I'd just been reading for the last 300 pages. I really enjoyed this book until the end. The end ruined it for me. By the way, if you've read Giffin's book (or seen the movie)
Something Borrowed, Tessa is Dex's sister. Dex and Rachel are in this book. I didn't realize the connection until I was reading someone else's review.
I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Lucky Penny by Catherine Anderson
Book Description:
To support her orphaned
niece, impoverished Brianna O'Keefe accepts work with a Colorado
rancher. To guard herself from the unwanted attention, she resorts to a
harmless little lie: that she's married to a Denver gold miner named
David Paxton. When her boss forces her to write her "husband," hoping
he'll take Brianna off his hands, she can only pray that there is no
real David Paxton who can expose her.When Colorado marshal David
Paxton gets a letter from a stranger claiming to be his wife and
pleading with him to come for her and his daughter, he dutifully sets
out to find this woman and the child he may have sired. What stuns
Brianna is that David is convinced the young girl is, in fact, his. As
David and Brianna's wary attraction blossoms into deeper desire, David
warms to the idea of a ready-made family. But can his dream survive
Brianna's lingering distrust --- and his own secrets?
My Review:
It has been a long time since I've simply read a pointless, just for fun romance novel. I really enjoyed this one. It was a perfect, light summer read. I actually hadn't even planned to read this one, but I was leaving my parents' house to go to the airport and realized that I had nothing to read on my flight home. Then, I remembered that my mom has a small romance novel library in her closet. I went in there and borrowed this book from her. It was definitely predictable (what romance novel isn't?). It had your handsome, romantic leading man. It had your beautiful (although she doesn't know it) woman with a past. It's set in the romanticized old west. What's not to love?
I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Phantom Evil by Heather Graham
Book Description:
A secret government
unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal
investigator. The six members he's gathered know a little of the
otherworldly—each has honed a psychic talent of their own.Jackson Crow,
part English, part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience
with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent
murders of two previous teammates, Jackson can't tell if Adam's demoted
him or given him an extraordinary opportunity. Despite his link to the
realm of spirits, he's well aware that the living commit the most
heinous crimes, with spiritualist charlatans existing merely to fool and
seduce the unwary. To counterbalance Jackson's careful
skepticism, Adam Harrison has paired him with Angela Hawkins, a young
woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age. A police
officer utilizing her paranormal intuition in Virginia, she already has
her hands full. But Adam's call to New Orleans is strong. The
case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans's French Quarter, a senator's
wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped,
distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And
yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit
the house—once the site of a serial killer's grisly work. Whether
supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will
cast the pair into danger of losing their lives…and their immortal
souls.
My Review:
This seemed like a really good premise for a book and I love a good mystery. However, I was very disappointed. I'm usually not one of those people who's really critical of literary stuff. I just like to read books for the pure fun of it, but the dialog in this book was bad. If I notice it and it bothers me, it can't be good. The way they were talking was cheesy and didn't seem realistic. It also seemed like they were repeating themselves or over-sharing information. The characters were underdeveloped and the 2 main characters were madly in love and sleeping together within two days. It was very unbelievable. I think this plot had potential and as usual, I had a hard time putting it down because I wanted to know
whodunnit. In the end, though, I don't highly recommend this book.
I give it 2 out of 5 stars.
The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark
Book Description:
In The Lost Years, Mary
Higgins Clark, America’s Queen of Suspense, has written her most
astonishing novel to date. At its center is a discovery that, if
authenticated, may be the most revered document in human history—“the
holiest of the holy”—and certainly the most coveted and valuable object
in the world. Biblical scholar Jonathan Lyons believes he has found the
rarest of parchments—a letter that may have been written by Jesus
Christ. Stolen from the Vatican Library in the 1500s, the letter was
assumed to be lost forever. Now, under the promise of secrecy,
Jonathan is able to confirm his findings with several other experts. But
he also confides in a family friend his suspicion that someone he once
trusted wants to sell the parchment and cash in. Within days
Jonathan is found shot to death in his study. At the same time, his
wife, Kathleen, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, is found hiding in
the study closet, incoherent and clutching the murder weapon. Even in
her dementia, Kathleen has known that her husband was carrying on a
long-term affair. Did Kathleen kill her husband in a jealous rage, as
the police contend? Or is his death tied to the larger question: Who has
possession of the priceless parchment that has now gone missing? It
is up to their daughter, twenty-eight-year-old Mariah, to clear her
mother of murder charges and unravel the real mystery behind her
father’s death. Mary Higgins Clark’s The Lost Years is at once a
breathless murder mystery and a hunt for what may be the most precious
religious and archaeological treasure of all time.
My Review:
I really enjoy Mary Higgins Clark's books which is why I picked this one off the library shelf. This one did not disappoint. Any time I read a mystery book, I try to figure it out, but I'm never right. Well, my detective skills must be improving because I actually figured this one out. There were a lot of characters to try and keep up with. I guess that is sort of needed in a mystery, though, so that you don't just instantly figure it out. I did like how the story was told from different characters' points of view. It helped keep things interesting. If you like mysteries, you would probably like this book.
I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
What have you been reading lately? Have you read any of these?
