DreamFever

Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book 3 of the Fever series left the reader hanging. Book 4 picked up exactly where the last book left off: Mac is being turned into a sex addict by Fae princes. The first few pages I worried that KMM was going back to her "all sex all the time" way of writing, but was happy to see that she didn't. She stuck with the amazing characters she created, deepened the plot and the mystery and on the last page, left me hungry for the next book.

Pub. Date: August 2009
Series: Fever Book 4

Synopsis: They may have stolen my past, but I’ll never let them take my future.
When the walls between Man and Fae come crashing down, freeing the insatiable, immortal Unseelie from their icy prison, MacKayla Lane is caught in a deadly trap. Captured by the Fae Lord Master, she is left with no memory of who or what she is: the only sidhe-seer alive who can track the Sinsar Dubh, a book of arcane black magic that holds the key to controlling both worlds.
Clawing her way back from oblivion is only the first step Mac must take down a perilous path, from the battle-filled streets of Dublin to the treacherous politics of an ancient, secret sect, through the tangled lies of men who claim to be her allies into the illusory world of the Fae themselves, where nothing is as it seems—and Mac is forced to face a soul-shattering truth.
Who do you trust when you can’t even trust yourself?

Recommended Reading:
FaeFever by Karen Marie Moning
DarkFever by Karen Marie Moning
BloodFever by Karen Marie Moning

The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this second book, but not as much as I expected. It lost some of the surprise factor that the first book held. The plot was so-so, slightly predictable. I thought the main characters displayed a lot of naivete in order to make the plot work, which made it unbelievable [in a "duh" not a "wow" kind of way]. There were good comedic moments and lots of action.

Pub. Date: March 2007
Series: Percy Jackson and The Olympians Book 2

Synopsis: Percy Jackson's seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy's friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed. Percy and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their beloved camp. But first, Percy will discover a stunning new secret about his family one that makes him wonder whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor, or simply a cruel joke.

Recommended Reading:
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

The Last Summer (of you and me)

The Last Summer of You and Me by Ann Brashares

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

As a fan of The Traveling Pants series, I wanted to really like this book. I struggled reading it. I found it depressing. The character relationships were too distant and complicated for me to understand. The one character I wanted to get to know and understand wasn't given much of a plot.

Pub. Date: June 2007


Synopsis: Set on Long Island's Fire Island, The Last Summer (of You and Me) is an enchanting, heartrending page-turner about sisterhood, friendship, love, loss, and growing up. It is the story of a beach community friendship triangle-Riley and Alice, two sisters in their twenties, and Paul, the young man they've grown up with-and what happens one summer when budding love, sexual curiosity, a sudden serious illness, and a deep secret all collide, launching the friends into an adult world from which their summer haven can no longer protect them.

The Nasty Bits

The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Useable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What I liked: Anthony Bourdain has a magical way with words. I just love the way this guy writes. I also like that the book is broken up into sections and that the stories are short enough that I could read a few before going to bed each night.


What I didn't like: This book wasn't as much about the food as a bitter rant about what technology (aka the celebrity chef) has done to food. There was a lot of food terminology I didn't understand that I wish he had explained better.

Final Thoughts: While it was bitter and burned out, showing the darker side of the kitchen, it was still a great read.

Pub. Date: May 2006

Synopsis: The good, the bad, and the ugly, served up Bourdain-style.
Bestselling chef and No Reservations host Anthony Bourdain has never been one to pull punches. In The Nasty Bits, he serves up a well-seasoned hellbroth of candid, often outrageous stories from his worldwide misadventures. Whether scrounging for eel in the backstreets of Hanoi, revealing what you didn't want to know about the more unglamorous aspects of making television, calling for the head of raw food activist Woody Harrelson, or confessing to lobster-killing guilt, Bourdain is as entertaining as ever. Bringing together the best of his previously uncollected nonfiction—and including new, never-before-published material—The Nasty Bits is a rude, funny, brutal and passionate stew for fans and the uninitiated alike.

Recommended Reading:
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain
Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain
Devil in the Kitchen by Marco White