Sunday, November 10, 2013

Emily's Review/Highlight Round Up: Lighthouse Island, Winter at Death's Hotel and City of Mirrors

I have been spending a lot of time curled up with books!  It seems that not being able to sleep pays off in the reading department, but not in getting much else done!  Oh well, I love how a book can take you away.  Enjoy the reviews!  Lots more coming within the next month!

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17349213

ABOUT THE BOOK:  The bestselling author of the highly praised novels The Color of Lightning, Stormy Weather, and Enemy Women pushes into new territory with this captivating and atmospheric story set in the far future-a literary dystopian tale resonant with love and hope

In the coming centuries the world's population has exploded and covered the earth with cities, animals are nearly all gone and drought has taken over so that cloudy water is issued by the quart. There are no maps, no borders, no numbered years. On this urban planet the only relief from overcrowding and the harsh rule of the big Agencies is the television in every living space, with its dreams of vanished waterfalls and the promise of virtual vacations in green spaces, won by the lucky few.

It is an unwelcoming world for an orphan like Nadia Stepan. Abandoned by her parents on a crowded street when she was four, the little girl is shuttled from orphanage to orphanage, foster-family to foster-family. Nadia grows up dreaming of the vacation spot called Lighthouse Island, in a place called the Pacific Northwest. She becomes obsessed with it and is determined to somehow find her way there. In the meantime this bright and witty orphan falls into the refuge of old and neglected books; the lost world of the imagination. And beyond the confusion and overcrowding and the relentless television noise, comes a radio voice from an abandoned satellite that patiently reads, over and over, the great classical books of the world-Big Radio, a voice in the night that lifts Nadia out of the dull and perpetual Present.

An opportunity for escape appears and Nadia takes it, abandoning everything to strike out for Lighthouse Island in a dangerous and sometimes comic adventure. She meets every contingency with bottomless inventiveness meets the man who changes the course of her life: James Orotov, mapmaker and demolition expert. Together they evade arrest and head north toward a place of wild beauty that lies beyond the megapolis-Lighthouse Island and its all-seeing eye.

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18351541

ABOUT THE BOOK:  An enticing twist on the Sherlock fervor: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's wife hunts down a serial killer in 1890s New York

In January 1896, Arthur Conan Doyle, the renowned creator of Sherlock Holmes, arrives with his wife Louisa at the Britannic Hotel in New York for his first American tour. Louisa is instantly mesmerised by this vibrant, dangerous city. When a woman's mutilated corpse is found in a Bowery alley, she becomes convinced from the artist's sketch that she'd seen the victim at the hotel. As more bodies start appearing, Louisa starts piecing together clues to reveal a story of madness, murder and depravity which leads inexorably back to the hotel itself and a madman who is watching her every move.

MY REVIEW:
This was a great book with twists and turns.  The story line was both engaging and original.  I loved that it was fast paced and thrilling.  The characters are well fleshed out and are fun to read.  I recommend this blend of history and mystery.  This is a 3.5 star read.  

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16255223

ABOUT THE BOOK:  Running out of money, Diana Poole is forced to go back to the only work she knows: acting. Her much-loved husband and movie-star mother have died, and now Diana is over thirty-five. In Hollywood that means she might as well be dead. Still, a few key people remember her talent, and she lands a role in a new movie. But an actress should never get her hopes up, especially when she discovers the female lead's murdered body. Raised in her mother's shadow, Diana knows people in "the business"will go to dangerous lengths to protect their images. When her own life and career are threatened, Diana decides to fight back and find the killer. But unmasking the surprising murderer isn't that easy, especially when she uncovers what's real--and unreal--in her own life.

MY REVIEW:

WOW, this book was amazing.  I loved it cover to cover.  What a great read with an ending that I  DID NOT see coming.   You will be swept up into the world within the pages so much so that you will look up from the book and find that hours have passed.  Pick up this book for a great winter read...it is calling to you to curl up with it!  5 stars!!!!

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Emily, AKA Mrs. Mommy Booknerd

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