Review: Don't Blink by James Patterson & Howard Roughan

Don't Blink by James Patterson & Howard Roughan

Amazon Product Description:
The good
New York's Lombardo's Steak House is famous for three reasons--the menu, the clientele, and now, the gruesome murder of an infamous mob lawyer. Effortlessly, the assassin slips through the police's fingers, and his absence sparks a blaze of accusations about who ordered the hit. 

The bad

Seated at a nearby table, reporter Nick Daniels is conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad-boy. In the chaos, he accidentally captures a key piece of evidence that lands him in the middle of an all-out war between Italian and Russian mafia forces. NYPD captains, district attorneys, mayoral candidates, media kingpins, and one shockingly beautiful magazine editor are all pushing their own agendas--on both sides of the law.

And the dead

Back off--or die--is the clear message Nick receives as he investigates for a story of his own. Heedless, and perhaps in love with his beautiful editor, Nick endures humiliation, threats, violence, and worse in a thriller that overturns every expectation and finishes with the kind of flourish only James Patterson knows.

My thoughts:

I am one of those people who will buy anything that says James Patterson.  One of my closest friends will buy NOTHING that says James Patterson.  Thank goodness there are so many books out there and we can all choose.  I didn't say I get to read everything he writes, just that I buy it - - hoping I will find time to read it.  This book I won on a blog - Martha's Bookshelf.  It is the audio book, I love audio books.  I seem to find myself in my jeep long enough to listen to them.  Sometimes I end up driving around or sitting in the driveway to finish the chapter.  So on that note, what did I think of this James Patterson co-written with Howard Roughan?

It was an entertaining enough story to drive to.  It is a bit on the gruesome side - the scene in the restaurant with the eyeballs...

The characters were interesting.  I liked Nick.  He has some issues that he is trying to work out in the story and I found myself cheering him on at times.  I enjoyed Courtney's character.  She is spunky and snarky.  I was thrilled when her boyfriend is "found out" by her.  I like how supportive she is of Nick - who has been in love with her for so long.  

The storyline moved along quickly.  The bad guys were effectively bad, the good guys wore obvious white hats, and it was easy to dislike the right people.  If you enjoy Patterson, check this one out.

Review: Danann Frost Falls from Grace by Joanne Valiukas

Danann Frost Falls from Grace by Joanne Valiukas

I got this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Amazon product description:
Danann Frost is thousands of years old, yet young for her kind. She is a creature of the Light, an Angel, one of the Seraphim; a race of beings that live beyond our world. She has been cast out of paradise and Fallen from Grace, all for the love of a Dark One - a vampire. The only problem is, Seth did not want her and told her to go and not come back. Danann has made a life for herself amongst the vampires of this world and they protect her fragile nature. She and the vampire Asher live on the fringes of the human world; love and loyalty cannot separate them but trouble and vengeance are on their way.


My thoughts:
I thought this was a fantastic story!  This was a new idea for me - angel meets vampire and ends up falling from grace.  


Joanne creates wonderfully thought out characters and places them in a world that has been built with imagination and focus.  The attention to detail can be seen in all aspects of the story, and because of it the story comes alive.  This book will draw you in and not let go until the end!  


What are you willing to sacrifice for love?  What is too much? How long is too long?  Can love really be that strong?  You will have to read to find out!
You can buy a copy at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  The links to shop are here - - - Go check it out!

Armchair BEA - day 5: Blogging about blogging

Today the Armchair BEA is about Blogging about blogging.

Before I start talking about blogging - I want to take a quick moment to say thanks to everyone who worked so hard to bring Armchair BEA to all of us who were unable to go to New York.  Thanks a bunch - (this is where you all hear me cheering for you!)

So...blogging about blogging:
I LOVE blogging.  My children think I have stepped off the edge and my boyfriend wonders how and when he started competing with my laptop for my free time.  What is so cool about blogging?  This would be a long list so I am going to only mention a couple cool things.  1. Authors. 2. Book bloggers. 3. Books.  Okay that's technically a few not a couple.
What is so cool about blogging and authors? Before I started blogging I had met a few authors at various reading conferences and book signings, but I had never before had the opportunity to chat (I know it's cyber chat, but still...)with authors about their books.  I talk to people about books every day - I work in a high school media center, but blogging is different than that.  Blogging with authors is more like texting a friend.  There is no line of people behind you waiting to have their book signed. There aren't people standing all around you snapping pictures.  It's just you, comfortably sitting where you sit on your computer and the author doing the same.  It's no pressure and you can fit it into your day anywhere.
What is so cool about book bloggers? How can you ask that of a book blogger?  Really now, I have been and continue to be totally shocked by the number of people who are book bloggers.  I LOVE to read and have only been blogging for a couple years.  I have had the pleasure of 'meeting' (if talking back and forth about the situation is having a meeting) many authors that I would never heard of or read book by if it weren't for the internet and the group of reviewers/book bloggers that I follow.  It has been a fantastic experience for me to find a whole community of book lovers.
What is so cool about books?  Well this is one of those 'answers itself' questions.  Everything about a book is great.  The smell and feel of the paper and the cover.  The possibilities within.  The freedom they give the reader, you know: Go anywhere, be anyone, do anything, and maybe even add a meanwhile to the story somewhere.
With blogging about books - you are getting the latest information about the newest books.  You are able to see book trailers.  I have been able to host and participate in giveaways.  I have both given away books and won books.  I have just recently started being a part of the whole blog tour community. I love having the opportunity to read and review books, but my favorite part is the chance to find new authors who have written books that I love.
The only uncool thing about blogging is the amount of time I spend doing it, but I enjoy it so it's time well spent.  Happy reading to all!

Winner!!! Daughter of Deception Giveaway

Congrats Carol T!

You have won an ecopy of Daughter of Deception!

Your information has been sent on and your prize will be sent from the author!

Thanks to all who entered!

Blog Tour: 44 by Jools Sinclair

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the tour!

Today I am pleased to introduce 44 and Jools Sinclair.

Author Bio

Jools Sinclair lives in Bend, Oregon. She is an avid reader, movie watcher, orange cat lover, Frye boot wearer and Komodo Dragon coffee drinker. She admits to having an intense passion for opera and loves faraway lands where espresso bars and pastry shops line the streets. Finally, she is absolutely crazy about her family, who in turn thinks she is absolutely crazy.

Jools was kind enough to send us an excerpt:

44  By Jools Sinclair ~~~ PROLOGUE

I know I’m lucky.

Lucky to be alive, lucky to be able to walk again, to inhale the juniper-laced air and watch the soft leaves change into crispy ones scattering in the wind. I can spend afternoons with Jesse as he plummets down the steep hills around town on his skateboard. I can watch Barcelona soccer games on satellite, eat pizza, and even see those dumb reality TV shows late at night.

I’ve been on the other side and I’m grateful that I’m here. My life is good, most days.

But this morning wasn’t like most days.

The wind had a bite and as I stood at the edge of the river, ice pellets drilled into my face. The sky was slab gray, with low clouds pushing down around me.

She was there. Floating under the footbridge, snagged and hidden in bony branches and moving in a subtle, unnatural rhythm that the dead dance to when submerged in water. The river rushed around her, forming small riffles at her feet, as if she had always been there, belonging like a large boulder or a rooted tree.

In my vision the night before, I watched her die. It started soon after I drifted off to sleep. The night was pitchfork-sharp and her fear radiated in waves through me as she ran, trying to get away from him. She slipped, falling hard onto the icy pavement, her screams lost in the hollow, empty night as he wrapped his arm around her neck until she fell quiet into his arms.

These visions that started months ago have me following in the footsteps of a serial killer I’ve yet to see, as he roams the city looking for his next victim, never satisfied and always needing.

I stood in the shadows and watched like it was a scene from a movie. I knew I could do nothing. He picked her up and brought her to the water, held her head down. Then he sat next to her, stroking her hair.

But this time, I was ready. I only needed a glimpse. If I could see his face in my vision, I could find him in reality. I summoned my courage, forced myself to swallow the bile that shot up in the back of my throat and followed him as he strolled arrogantly away.

The moon was bright, beams threading through the trees, leaving thick shadows. Instinctually, I backed into the darkness as he suddenly stopped, even though I knew he wouldn’t be able to see me. His breath leaked out in ghostly wisps as he stood silent.

Finally, he turned around, his eyes hooking into mine. He saw me. Somehow he cut through my murky vision and saw me.

But I saw him too. And now I knew who he was.

He stared a while, still and contemplative, as I fought my urge to run. But he didn’t come after me. The bastard just stood there, and then smiled, before stepping away and disappearing into the lonely night.

You can get your own copy of this amazing (truly - check out my review here) book:

Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble

You can check out the whole tour schedule HERE

Thanks for stopping by The Wormhole!

Be sure to go to the next stop on the tour 

(after you grab the book! - it's a great one!)

May 28 - - Christi the Teen Librarian

Review: 44 by Jools Sinclair

44 by Jools Sinclair

*I received this book (digital copy) at no charge in exchange for an honest review and participation in the blog tour.  The blog tour is being hosted by The Bookish Snob Tours.

Amazon Product Description:
Last year after falling through the ice, seventeen-year-old Abby Craig woke up from death.

But she woke into a world she barely recognizes. She can’t see colors, memories have been erased, and her friends all hate her. And then there’s Jesse, who she loves, but who refuses to forgive her the one mistake she made long ago.

Just when she thinks it can’t get any worse, the visions begin. In them, she sees a faceless serial killer roaming the streets. While the police believe that there have been a lot of accidents in town lately, Abby knows differently. And she soon realizes that it’s up to her to find him.

But to stop him, she’ll have to confront more than just the killer. She’ll have to face something else that was lost in those dark waters. The truth.



My thoughts:
Wow! This is a big story hidden inside a short book!!!  
I was hooked from the prologue.  Jools Sinclair has created fantastic characters. 
This is a thriller/paranormal romance/mystery that keeps you turning the pages as fast as you can read them.  It twists you about and as soon as you think you have it all figured out, throws you for the final loop with an ending that will break the hardest heart.
A must read for certain!!!