Another summer is behind us, but here is Nancy DiMauro's report on the books she read during the sizzling days. From one of the authors and her title listed here, I think a lot more than the outside temperatures soared! Hope Nancy had a TALL glass of ice water handy for that one!
BOOK REPORT From Summer Reads
The summer of “can’t put down” books
by Nancy DiMauro
Back to school is around the corner and I’m helping my two
boys, who waited until the last minute (again) to complete their book reports.
I decided to lead by example. I’ve already confessed to being a not-so-closeted
romance reader and writer. You also know that my favorite time for reading
romance novels is at the beach, and we’ve just returned from our family
vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. So, I thought I’d share 10 books
from my summer reading list. It’s also a bit more eclectic than normal since
I’m researching my next novel, Schrodinger Effect, which
features Vonna from Paths Less Traveled. In no particular
order:
1. Neil
Gaiman – The Ocean at the End of the Lane -
Fantasy.
Neil Gaiman started out writing a short story, but ended up
with this lovely little novella. A suicide releases a supernatural creature
into our world. In trying to send the creature back, Lettie Hempstock
unwittingly allows it to lodge inside a 7 year old boy. Years later, that boy
returns home for a funeral and discovers he’s forgotten about that summer day
and the magic at the end of the lane.
This is a great little story. I fell into the narrator’s
voice, spellbound. I finished it in one sitting, pausing only grudgingly to get
a plate of food before the teenagers at the beach ate it all. The only
criticism I have of it is the price-point. At $15.00 it’s expensive for a novella,
and at $9.99 it’s a really expensive e-book. Now, I bought my advanced copy
through Barnes and Noble because it was a signed copy. Still, I think the price
is well worth it.
2. Kevin J.
Anderson – Veiled Alliances – Fantasy.
In my opinion, Kevin is one of the greatest world-builders
writing today. Veiled Alliances is a prequel to his Saga of
the Seven Suns series. One hundred and fifty years after the
Earth sent out its generation ships, Earth’s government has given way to a
puppet king controlled by the Hanseatic League. The generation ships are found
and given safe harbors by an alien race. With the gift of FTL (Faster Than
Light) engines, Earth is poise on the brink of becoming a major player in the
universe.
I “read” this one on audio book. The 4 plus hour recording
got me most of the way to the beach. Unlike some prequels this one wasn’t
forced or awkward. A large part of that is likely due to Kevin’s detailed
outlining. Before Kevin had written the first word for the series, he would
have already known the events set forth in this prequel. Whether you’ve read
the other books in the series, or Veiled Alliances is your
first journey to the Seven Suns, it’s definitely worth reading.
3. Jeaniene
Frost - Halfway to
the Grave. – Urban Fantasy with Romance.
Cat, the kick-butt heroine, is half-vampire. She hunts the
undead in an effort to find and slay her father for destroying her mother’s
life. Then she's captured by Bones, a
vampire and vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.
Cat agrees to help Bones cull the undead population in return for his help
finding and exterminating her father. Life and unlife is never that simple
though, and Cat finds Bones more tempting than any man with a heartbeat.
I also finished this one in a day. The tone and take no prisoners heroine
reminded me a lot of Gini Koch’s Alien Series. One of my
friend loaned me this book at the beach when I’d run out of other stories. It
was the first time I’d read anything by Ms. Frost. I’m definitely looking up
the rest of the series.
4. Sloane
Taylor – French
Tart (Naughty Ladies of Nice) – Erotic Romance.
Donatienne Dubois pins her hope for a “normal” life on an
exclusive cooking school in Nice, France. But one by one her expectations are
shattered. Donni’s lifesaver is a bad boy too hot not to handle. For his part,
Mark Anderson, is incognito, hating every moment. To pose as a student while
keeping tabs on a rich wild child is his version of hell, until he partners
with the dish of Crème Brulée good enough to eat.
I love Sloane’s writing and her ability to transport a
reader to the exotic locations she sets her stories and her characters.
French Tart, a novella, lived up to all my expectations for
Sloane’s work. I especially loved the foul-mouthed parrot that develops a crush
on Donni.
5. John E.
Douglas and Mark Olshaker – The Cases that Haunt
Us – Nonfiction.
Certain homicide cases maintain an undeniable, almost
mystical hold on the public imagination. This analysis of seven of the most
notorious murder cases in the history of crime -- from the Whitechapel murders
to JonBenet Ramsey -- often contradicts conventional wisdom and legal
decisions. Using modern profiling techniques, the book reexamines cases we all
know, and sometimes reaches fascinating and haunting results.
This is one of the many resource books I’m using for
Schrodinger Effect. The writers take you through the
criminal investigative process for each of the cases, noting how preconceptions
or just investigative mismanagement affected the ultimate outcomes. A great
resource and well-handled and sensitive narrative given the topics.
6. Brenda Novak - Whiskey
Creek series – Romance
Brenda Novak’s romances are great examples of the genre. One
of the things I like about this series is that the first book, When
Lightning Strikes, introduces us to a group of high school friends
approximately 10 years after graduation, and each book in the series (so far)
has focused on one character’s happily ever after. The world Brenda Novak builds has a high
degree of continuity and characters from the other books continue to interact
as they really would have in any small community.
7. Lee
Child – Jack Reacher series, Books 1-5 – Thrillers. Jack Reacher is a retired
Military Police officer with a monster case of wanderlust.
His travels seem to leave him in the right places at the right time to become
enmeshed in kidnapping, murder and mayhem. Given his military background and
specialized MP training, Reacher’s highly competent in many areas, and more
than holds his own against FBI and Secret Service experts. I’ve listened to
these books on audiotape. Dick Hill is a fabulous narrator.
8. David
Farland – Drawing on the Power of Resonance in Writing
– Nonfiction.
A must read for every writer. Dave has long spoken about by
drawing power from stories that came before; resonating with their readers'
experiences, and by resonating within their own works. Frankly, Dave could sell
this book for LOTS more and it would still be worth every penny. He teaches you
exactly what resonance is and how to use it to make your stories more powerful
with examples of how it is used in literature and other art forms, and how one
writer, J. R. R. Tolkien, mastered it in his work.
9. John
Scalzi, Editor - METAtropolis – anthology –
Post-apocalyptic fantasy
Audible was running one of its book specials, and out of the
audiobooks I could get for $4.95 was this anthology. I have to admit I picked
this one because it had one of the longer run times (I drive about 3 hours a
day), and the high quality writers who contributed to the work.
METAtropolis is a shared-world anthology,
where all the stories take place in the same created urban fantasy world, but
it’s more than that. A typical anthology has a common theme – ex. Humorous
horror stories – and the writers have little direction beyond that. A braided
anthology has a through line and character. This is another step up in
continuity. The five writers collaborated on the world. They all had the same
blue print when they set their characters free and let them interact with this
world.
10. Harlan
Cobin – Six Years – Thriller/ Suspense
Grammar
Girl, Mignon Fogarty, recommended Six Years on her podcast.
I met Mignon several years ago at Superstars Writing Seminar,
and have often liked the books she’s recommended. She didn’t let me down.
Again, this was an audiobook for me.
Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the
love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by
throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping
his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her
life with her new husband, Todd. Then Jake comes across Todd’s obituary. At the
funeral, Jake gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife…but she’s not Natalie. As Jake
searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to
unravel. His search for the woman who broke his heart, who lied to him, soon
puts his life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be
based on a carefully constructed fiction.
This is another “can’t put down story.” It’s not a romance
since the love story plays second fiddle to the mystery Jake’s trying to
unravel. Cobin handles both the romance and the mystery with a deft touch. The
characters are believable and I was rooting for Jake to solve the mystery, find
the girl and live happily ever after. But you’ll have to read it to find out if
he did.
Here's another book that will stand the test of time.
To restore Daphne to her nymph form, Apollo must
bargain with treacherous Hades, but Death may demand too high a
price.
Shot by a golden arrow, Apollo has only truly loved Daphne.
He visits her each eclipse, and longs for reunion. He seeks the Fates’s advice
and learns he may finally restore Daphne to her true water nymph form by
enlisting other gods’ assistance.
If Apollo fails Daphne will be lost to him forever. To
regain Daphne’s soul, Apollo must deal with the devil, King of the Underworld.
Love-torn and treacherous, Hades would slay the pantheon to remain with his
wife for the full year. Apollo’s quest might just give Hades the leverage he
needs to do so.
Will Pheobus Apollo surrender the sun to try to reclaim
love? Can he break Daphne’s curse or will his attempts destroy her forever?
Will she still love him after millennia as a soulless tree? With the end of the
quest see Apollo rising, or in sunset?
To read an excerpt from Apollo Rising
please click HERE.
To read excerpts from Nancy DiMauro's
other Musa Publishing books, please click HERE.
Though July is closely associated with
barbeque pits and charred bits of meat, there is another way to get great tasting
BBQ Chicken or pork…without risking the loss of facial hair.
