Thursday, February 5, 2015

Judge & Jury: 3 Stars

 Judge & Jury

Judge & Jury by James Patterson and Andrew Gross

A co-worker recommended this one to me because the audiobook is read by Joe Matenga and she thought he did an excellent job. She was not wrong. He was a fabulous reader and his interpretation of the book alone kept me captivated.

In this novel, Andie  DeGrasse gets served with jury duty.  As a single mother who's an aspiring actress, she has no desire to serve so she tries to get let go.  Instead she gets selected for one of the highest profile cases in the nation. FBI agent Nick Pellisante finally captured Mafia boss Dominic Cavello and he was finally going to be judged for his crimes.  Or was he?

After a devastating attack on the jury, Andie and Nick are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, hoping that Cavello will eventually get what he deserves.  But since it looks like the law may not be able to make that happen, the two decide its up to them. 

This book was a fun, light read, with an excellent narrator. The story was unique and I never predicted where it was going next.

Unfortunately, I am not sure I will read another Patterson book.  The characters were never really likeable and their chemistry never resonated with me. Their characters and relationship felt forced and awkward. It was hard to get into the book when you didn't really care about the characters. 

Rating: PG-13

Recommended for those who enjoy: action, adventure and mildly scary stories.



Monday, February 2, 2015

Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I Haven't Read Yet That I Own

It's time again for The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday. This week's theme is: Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I Haven't/Want To Read From X Genre.

I decided to go with books I can't believe I haven't read that I own (so no particular genre).  If you play along with my meme, Making Up For Monday, you may recall that a last week we counted all the physical books we own.  Mine was 408, because I clearly have a problem.  This may be because I haven't read all of these books yet!  So, after being forced to look at all of these books last week, I decided to write up my top ten based on books I have here at my fingertips.  I have no excuse for not having read them yet.

1. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk


2. Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell


3. The Princess Bride by William Goldmann


4. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo


5. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
 

6. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald


7. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell


8. Empire Falls by Richard Russo


9. Miles To Go by Richard Paul Evans


10. Mr. Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Making Up For Monday

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question:
Have you ever chosen a book over sleep?  If yes, what book and was it worth it?

As an avid reader, the answer to this is absolutely!  I have told myself the little lie of "ok, just one more chapter and then I will sleep" about a thousand times. It is almost always worth it.

The last book I really remember sacrificing sleep just to finish was The Shadow of The Wind. I think I finished that book around 3:00 am and it was totally worth it. 



What about you?  What books have taken away your precious beauty sleep?