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Book Review - Irish Lore and Legends Selected and Edited by S.M.W. Dunnit

Book Description

Readers ...will marvel at the variety of characters, some familiar and archetypal, others mysterious and provacative, who inhabit the Irish imagination. In these seventeen tales, nobility mingle with simple folk; princess change into swans; and giants and fairies (known as Little People) are ubiquitous -- helpful in some takes, menacing in others.

...Each of the stories in this collection fairly glistens with wisdom, wit, or some wonderous happening.

We learn of fairy castles deep inside mountains, of quaking bogs, and burning forests. We watch the men of Ulset overcome a curse to rise victorious in battle. In two different tales, we see a hero and heroine suffer trials that lead to transformation and love. The story of Owain belongs to the King Arthur cycle and reminds us of Lancelot. There are dragons, of course, along with druids, monks, and nuns.

***

May 16


I've read this off and on for the last year and finally finished it today. The tales are wonderful and I enjoyed most of them thoroughly. I love reading myths, legends, and the like and haven't read too many from Ireland, so it was really entertaining to me. I highly recommend this small selection of tales!

5 stars

Book Review - A Witch Alone by Margaret Higgins

Book Description

There is evil abroad in the sleepy East Anglian village of Talbot Magna - an evil that transcends rationality, that reaches back to preChristian times, that feeds on the Power of Darkness....

Kate Hargreaves, visiting her sister and brother-in-law in Talbot Magna, cannot believe that the 20th century would lend itself to indiscriminate cabalistic malevolence, or that anyone in the drowsy, centuries-old village would be involved in the eerie charade that was taking place.

But when Kate, trying to save the life of the man she loves, finds herself drawn into a vortex of violence, she finally faces an invidious evil that even her 20th century rationality cannot dispell.

***

May 12

An interesting anthropological look into small town life in England, which also has a coven of witches who appear to rule the place. The book felt pretty timeless and kept my interest throughout. I'm glad I read it but don't really have much else to say about it. :)

4 stars

Book Reviews - Miscellaneous Astrology Books

Book Description
In this wickedly funny guide, professional astrologer Hazel Dixon-Cooper casts off sugar-coated astrology in favor of exploring the maladjusted side of the universe. If you want the inside scoop, the real deal, the lowdown on each sun sign, then look no further.

It's time to forget those traditional astrology books where Sagittarians are gregarious, Capricorns are ambitious, and Pisceans are dreamers. Instead, enter a world where Archers are loud-mouthed bores, Goats are pompous social climbers, and Fish are chronically helpless. Dixon-Cooper debunks the myths, reveals the flaws, and examines the dubious virtues of each sun sign. Discover how to use your own inner brat to outwit bullies, outmaneuver manipulators, and win those endless games that lovers play. Learn how to deal with those dysfunctional people you encounter every day, including how to:

• contain a Ram's oversized ego
• calm a raging Bull
• keep a fickle Twin faithful

Irreverent, biting, and laugh-out-loud funny, Born on a Rotten Day exaggerates the bad, exorcises the good, and puts a new spin on the age-old question -- what's your sign?

***

Fun and funny, this is a good little book that will interest and entertain astrology novices to the advanced. While I don't think Pisces totally describes me, I also read Virgo (which is where my Moon sign is) and think that a combination of the two is fairly accurate. So I'd recommend reading not only your sun sign, but also your moon sign and rising sign (ascendant) too.

4 stars

***

Book Description
It’s about time for Friends on a Rotten Day, the first astrology book to focus entirely on friendships. After all, lovers come and go, but our girlfriends sustain, nurture, and protect us from cradle to grave. Friends on a Rotten Day explores the supportive, uproarious, and sometimes complex, relationships between girlfriends through an in-depth astrological analysis of each Sun sign. Dixon-Cooper shows readers what makes their friend tick on a soul level, revealing each friend’s inner character, friendship style, love style (including what to do or not do if a pal picks a loser), and party style. She offers suggestions on the best gifts to buy your friend, how to calm her down, cheer her up, and return the unconditional support and love that she gives you. Readers will discover why their Gemini buddy changes her mind so often, why the Virgo gal pal sweats the small stuff, why a Scorpio girlfriend sometimes seems distant, and why the Leo chum needs frequent headpats. They’ll also learn why a Pisces pal should never be forced to make a snap decision, why a Capricorn girlfriend might seem too serious for her own good, the truth about a Taurus friend’s hidden anxieties, the competitive side of an Aries chum, what causes Cancer pal’s emotional train wrecks, why the Aquarius buddy has a rebellious side, and why the Sagittarius girlfriend has occasional angry outbursts. "Dixon-Cooper reveals what every astrologer knows but none has dared say. (She) takes us on a seriously humorous ride through the land of truth and consequences. I highly recommend it." (Suzanne White)

***

Overall, I thought this was even better than Born on a Rotten Day. Pisces in this book described me better than in Born on... and I liked that the author included Moon signs, guy friends, and Venus signs (although I've never had luck with Venus sign descriptions, they never describe me). Although not as funny as Born, it seems far more accurate and I thought that the other signs sounded like my friends and family also. I'd highly recommend this book.

5 stars

***

Book Description
Colorstrology is a fascinating blend of astrology, numerology, and color theory that offers exciting new insights about our lives and relationships. Written by renowned astrologer Michele Bernhardt with the artists at Pantone, Inc., the global authority on color, the system features 366 "birthday colors" that illustrate who we are and how we behave.

For example, people born on January 29 (like Oprah Winfrey) share the color Keepsake Lilac; they are "ambitious" and "tender" and "born to make a difference . . . it is not uncommon to find [them] in front of an audience." People born on May 11 (like Salvador Dal ) share the color Green Tea. They "have a vivid imagination and can see new ideas and concepts more readily than others."

Using Colorstrology, you'll quickly understand how to enhance your best personality traits with your birthday color. This full-color book features detailed profiles of everyone you know plus 366 perforated swatches so you can take your birthday color wherever you go.

PANTONE , COLORSTROLOGY , and other Pantone, Inc. trademarks are the property of Pantone, Inc.

***

Colorstrology really doesn't say all that much about 'what your birthday color says about you.' But it is a great book to look at what colors you are most attracted to and what they might mean about you. The whole birthday aspect of it is a general description and the book is best used for figuring out what you might need in your life by what colors speak to you the most. Not to mention it could really help you out if you're thinking of redecorating. :)

5 stars

***

Book Description
Any name is magickal if it's the right name for the person, animal, character, object, group, or event. How do you know if it is the "right" name? By examining the elements it's composed of: number value, astrological correspondences, mythological associations, historical significance, spiritual implications, origin, and meaning. Each of these components contributes its own energy and vibrations to a name.

Your Magickal Name is an indispensable guide that covers all the naming basics, including: * Reasons for choosing a magickal name.

• Customs and rituals associated with naming.
• The folklore of the mysterious powers attributed to names.
• How to create original names.
• Methods for discovering the most appropriate name.
• How to use the science of numerology, the art of astrology, and the mythology associated with the names of popular goddesses and gods to help you find the perfect name every time.
• And much more.

***

I was really disappointed in this book and was hoping for something way more helpful. Everything in this book you can find on the Internet easily and didn't cover anything new. Yes, the naming rituals were interesting, but this book didn't help me out at all. It's basically a beginner's guide to astrology, numerology, a little mythology, and has a decent list of male and female names, and that's it. Nothing that could help me with a magickal name in the least. It's more for finding a name for fictional books or a baby or something, and NOT anything magickal.

1.5 stars

Book Review - Night Life (Nocturne City, Book One) by Caitlin Kittredge

Book Description

The first book in a thrilling, addictive new series by a talented new voice in dark fantasy. Welcome to Nocturne City, where werewolves, black magicians, and witches prowl the streets at night…

Among them is Luna Wilder, a tough-as-nails police officer whose job is to keep the peace. As an Insoli werewolf, Luna travels without a pack and must rely on instinct alone. And she’s just been assigned to find the ruthless killer behind a string of ritualistic murders—a killer with ties to an escaped demon found only in legend…until now.

But when she investigates prime suspect Dmitri Sandovsky, she can’t resist his wolfish charms. Pack leader of a dangerous clan of Redbacks, Dimitri sends her animal instincts into overdrive and threatens her fiercely-guarded independence. But Luna and Dimiri will need to rely on each other as they’re plunged into an ancient demon underworld and pitted against an expert black magician with the power to enslave them for eternity…

***

May 11

After skimming some mixed reviews at Amazon, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Night Life. I thought that Luna was a great character; she had the perfect blend of good and bad personality traits, without being a complete b!tch or too perfect, as some urban fantasy heroines can be. Of course there will be some who find her b!tchy, but I didn't and she's what I think Chris Marie Green and Kit Whitfield were each trying for with their heroines in their respective books, The Night Babylon Series and Benighted. The other characters: Sunny, Dmitri, and Mac all added to the story and were great also, especially Dmitri.

The plot held my interest and moved at a swift pace without too much action or getting too bogged down with details. I cannot wait until the next book comes out to read what happens with Luna next!

5 stars

Book Review - The Vision by Heather Graham

Book Description
The gift of sight comes at a dangerous price

When Deep Down Salvage begins the hunt for the Josephine Marie, it seems like any other dive . . . until Genevieve Wallace sees the vision of a dead woman in the water, her vacant eyes boring into Genevieve's very soul.

Terrified and confused by what she saw, Genevieve is haunted by the memory, but no one -- including her diving partner Thor Thompson -- believes her. When a dead woman washes up on shore, everyone assumes this is Genevieve's "vision," but Genevieve knows the truth: the dead woman is not the ghost she saw but another victim of the same brutal killer.

Sensing that the threat of death is coming closer, she and Thor are forced to acknowledge that some things can't be explained, but simply are. Somehow they have to link a violent past with a present-day mystery or risk losing themselves in an abyss of terror.

***

May 5

While at the beginning I wasn't too sure I would like Thor - he was too arrogant and jerky - and then I wasn't too sure about Gen - can you say prickly? - I ended up liking them and their story all the same. Actually the plot and mystery is what really kept me reading. I liked that it was harder to figure out whodunnit then the others in this 'series,' but I did have it narrowed down to two suspects and did pick the right one. Although I'm still not sure exactly why they did it, but then again, when you're a serial killer, do you really need a reason?

The only thing that really bothered me was everyone's outlook on Gen. She's a frickin' Mary-Sue when it goes to someone else's point-of-view or if they're talking about her when she's not around, and I really got sick of hearing how sensual she is, how perfect, how tall and slim, how her smile is perfect - gag me. When it was through her eyes, everything was fine and I liked her, but really, I can only take so much of hearing how perfect she is. At one point, a local musician said something to the affect that she's Key West's 'jewel' (or gem, something like that) and it was like come on, give me a break. Talk about overkill. There was nothing in the book to even get the impression that she's that well known about the island.

Anyways, aside from my rant, I liked it and thought that the mystery aspect was the best part of the book and it kept me guessing and hooked until the end.

4 stars

Book Review - Haunted by Heather Graham

Book Description
Love is everywhere. . .

When does a gift become a curse?

Matt Stone doesn't believe in ghosts. But there are those who are convinced his home, a historic Virginia estate that dates back to the Revolutionary War, is haunted. Pressured to get at the truth about some strange happenings at Melody House, he agrees to let Harrison Investigations explore the house. But he isn't ready for beautiful, intriguing Darcy Tremayne.

As a paranormal investigator, Darcy has learned to believe in the unbelievable. And she's given Matt fair warning: sometimes people don't like the skeletons she finds. She never dreamed that the warning would apply to herself. For she's about to discover that Melody House holds much more than a simple mystery form the distant past. What it holds is a very real and lethal danger, one that will cast her into a struggle against the worlds of both the living and the dead.

***

May 4

I picked up Haunted after I had finished The Seance, and I was unaware that they both feature Adam and Harrison Investigations. I'm all set to read The Vision that I just picked up from the library. Even though I've completely juggled around the order of when they were written, it's lucky for me that they are standalones. In the prologue it gave background information about Adam's son, Josh, who was mentioned just briefly in The Seance, and he plays a big part in this book, so I was happy to find out all that information before I get to next book that features Harrison Investigations.

Now to get to the main story in Haunted...
Even though with the way Darcy was written you would think she was a Mary-Sue, she wasn't and I liked her just fine. Now Matt on the other hand, well he was a jerk, plain and simple. I never could like him much and that detracted a lot from the book. It seems that Heather Graham must make the male lead a hard-core skeptic that just will not believe (until the end of course) in anything paranormal and thinks the female lead is crazy or delusional or something. It would be nice if it was reversed or if maybe, just maybe, the hero is open-minded enough to say, well maybe there is 'something' out there that cannot be proven. *gasp* Is that even possible? Can a hero ever truly be open-minded? Not in these books. He has to be so narrow-minded that his thought-blocks must fit neatly into their right-shaped holes (e.g. triangle block into triangle hole, etc.).

I really enjoyed the whole Darcy/Josh/Adam/Ghost hunting thing. I thought the author did a good job describing how Darcy went about finding out about the ghosts and that's what made this book good. I really did like Darcy a lot and she was a sympathetic character who stood up for herself and acted like an adult with poise and class (unlike some other character I could mention). The mystery did keep me guessing because I was never quite sure who the ghost was or what had happened, although I had narrowed down who was behind everything to two people, leaning more on the actual culprit (yay me!), for lack of suspects. So overall, the mystery was very good, though I wish Ms. Graham would bring in more people so it isn't as easy to figure out. All in all, not as good as The Seance, but a good and entertaining read.

3.5 stars

I forgot to mention that there were tons of editing problems, which seem to be a mainstay in H.G.'s books. Once Clint's name is changed to Cliff and Josh was referred to as Matt, plus numerous other things that cropped up everywhere.

Book Review - To Die For by Linda Howard

Book Description
Blair Mallory lives the good life. She’s pretty, confident, and the owner of a thriving up-scale fitness center. But in the shadow of success, a troubled member of the club develops a strange fixation on Blair, imitating her style and dress. Matters take a darker turn when the look-alike is shot dead–and Blair witnesses the horror.

As the media speculates on the tawdry details of the homicide and pushes Blair into the harsh spotlight, she locks horns with police lieutenant Wyatt Bloodsworth. He wants to lead an investigation without interference, while Blair is determined to probe the dead woman’s life on her own. But when someone begins to menace Blair with mounting threats, Wyatt takes notice: Was this murder indeed a lethal case of mistaken identity–and was Blair the intended victim?

***

May 2

Hmm, I'm having a hard time describing how I feel about this book. I liked it enough, Blair was a decent character, but there was something (or things) missing. I'm not one of those who hate first person narratives (I really have no preference - both first and third person narratives are fine with me, as long as they work for the book), but for some reason it felt weird in this book and didn't quite work for me. Also, I don't know how I feel about Wyatt. His reason for leaving Blair two years ago was lame and I can't believe she let him off the hook so easily; not to mention he was rather one-dimensional. The mystery was hardly that and it seemed as if the author forgot all about someone trying to kill Blair until the end, deadline was near, and just added some cockamamie, loony-tune ending that was a total let down and came from left field. Not to mention, the whole someone-wants-to-kill-Blair thing was pushed aside for all the petty arguing and sex. Now I liked Blair giving Wyatt a hard time and all, but some of the stuff she said or did was overkill and the editor needed to trim a good fifty or so pages of it out of the book. It didn't help that going into the book, I thought it was a more serious romantic suspense, which is what I really wanted to read at the time.

Some of my petty annoyances with the book came fairly early on: I don't get why Blair (and/or the author) thought Jason Carson or Jenni Mallory rhymed. Now if his name was Jason Cayson, I'd understand, or Jenni Menni, but just because Jason and Carson both end with 'son,' it doesn't rhyme because it's the same thing. I don't know if I'm saying that right but oh well. My other thing was that Blair couldn't wear some underwear because the bra got ruined. Uh, okay. Now I like my undies to match but that wouldn't mean I'd never wear the underwear again because the bra that matched got ruined. That's just snobby and stupid. Yeah, I know, ridiculous things to find annoying in the book, but we all have something. LoL

After I finished the book and went to Amazon I saw that there's a sequel. I'm not sure if I'm up for another trip into Blair's mind or not, but if I come across it real cheap or someone gives it to me, I might read it. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, I did, but I liked Blair up to a point, but when it got to around page 250, she was just a bit too much for a 378 page book. Maybe if we weren't in her head the whole time, or the book was shorter, I would have liked the book better.

3.25 stars

***

Here's part of an Amazon review I liked:

'Wyatt had stayed away from his soul mate for two years and only came running with an engagement ring when he thought she had been murdered. How long would he have stayed away if nothing had happened to Blair? Also, Blair was supposedly only a 'dumb blonde' when it suited her. But I question the intelligence of anyone who thinks someone who cuts her brake line is just stupid and someone who shoots her with intent to kill is just a nitwit. I wonder if these things bothered anyone else. Still, these problems did not take too much away from my enjoyment of the book.'