Book Review: Touch Of Power

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Touch Of Power CoverBook: Touch Of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Published January 2012 by MIRA|Pages: 400

Where I Got It: nook store

Series: Healer #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

You can find Touch Of Power on goodreads & Maria V. Snyder on Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary:

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life…

What I Thought:

It was only a matter of time before I started Snyder’s Power series, because I’m such a big fan of her other series.  So, here’s the thing: I liked it, but not as much as I liked her other series.

There’s something interesting about a plague that led to healers being hunted.  And all of the lilies!  I liked how they were introduced and what they do and even some of the studies done on them.  The history of the plague and everything that unfolded after it started popping up was really interesting and one of my favorite parts of the book.

I also liked the boarding school for nobles, and the histories between all of them.  Oh, and how magic worked in this world!  I really liked all of the different abilities the magicians had.  There are so many different kinds of magic, and it’s really cool that there’s such a range in magical abilities.

The characters were fine, but I didn’t feel as connected to them the way I feel connected to the characters in her other series.  And while I liked this world, I also wasn’t as pulled into this world as I was with her series.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked Touch Of Power and the different kinds of magic we see in the book.  I also liked the plague and it’s history (and consequences).  It’s definitely my least favorite book of Snyder’s, but I still am curious about what will happen next.  Touch Of Power gets 3 stars.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish. Every week, bloggers from all over are invited to share their own Top Ten List based on the topic of the week.  You can find all Top Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Tuesday Header

Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry

This is the perfect topic for me.  Seriously, it is, because there quite a few books that have made me cry!  I cry pretty easily, so I don’t know if I’m the best judge of what will make you cry, but I’m still going to share my list on books that you need to have a box of kleenex for.  Limiting myself to 10 is going to be so hard…because I could easily do another list.  Not even kidding.

  1. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.  If you don’t cry when reading this book, you are probably void of emotion.  Because every single time I read this book, I cry even harder than I did the last time I read it.
  2. Hate List by Jennifer Brown.  I was still crying 10 minutes after I finished this emotional roller-coaster of a book.
  3. Still Alice by Lisa Genova.  Because seeing Alice go from college professor to being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and how much she truly forgot over the course the book…very, very heart-breaking.
  4. The Breathing Series by Rebecca Donovan.  I could do all three books individually, but since they all made me cry, it seemed fair to put all them together.  Let me tell you, by the time I was finished with the last book, I had a pile of kleenex next to me.
  5. In Honor by Jessi Kirby.  I was crying by the end, of course, but it’s rare for me to cry at the BEGINNING of the book…and Honor grieving over her brother and trying to honor his last, dying wish…it’s no wonder I couldn’t help but cry!
  6. The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.  It’s definitely one of my favorite books when it comes to a character grieving over the loss of someone important, and I laughed and cried and laughed while I cried.  I totally related to Bailey and her grandma, and I was so sad they lost Lennie.
  7. If I Stay/Where She Went by Gayle Forman.  I dare you to not cry when reading these books.  Because you really can’t help it.  They’re both so emotional I don’t even know where to start…so just have the kleenex ready.
  8. Allegiant by Veronica Roth.  While it’s also possible to want to break things with Allegiant, I also couldn’t stop crying once I started.
  9. With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent.  Because Kaylee experiencing what she did in order to save her friends and family was so sad.  Her sacrifice really was heart-breaking.
  10. Boundless by Cynthia Hand.  Because a certain moment caused tears of sadness, and then a few pages later, another moment turned the sad tears into happy tears…I really should have a box of kleenex nearby when I finish a series…
  11. Me Since You by Laura Weiss.  I just finished the ARC of this one the other day, and I couldn’t help but cry for Rowan and her family.  One moment changed their lives forever, and my heart broke for them.

Currently Obsessed With #1: January 2014

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I’m actually really excited to be doing this post!  One of my goals this year was to get a little more personal, and talk about what’s going on and what I’m really into, and now seemed like a really good time to start!  This is actually inspired by a few different blogs where there’s a look back at their week (or month) and this is just my version of that.

First: Let It Go in 25 different languages!

It’s actually awesome to see it in so many languages!  Frozen is pretty awesome, and when this version of Let It Go came up at a friend’s birthday dinner, I knew I would have to look at it!  It even says what the different languages are, and it’s astounding that someone (I’m assuming someone from Disney, since it’s on their youtube channel) put it together.

Speaking of Frozen, I’m also obsessed with the soundtrack!  I don’t usually feel compelled to buy movie soundtracks, but I fell in love with the soundtrack while watching Frozen, and now I can’t stop listening to it!  It’s also one of the best Disney soundtracks. Seriously, it is.

I’ve also been crocheting a bit, and I’ve made some hats and headbands.

January Crochet Collage

I also want to make a blanket, so I’ve been looking at patterns.  A blanket is definitely a big project, but since I want to try new things, a blanket seemed like a good idea.  It is a little intimidating, because that’s a lot of yarn!  I think yarn sales will be my best friend for a while.  I’m not completely sure about colors yet- I like the idea of a rainbow, or something a bit more gradient.  But I am determined to do a blanket…

I’ve been re-listening to the We’re Alive podcast, and it’s definitely one of my favorite podcasts.  I’m really bummed that it’s ending this summer, but I guess it had to come to an end eventually.  I’ve been listening to it for a couple years now, and it’s weird to think that it’s coming to end.  But there’s also that part of me that wants to know how it ends, you know?

I’m also loving Welcome To Night Vale, which is another podcast I’m really into right now.  It’s a podcast I always look forward to listening to, and it’s actually hysterical to listen to.

I thought this post on BookRiot was really interesting.  To sum up, it’s about how people are judged for how much they read, and it got me thinking about reading and people being all judgy and stuff. Speaking of readers, I love this infographic thingy I’ve floating around pinterest lately.  I really need to take a closer look at it.  Maybe I’ll even talk about it one of these days!  Also: I love the idea of a book jar!  I have a mason jar, now I just need some pretty paper.  That I can get while I’m looking at the sale yarn at Michael’s or something.  I’ve also seen this floating around pinterest, and I love the idea of using it because my TBR pile is overwhelming.

You know how I was going to start exercising?  Yeah…that hasn’t happened.  I was sick for a week or so last month, and I just never got into the habit.  Now that I’m not sick, I am totally going to be doing the Blogilates workouts.  I’ve done a few, and I’m always ridiculously sore the next day, but it’s worth it, because I’ll be healthier and taking care of myself and all that jazz.

I think that’s all for my current obsessions, but I’ll be back with the usual book reviews and stuff!

And I think I shall leave everyone with the story of my life right now:

Book Review: Stung

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Stung CoverBook: Stung by Bethany Wiggins

Published April 2013 by Bloomsbury|Pages: 304

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: Stung #1

Genre: YA…I’m not sure WHAT genre this falls in, but dystopic/sci-fi/post-apocalyptic seem to fit best

You can find Stung on goodreads & Bethany Wiggins on her website and her blog

Goodreads Summary:

There is no cure for being stung.

Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.

Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.

Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

What I Thought:

I’ve been wanting to read Stung for a while, and I’m glad I finally read it!  It’s definitely a different take on a post-apocalyptic story, given that bees take center stage.

I really liked how everything was explained, and I found the idea of bee flu interesting but scary.  And that the bee flu has unintended consequences…it’s something I can totally see happening.  Not the bee flu necessarily, but I can totally see something coming up and people needing a vaccine that goes horribly wrong.  I found everyone’s reaction to those vaccinated for the bee flu to be pretty believable. I did like how everything came together and how believable everything was.

I really liked Fiona, and her actions throughout the book are totally understandable, given everything that’s happened over the last few years.  She has no recollection of what happen, just that she woke up thinking she was a 13-year-old girl, and is confused as to what’s going on.  I thought that worked really well (for reasons I won’t give away), because characters with memory loss can be annoying.  But this wasn’t the case at all!  Especially because we find out what’s going on when Fiona finds out what’s going on.  I also liked the flashbacks and how they were in italics, making them stand out. Especially because she remembers things throughout the book.

Stung has a lot going on, but I liked that we weren’t overwhelmed by details.  And that there’s a good balance between all of the action-y stuff and the learning about the world stuff.  I’m not the biggest fan of Bowden and Fiona, mostly because I was more interested in what was going on.  Still, I think I might warm up to them as a couple in the next one.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Stung, and how it’s about the honeybees going extinct, and cloned bees to take their place, which leads to the bee flu and a vaccine that has complications.  Stung is definitely different, and I like that it’s unique but also really believable.  Stung gets 4 stars.

ARC Book Review: The Drowned Forest

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The Drowned Forest CoverBook: The Drowned Forest by Kristopher Reisz

Expected Publication is February 8 by Flux|Expected Number Of Pages: 263

Where I Got It: from netgalley.com, which hasn’t influenced my review in any way.  Promise!

Series: None

Genre: YA Horror/Paranormal/Contemporary

You can find The Drowned Forest on goodreads and you can find Kristopher Reisz on twitter and his website

Goodreads Summary:

Holly and Jane have jumped off the bridge over their Alabama reservoir hundreds of times. But one day, Holly’s jump goes wrong. Her body never comes up, but something else does—a sad creature of mud, full of confusion and sorrow. Jane knows it’s Holly, somehow, trapped and mixed up with the river. But Holly doesn’t know she’s dead, and that anything she touches will die, too . . . even those she loves the most.

Meanwhile, Jane’s family doesn’t believe what she knows about Holly. They are threatening to place Jane in a mental institution, and her pastor thinks she is crossing over into the Devil’s playground. In spite of her community’s doubts, Jane can tell it’s Holly, and she has to put her to rest.

What I Thought:

I’m not sure where to start with The Drowned Forest!  Parts of it were really interesting, but I also found parts of it confusing.

So Jane’s friend Holly dies, but it’s a while before you even figure it out.  You know something happened to Holly, but it honestly took me awhile to figure out what happened to her.  The book definitely felt a little confusing at first, because Jane kept thinking about Holly and what happened to her, but I had no clue who Holly was or what happened to her.  Granted, I didn’t read the summary before reading the book, and that could have helped a lot in terms of what was going on.

Still, something about the beginning seemed confusing, and it was really hard to get into at first.  I love the idea that Holly doesn’t realize she’s dead, and kills everything she touches.  There’s this folklore or whatever surrounding this forest in a lake, and that was really intriguing, especially because of Jane’s beliefs and how she deals with the death of her friend.

I felt like The Drowned Forest could have been a lot more creepy and haunting, and it definitely had the potential for creepy and haunting and gothic.  That aspect of the book just wasn’t there for me.

Jane is an interesting character, and I liked that she stuck to her beliefs while also meeting some people who challenged them.  She was very determined to figure out what happened to Holly, which I appreciated.  But something about it didn’t click with me.  So, Jane runs away from home, and I find it weird that there’s little mention of her parents after she leaves home.  As for the other characters, they didn’t make much of an impression.

Let’s Rate It:

The Drowned Forest was an okay read.  There was something confusing and jumbled about The Drowned Forest (well, to me) and I definitely thought it could have been a lot creepier.  But I did like the folklore surrounding the lake and the things and people in it. The Drowned Forest gets 2 stars.

ARC Book Review: Such Sweet Sorrow

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Such Sweet Sorrow CoverBook: Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout

Expected Publication is February 4, 2014 by Entangled Teen|Expected Number Of Pages: 304

Series: None

Genre: YA Paranormal/Mythology Re-Telling/Shakespeare Re-Telling

You can find Such Sweet Sorrow on goodreads & you can find Jenny Trout on twitter, facebook, her blog and her website

Goodreads Summary:

Never was there a tale of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo…

But true love never dies. Though they’re parted by the veil between the world of mortals and the land of the dead, Romeo believes he can restore Juliet to life, but he’ll have to travel to the underworld with a thoroughly infuriating guide.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, may not have inherited his father’s crown, but the murdered king left his son a much more important responsibility—a portal to the Afterjord, where the souls of the dead reside. When the determined Romeo asks for help traversing the treacherous Afterjord, Hamlet sees an opportunity for adventure and the chance to avenge his father’s death.

In an underworld filled with leviathan monsters, ghoulish shades, fire giants, and fierce Valkyrie warriors, Hamlet and Romeo must battle their way through jealousy, despair, and their darkest fears to rescue the fair damsel. Yet finding Juliet is only the beginning, and the Afterjord doesn’t surrender souls without a price…

My Review:

I have no clue where to start with Such Sweet Sorrow!  This is the first time I’ve read a re-telling of Shakespeare- well, one that I’m aware of, because it’s entirely possible I’ve read one that was a lot more subtle.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, and the last (and only) time I’ve read either play was in high school, so it’s been well over 10 years since I’ve read either one, so I knew it would be an interesting read.

The reasons for Hamlet and Romeo for meeting up is interesting and really believable.  I thought their adventures in the Afterjord were pretty action-packed, and I liked the connection to Norse mythology, given that Romeo meets up with Hamlet.  While I remember the basics of both plays, there is quite a bit that is still fuzzy to me.  Still, I thought she did a great job with making them her own, while still staying true to the characters.

Trout did a great job keeping me interested for the entire book.  It did move a bit slow at times, but I didn’t mind, because I wanted to see if things would work out for Romeo and Juliet.  I can’t say I was surprised by the ending, even though a part of me was hoping it would work out differently.

As far as I know, Such Sweet Sorrow is a stand-alone, but there is something about the ending that makes me feel like there’s potential for a sequel.  While things are wrapped up, I was also left with the feeling that there is more to Hamlet and Romeo’s story.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked Such Sweet Sorrow!  Shakespeare isn’t my thing, but I was definitely interested in how Trout would manage to put Romeo, Juliet and Hamlet together, and I thought she did it really well!  It’s definitely a great book for Shakespeare fans.  Such Sweet Sorrow gets 3 stars.

ARC Book Review: Scintillate

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Scintillate CoverBook: Scintillate by Tracy Clark

Expected Publication is February 4, 2014  by Entangled Teen|Expected Number Of Pages: 304

Where I Got It: I got an advanced review copy from Entangled Teen, which hasn’t influenced my review in any way.  Promise!

Series: The Light Key Trilogy #1

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

You can find Scintillate on goodreads and Tracy Clark on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary:

A mighty flame follows a tiny spark

Cora Sandoval’s mother disappeared when she was five and they were living in Ireland. Since then, her dad has been more than overprotective, and Cora is beginning to chafe under his confines. But even more troubling is the colorful light she suddenly sees around people. Everyone, that is, except herself—instead, she glows a brilliant, sparkling silver.

As she realizes the danger associated with these strange auras, Cora is inexplicably drawn to Finn, a gorgeous Irish exchange student who makes her feel safe. Their attraction is instant, magnetic, and primal—but her father disapproves, and Finn’s mother orders him home to Ireland upon hearing he’s fallen in love. After a fight with her father, Cora flees to Ireland, both to follow Finn and to look for her missing mother.

There she meets another silver-haloed person and discovers the meaning of her newfound powers and their role in a conspiracy spanning centuries—one that could change mankind forever…and end her life.

My Review:

I’ve read quite a few paranormal books but Scintillate is definitely one of the more interesting and unique ones I’ve ever read! What makes Scintillate so interesting is that Cora can see auras after ending up in the hospital.  Add in her  thinking something is wrong but being dismissed by her dad, and you have a girl who is determined to figure out what is wrong with her on her own.

I’ll admit that when her dad dismissed her vision issues, I got annoyed!  Your daughter gets out of the hospital and tells you she’s seeing weird things, and you tell her you’ll take her to the doctor in a few days if it doesn’t clear up?  I know he’s a scientist and all, but I felt like he wasn’t concerned about it. Which is weird, given how protective he is of his daughter.  For a good chunk of the book, it doesn’t fit, but when you find out why she can see auras…I get why he’s protective, but if he had taken her a little more seriously, things might have gone a little differently.

Still, that her going to the hospital and then being able to see auras…I liked that there was something to trigger her ability.  And that having a rare aura is dangerous, given there’s another group with a pure white aura who the silver aura people are at odds with. What’s especially different is that those who have a pure white aura are the “bad guys” while having a silver aura means you’re one of the “good guys.”  If you were to look at things that way.  But it’s different, because it’s not what you’d expect in terms of colors and what they symbolize, but in Scintillate, it actually makes perfect sense.

I really liked how everything is introduced!  It felt very natural, and you weren’t overloaded on the bits and pieces of this world. I feel like there’s so much to learn about the world that Cora lives in, and I can’t wait to read the next book so I can learn more about the ability to see auras and everything that goes along with it.

I really liked Cora, and how determined she was to figure everything out.  She does seem pretty sheltered, which I can understand, given that her dad’s pretty protective because of her own aura.  I also thought Giovanni was interesting, because he knows so much more about this world than Cora does.  I’d actually like to see more of her two best friends, because I felt like they were only there to get her to Ireland.  And I’d really like to see her grandmother, because of her grandmother’s abilities.

As for Finn…I am not sure what to think of him!  He’s cool, and then he’s not, but then he kind of redeems himself, and so my feelings towards him are conflicted and slightly muddled.  Hopefully, my feelings toward him will become a bit more clear in the next book.

And speaking of Finn and Giovanni…I’m not sure how I feel about either of them as a romantic interest for Cora.  Giovanni, because we don’t see a lot of him, and Finn because of my conflicted feelings.  Still, I have the feeling Cora will end up with Finn.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Scintillate and how it was all about auras!  While I’m not sure about the romance or how Cora’s dad initially dismissed her ability to see auras, I think it’s one of the more interesting and unique paranormal books out there.  Scintillate gets 4 stars.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Worlds I Wouldn’t Want To Live In

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish. Every week, bloggers from all over are invited to share their own Top Ten List based on the topic of the week.  You can find all Top Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Tuesday Header

Top Ten Worlds I Wouldn’t Want To Live In

This is such a good topic!  Actually, this week, we had a choice of worlds we wouldn’t want to live in or characters we wouldn’t want to trade places with (if we don’t read books set in other worlds), but there are so many worlds I wouldn’t want to live that I decided to go with that option.

  1. Panem from The Hunger Games.  This is most definitely an obvious choice, but I still wouldn’t want to live there.
  2. Wherever A Song Of Fire And Ice is set.  There’s way too much going on in that world, and it doesn’t seem like a pleasant place to live.  Of course, this is based off the first book, because I could barely get through that one, much less the rest of the series.
  3. the U.S. in Delirium.  Because I don’t want surgery to make sure I don’t fall in love.  A world where love is considered a disease is one scary world.
  4. The world of Matched.  I have no desire to see how things turn out in the series after I read the second one ages ago, but I do not want to live in a world where things like music and art are limited to 100 books, and I most certainly do not want to live in a world where my life is completely mapped out.
  5. The world of The Silenced.  The parallels to the Holocaust were kind of scary, and being forced to be the same as everyone else?  Not a world I’d want to live in.
  6. The world of Unwind.  Not just because of the fictional 2nd civil war over reproductive rights, but because you see how both sides of an issue can go totally insane.  And the idea of being unwind?  I wouldn’t want to grow up in a world with that hanging over my head.
  7. Maxwell Academy from Variant.  So, Variant is a world where people are replaced with androids, and you have no idea why, since it’s seems like there are no plans for a third book any time soon.  I would not want to live in fear of becoming a robot or constantly be wondering if people I know are secretly robots.
  8. Pretty much any world Rachel Caine creates.  Because things go to hell in a hand basket pretty fast.  They’re fun to read, but to live in?  Not so much.
  9. The world of the Immortal Rules.  Human are seen as cattle, because vampires have taken over, and they pretty much rule the world, and if you’re not registered…well, you are out of luck.  And I definitely would not want to live in that world.
  10. The world of Divergent.  I really wouldn’t want to live in a world where I had to pick a faction, and then find out everything I’ve ever known is a lie.

Honorable Mentions- More worlds I would not want to live in: the worlds of When She Woke,  the Dire Earth Cycle, Pawn, Inside Out and Sky Jumpers

Gilmore Girls 3×14: Swan Song

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Swan Song originally aired February 11, 2003.  This episode was written by Daniel Palladino and was directed by Chris Long.

Gilmore Girls Season 3 Graphic

We open this episode with a Friday night dinner, where Emily has spent quite a bit of time complaining about Trix, her mother-in-law. Emily manages to direct the conversation to Rory’s break-up with Dean and her new relationship with Jess.

Emily wants to meet Jess, so Rory says she’ll ask him.  Rory does get Jess to agree, but Jess (being Jess) is resistant to the idea. Lorelei ends up going to New York to see a musical with Alex, Sookie and Jackson, which means it’ll be just Rory and Jess for the next Friday night dinner.  Miss Patty happens to need Rory to see her rehearse her one woman show, so Rory finds herself sitting next to Dean for the duration of Miss Patty’s show.

This doesn’t go over well with Jess, who found out on a flier in town, and wishes Rory had told him.  Lorelei isn’t happy with Rory’s plan of studying at school before going to Emily’s and then getting a ride home with Jess.  The dinner doesn’t go well, and it all starts with Jess showing up late with a black eye.  Rory is concerned and wants to know what happened but Jess doesn’t want to talk about it. He’s definitely not in a good mood, because he had to sit in traffic to go to a dinner with Emily (that he didn’t want to go to, of course) and he’s thirsty and wants to eat.

Emily’s making small talk, and Rory keeps pressing the issue of the black eye.  She thinks it’s because he got into a fight with Dean, and Jess makes it clear he doesn’t want to talk about it, because he’s trying to make a good impression on Emily for Rory’s sake. And according to Jess, Rory is making that difficult because she keeps bringing up his black eye.  She and Jess eventually talk in Richard’s study. Rory is still convinced that Jess and Dean got into a fight, and tries to convince Jess that nothing happened with Dean when they were watching Miss Patty’s show.  Jess is trying, but ends up leaving, so Rory has to explain to Emily that he left. Emily is pretty awesome about it…until Lorelei calls Rory to check in, and then goes on a rant about how irresponsible Jess is for thinking cell phones are beneath him.

Rory goes to ask Dean about Jess, where she realizes he didn’t get into a fight with Dean.  She keeps trying to call him, but Jess is ignoring her calls.  It turns out a swan at the lake attacked him, but Luke doesn’t believe him.  They go to the lake, and Jess is glad the dinner is behind him.  Until Luke tells him that this probably isn’t going to be the last thing that Jess will have to do.  Because by dating a girl like Rory, the whole family is involved, and so are her friends.  Luke thinks Jess is jealous of Dean, but Jess thinks Dean is a wuss.  Still, it comes up that Rory and Dean were together for a couple years, and Jess can’t just avoid Rory because of a fight a couple months into their relationship.

Because I’m not sure where to fit this in, part of why Lorelei is freaked out about the dinner and Jess driving Rory home is because she’s concerned about Rory having sex.  Rory tells Lorelei that she’s too busy to think about it, but later on tells her that she isn’t too busy to think about it.  She does promise to talk to Lorelei about it before it happens.

Jess and Rory make up, and Rory apologizes for not trusting Jess.  Jess tells her that he got hit in the face when he was playing football with a friend.

There’s also some band stuff!  The band needs to add a love song to their set, and Lorelei almost spills the beans about Lane and Dave to the band.  Mrs. Kim see Dave with the band in town, and warns him about Lane’s crush on him, and to be careful around her.  The band also finds out that Dave has played at the Kim’s church.

My Thoughts:

So…I have no idea where to start!  Let’s see…oh, I know where I’ll start: the Friday night dinner that Jess goes to.  I know that Jess doesn’t want to particularly go to a Friday night dinner to meet Emily, but at the same time, you’d think he’d want to get it over with.  And I actually respect that Jess does seem to be making an effort even though he didn’t want to be there.  Although…it is very Rory to keep bringing up his black eye even though Jess has made it perfectly clear he doesn’t want to talk about it. And given that she thinks Jess is embarrassing her, I’m surprised she didn’t drop it.

Still, Emily seemed to be great about it.  At least, she was good about it in front of Rory, and it’s not until she goes on a rant when she’s talking to Lorelei that we know her true feelings.

One thing I thought was interesting was how Emily thought it was refreshing that Jess didn’t have a cell phone, but later tells Lorelei that how irresponsible it is that he doesn’t have one.  I know this episode took place over ten years ago, and that cell phones were a thing, but I don’t remember them being as prevalent as they are today.

I’m also not surprised by Jess avoiding Rory after the dinner.  And I thought Luke brought up an interesting point in the possibility of Jess being jealous of Dean.  I never paid attention to that line before, but it is a possibility.  And it really strikes me as how different Dean and Jess are.  Because Jess has a lot in common with Rory, but he’s also not the loyal, nice guy to bring home to the family kind of guy that Dean is.  As for the assumption that Dean and Jess got into a fight: it seems like Jess seemed slightly surprised by that, but I don’t blame everyone for jumping to that conclusion, given their history. Oh, and why would Jess not tell Rory a swan attacked him?  Is it because it’s pretty lame, and he doesn’t think she’d believe it?  Because Jess tossing around a football is a bit hard to believe.

As for Rory having/not having time to think about sex…I thought Lorelei’s reaction was really interesting.  Lorelei’s a pretty cool mom, and is pretty open about things, and yet Rory thinking about having sex seemed to be a little weird for Lorelei.  I’m not sure if it’s because it could be with Jess, or if it just generally freaks her out, or if it’s because Lorelei had Rory so young or what, but Lorelei’s reaction is definitely interesting.

Favorite Line/Scene:

Nothing really jumped out at me enough to be a favorite

Pop Culture:

Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopez, the rabbit from Monty Python

Episode Rating:

I liked this episode, and it’s a bit more light-hearted than the last episode.  It’s kind of hard to live up to the last episode, but it was still fun to watch.  This episode gets 3.5 mugs of coffee.

ARC Book Review: Doing Harm

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Doing Harm CoverBook: Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons

Expected Publication is February 4, 2014 by St. Martin’s Press|Pages: 305

Where I Got It: from netgalley.com, which hasn’t influenced my review.  Promise!

Series: None

Genre: Adult Fiction

You can find Doing Harm on goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

Steve Mitchell, happily married with a wife and two kids, is in line for a coveted position at Boston’s University Hospital when his world goes awry. His over-reaching ambition causes him to botch a major surgery, and another of his patients mysteriously dies. Steve’s nightmare goes from bad to worse when he learns that the mysterious death was no accident but the act of a sociopath.  A sociopath he knows and who has information that could destroy Steve’s career and marriage.  A sociopath for whom killing is more than a means to an end: it’s a game.  Because he is under a cloud of suspicion and has no evidence, he knows that any accusations he makes won’t be believed. So he must struggle to turn the tables, even as the killer skillfully blocks his every move. Detailing the politics of hospitals, the hierarchy among doctors and the life and death decisions that are made by flawed human beings, Doing Harm marks the debut of a major fiction career.

My Review:

Doing Harm is definitely one of the more interesting books I’ve read in a while!  It’s a really interesting look at life at a hospital, and things are explained pretty well.  It wasn’t tedious or boring, and all of the medical stuff was explained in a way that was easy to understand.  It does get a bit descriptive when we see Steve performing surgery, so if you’re squeamish, that might be something to skim over. Parsons is also a surgeon, which really gives the details a certain authenticity.

It definitely feels realistic, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised by the sociopath that Steve comes across.  The idea of a doctor-in-training killing patients to further their own career is frightening.  Steve seemed really smart with some things…but with other things, he seemed not-so-smart.  Still, he always managed to put everything together at the right time, and everything seemed to work out in the end. I did find myself having trouble putting it down at times, because I couldn’t wait to see if Steve would figure everything out in time.

Doing Harm did start off slow, because we get a really good look at what Steve’s everyday life is like. But once things got going, it moved pretty fast.  And knowing what Steve’s day-to-day life was like gave certain events in the book a good reference point, because you could see how much things changed for him.

Steve is definitely ambitious, and while I didn’t connect with him as a character, I still felt bad for him because of the situation he found himself in.  Overall, I didn’t care for the characters, but I was so interested in what was going on that I didn’t really mind that I didn’t particularly care for the characters.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked Doing Harm!  It’s definitely a good book for Dan Brown fans, but if you like thrillers of any sort, I think you’d also like this book.  It did start off slow, but I liked the details in the book, and how well everything was explained.  Doing Harm gets 3 stars.