One for the Money (Stephanie Plum #1)

by Janet Evanovich
3 Stars
Setting: Trenton, New Jersey
320 pages
Published 1994

Ellie's Review
One for the Money tells the tale of an average girl, Stephanie Plum, who turns into a bounty hunter since she's desperate for cash after being laid off.  I could relate to Stephanie's character as she jumps into this new lifestyle (I have no experience with killers, surveillance, or thugs).  This crime mystery was fluffy, sometimes humorous, and definitely geared towards a female audience.  The next time I'm looking for an entertaining and light read, I'll pick the next in the Stephanie Plum series - these are perfect for a flight, beach, or lazy day.

Book Summary
Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store).  Stephanie needs cash--fast--but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family.

Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company.  She's got no experience.  But that doesn't matter.  Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli.  From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e.  And now the guy is in hot water--wanted for murder.

Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't.  Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand.  All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight--and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man.

City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4)

by Cassandra Clare
3 Stars
Young Adult
Fantasy with Vampires
Setting: NY
424 pages
Published 2011

Ellie's Review
While I did really enjoy the latest novel in The Mortal Instruments series, I didn't like it as much as the 2nd and 3rd books.  In the middle, too much was going on with the subplots and drama that was being created.  I would have been happy if Clare ended the series after the third novel since things were tied up so nicely.  She had to create so many new problems with the characters who had already overcame their numerous conflicts.  I did like City of Fallen Angels though and will probably read the next book whenever it is published.

Book Summary
Who will betray everything they ever believed in? Who will fall in love, and who will find their relationship torn apart?  Love.  Blood.  Betrayal.  Revenge.  In the heart-pounding fourth installment of The Mortal Instruments series, the stakes are higher than ever.

View Ellie's reviews of the rest of the series:
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)
City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)
City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)

by Cassandra Clare
4 Stars
Young Adult
Fantasy with Vampires
Setting: NY
683 pages
Published 2009

Ellie's Review
Once again, I was totally hooked on a cheesy, juvenile, vampire novel.  Clare nicely wrapped up the trilogy in City of Glass, and I was happy with the ending.  The teenage characters are still learning and making mistakes, but they have matured some since the first installment of The Mortal Instruments series, City of Bones.

Book Summary
To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death.  To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

View Ellie's reviews of the rest of the series:
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)
City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)
City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4)

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)

by Cassandra Clare
4 Stars
Young Adult
Fantasy with Vampires
Setting: NY
464 pages
Published 2007

Ellie's Review
I'm embarrassed to admit that I really liked this book, but I did.  The dialogue is cheesy, but again I stayed up late at night reading this!  I'm not too ashamed to say I have a crush on Jace.

Book Summary
As readers of series starter City of Bones already know, teenager Clary Fray is a Shadowhunter, a demon slayer who has the gift (?) of spotting Downworlder werewolves, vampires, and faeries.  She is also an adolescent in an abnormally dysfunctional family: Her mom is in a magically induced coma and her father is probably insane and undoubtedly evil.  All of which places Clary in situations that would challenge even the most talented average American girl.

View Ellie's reviews of the rest of the series:
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)
City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)
City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4)

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)

by Cassandra Clare
4 Stars
Young Adult
Fantasy with Vampires
Setting: NY
485 pages
Published 2007

Ellie's Review
This book sucked me from from the start, and I stayed up many nights past my bedtime reading it. This reminded me of Twilight due to the juvenile fantasy genre and the magnetism I was drawn in with. However, I didn't rate it higher because the writing itself is not fabulous. This would be a great book to read on a trip: it's easy to read and is a page-turner.  If you are a fan of Stephenie Meyers and wanted more after Breaking Dawn, pick this book up.

Book Summary
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know.... 

Series Information
Originally The Mortal Instruments were to be a trilogy, but Clare decided to continue with a fourth, which is City of Fallen Angels, published in 2011. 


View Ellie's reviews of the rest of the series:
City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)
City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)
City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4)

Gregor the Overlander (Underland Chronicles #1)

by Suzanne Collins
3 Stars
Children's Fantasy
Setting: NY
320 pages
Published 2003

Ellie's Review
This was a fun kids' book about a NYC brother and sister who fall through a laundry grate into the Underland where rats, bats, roaches, and spiders are huge and warring with each other. While I probably won't read any more in this series, I will recommend it to 8-year-olds, especially if they've ever been in a big city with those pests.

Book Summary
When eleven-year-old Gregor follows his little sister through a grate in the laundry room of their New York apartment, he hurtles into the dark Underland beneath the city. There, humans live uneasily beside giant spiders, bats, cockroaches, and rats—but the fragile peace is about to fall apart.  Gregor wants no part of a conflict between these creepy creatures. He just wants to find his way home. But when he discovers that a strange prophecy foretells a role for him in the Underland's uncertain future, he realizes it might be the only way to solve the biggest mystery of his life. Little does he know his quest will change him and the Underland forever.

Author Information
Gregor the Overlander is the debut novel from Suzanne Collins who is now best known for writing The Hunger Games series.

Read Ellie's 5-star review of The Hunger Games.

Killer Weekend (Walt Fleming #1)

by Ridley Pearson
4 Stars
Setting: Sun Valley, Idaho
336 pages
Published 2007

Ellie's Review
If you're looking for a good murder mystery, try this out. This is the first book I've read of Pearson's, and I liked the main plot and was very interested in the subplots as well. This was a good page-turner, and I liked the ending.  Killer Weekend is a nice, entertaining read and is especially fun for anyone with an Idaho connection since novels aren't usually set there.

Book Summary
Eight years ago, in Sun Valley-snowcapped playground for the wealthy and ambitious-all that stood between U.S. Attorney General Elizabeth Shaler and a knife-wielding killer was local patrolman Walt Fleming. Now Liz Shaler returns to Sun Valley as the keynote speaker of billionaire Patrick Cutter's world-famous media and communications conference, a convergence of the richest, most powerful business tycoons. The controversial attorney general is expected to announce her candidacy for president. It's a media coup for Cutter-but a security nightmare for Walt Fleming, now the county sheriff. As the Cutter conference gets under way, authorities learn of a confirmed threat on Shaler's life, and various competing interests-the Secret Service, the FBI, Cutter's own security forces -begin jockeying for jurisdiction. Amid the conference's opulent extravagances, Walt is suddenly shaken by an apparent murder, his nephew's arrest, and a haunting legacy from his family's past. The clock ticks down toward Shaler's keynote address as we track the chilling precision of her assassin's preparations.

The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon #3)

by Dan Brown
3 Stars
Setting: Washington, DC
509 pages
Published 2009

Ellie's Review
The first half of this book was a real page-turner for me. Then I started loosing interest, and it was work to keep myself interested at the end. I didn't feel like I learned that much in this book, unlike his other Robert Langdon novels. I'm interested in learning more about Masons but didn't feel like I learned too much from this book.  Brown had too much of an agenda, and I just got tired of it. One of his scientific breakthroughs in the novel was something I've known for years - I just expected more.  Overall, I liked it but this was not up on the same level as The Da Vinci Code.

Book Summary
As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object--artfully encoded with five symbols--is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation... one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon--a prominent Mason and philanthropist--is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations--all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth. 

The Broken Window (Lincoln Rhyme #8)

by Jeffrey Deaver
3 Stars
Setting: USA
414 pages
Published 2008

Ellie's Review
This novel reminded me of some of the original, classic John Grisham's - that's a good thing in my mind. While solving a crazy mystery, the reader learns about some topic. I would have given this 4 stars, but I didn't like who the killer was and Deaver had a teenager in NYC owning a car (I think that's totally unrealistic, especially for one in foster care - Deaver needs to learn to write about the subway).  If you like Grisham's first books and haven't  read Deaver, give him a try.  This is my first mystery read from the Lincoln Rhyme series, and I was fine picking this up without the others.

Book Summary
Lincoln Rhyme and partner/paramour Amelia Sachs return to face a criminal whose ingenious staging of crimes is enabled by a terrifying access to information....  When Lincoln's estranged cousin Arthur Rhyme is arrested on murder charges, the case is perfect - too perfect.  Forensic evidence from Arthur's home is found all over the scene of the crime, and it looks like the fate of Lincoln's relative is sealed.

The Giver (The Giver #1)

by Lois Lowry
4 Stars
Young Adult, Science Fiction
304 pages
Published 1993

Ellie's Review
Wow, I really liked this book. I was surprised by how deep it was since it's a juvenile novel. This will have me thinking for a while.

Book Summary
In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be.

Newbery Medal Award 1994

Fablehaven (Fablehaven #1)

by Brandon Mull
4 stars
Young Adult, Fantasy
Setting: USA
351 pages
Published 2006

Ellie's Review
I'm excited about this series! For most of the book I wasn't too fond of one particular character (so I liked this less than Artemis Fowl or Harry Potter), but I really liked the ending so it's up to 4 stars. This is a young adult fantasy, complete with fairies and other mystical creatures.

Book Summary
For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite. Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken — Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good — powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most.

Bridget Jones's Diary (Bridget Jones #1)

by Helen Fielding
5 star
Setting: UK
271 pages
Published 1996

Ellie's Review
I laughed out loud so much in this book! This is a great fluffy, chick book, but I liked the heroine better than I did in the Shopaholic series. I could definitely relate to Bridget in so many of her ideas and wacky situations. I love the parallels to Pride and Prejudice throughout.

Book Summary
Helen Fielding's devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton launched a genre and transcended the pages of fiction to become a cultural icon.

The Good Earth (House of Earth #1)

by Pearl S. Buck
4 Stars
Classic, Historical Fiction
Setting: China
385 pages
Published 1931

Ellie's Review
After the initial 100 pages, I was hooked on this book and really enjoyed it. I'm glad I read this as it's a classic, but I'm sad I wasn't able to attend my book club's discussion as this has a lot to talk about. I haven't read the other books in the series.

Book Summary
Wang Lung, rising from humble Chinese farmer to wealthy landowner, gloried in the soil he worked. He held it above his family, even above his gods. But soon, between Wang Lung and the kindly soil that sustained him, came flood and drought, pestilence and revolution....
Through this one Chinese peasant and his children, Nobel Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck traces the whole cycle of life, its terrors, its passion, its persistent ambitions and its rewards. Her brilliant novel, beloved by millions of readers throughout the world, is a universal tale of the destiny of men.

Pulitzer Prize for Novel 1932

Night (Night #1)

by Elie Wiesel, translated by Marion Wiesel
5 Stars
Nonfiction: Memoir
Classic, WWII, Jewish
Setting: Germany
120 pages
Published 1958

Ellie's Review
Wow, this is an incredible account of Elie Wiesel's time in concentration camps as a teenager. It's a must read. I haven't read the other books in his series (Dawn and Day), but I should.

Book SummaryA terrifying account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an agonized witness to the death of his family...the death of his innocence...and the death of his God. Penetrating and powerful, as personal as The Diary Of Anne Frank, Night awakens the shocking memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this horror must never be allowed to happen again.

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1)

by Orson Scott Card
4 Stars
Young Adult, Science Fiction
324 pages
Published 1985

Ellie's Review
Normally I wouldn't touch science fiction book like this (it seems like something my brothers would have enjoyed more growing up), but I picked it up for a book club and really liked it! If you loved The Hunger Games you should look into this book. Interestingly enough, this book was an influence for Stephenie Meyers even though it has no vampires or werewolves.

Book Summary
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

The Other Boleyn Girl (The Tudor #2)

by Philippa Gregory
4 Stars
Historical Fiction
Setting: England664 Pages
Published in 2001

Ellie's ReviewThis is the historical fiction book about Anne Boleyn's sister, so of course you learn all about Anne's marriage to Henry VIII. It has a couple naughty sex scenes, so be warned. I'm glad I read this book before going to Scotland as it helped me picture what went on in some of the castles and great halls we visited. This is a page turner! I read this novel before any others in the series, which was fine as it stands by itself.

Book Summary
Two sisters compete for the greatest prize: the love of a king. When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands. A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years #1)

by Gregory Maguire
4 Stars
Fantasy
406 Pages
Published in 1995

Ellie's Review
I hold a special place in my heart for the Wicked Witch of the West since I portrayed her in my kindergarten play (unfortunately I wasn't allowed to paint myself green). Then from the front row I saw Wicked on Broadway with Idina Menzel and Joey MacIntyre. After seeing Wicked three additional times, it's still my favorite musical, and my dog is named Elphaba (Elphie for short).

Now that I have fully disclosed my prejudice, I can say that I really liked this book. It is very dark compared to the Broadway show Wicked, but very interesting. This is quite deep and looks at religion and politics, which is something the musical didn't really get into. I thought about it for a long time after reading it, which means the book influenced me in some way (always a good sign). History is always skewed, and each story has multiple versions. You'll definitely never look at The Wizard of Oz the same again! The book contains a couple perverse sex scenes, just to warn you. I'm not sure if I'll read the next book in the series Son of a Witch.

Book Summary
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? Gregory Maguire has created a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium #3)

by Stieg Larsson, translated by Reg Keeland
4 Stars
Setting: Sweden
563 Pages
Published in 2007

Ellie's Review
While The Girl Who Played with Fire was my favorite book in the Millennium series, this one was very good too. I enjoyed that the three books didn't follow the same formula but were each different from each other. This brought closure on some aspects, but it was definitely written to lead up to further novels. Like the second book, this focuses a lot on Lisbeth. I'm crossing my fingers a fourth book will emerge sometime.

Book Summary
This novel not only puts the cap on the most eagerly read trilogy in years; the sequel to The Girl Who Played With Fire marks the completion of its Swedish author's career; Stieg Larsson died at the age of fifty in 2004. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is, however, too exciting and too adept to be read simply as a major author's memorial. From its onset, with "a...moreThis novel not only puts the cap on the most eagerly read trilogy in years; the sequel to The Girl Who Played With Fire marks the completion of its Swedish author's career; Stieg Larsson died at the age of fifty in 2004. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is, however, too exciting and too adept to be read simply as a major author's memorial. From its onset, with "avenging angel" protagonist Lisbeth Salander lying in intensive care, this fiction pulses forward.

The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium #2)

by Stieg Larsson, translated by Reg Keeland
4 Stars
Setting: Sweden
503 Pages
Published in 2006

Ellie's Review
I actually enjoyed this novel slightly more than the first in the series, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (you definitely need to read that first before this one). I had expected Larsson to stick with the same plot formula as he had in Dragon Tattoo (as so many crime drama authors tend to), but this was totally different! If you want to learn more about Lisbeth, read it.

Book Summary
Part blistering espionage thriller, part riveting police procedural, and part piercing exposeé on social injustice, The Girl Who Played with Fire is a masterful, endlessly satisfying novel. Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander's innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1)

by Steig Larsson, translated by Reg Keeland
4 Stars
Setting: Sweden
465 Pages
Published in 2005

Ellie's Review
Though the first 100 pages were slow setting everything up, I really liked this crime drama and will read the others in the trilogy. Just be warned that this does contain some graphic violence. I enjoyed reading a novel set in Stockholm since I haven't read any other Swedish books.

Book Summary
This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.
--Dave Callanan

Author Information
Stieg Larsson passed away suddenly before his first crime drama, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was published. He had completed the manuscripts for his first three novels in the Millennium series and had left drafts behind for the fourth in the series. The draft is currently caught up in a legal dispute over who owns it (his long-time live-in girlfriend has no official legal rights, but Larsson was estranged from his father and brother who have the legal rights).

Stieg Larsson's personal life is quite similar to his main character Mikael Blomkvist - is Blomkvist Larsson's ideal man due to his charm with the ladies?

Visit a website on Stieg Larsson for more information.