Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

PSA: I'm quite a bit behind in these posts, so expect several in the next few days so I can try to get caught up.

I absolutely loved Niffenegger's first book, The Time-Traveler's Wife. I rarely cry at books, but I absolutely bawled at the end of that one. It was just so beautiful and a great love story. However, I am typically let down by an author's second novel after their first one is so acclaimed. I have to admit that I was a little hesitant going into this book because of this (I also think I remember someone telling me they didn't like it.)

This, however, was another great woven story in my mind - at least for the first two thirds of the book. The story centers around two sisters (twins) whose aunt (their mother's twin) dies and leaves them her flat in London and requires them to live there for a year (and that their parents cannot step foot into the flat). Throughout the entire story, there are hints of something horrible that has happened to separate the aunt and mother before the twins were born. During this time, we're also introduced to the aunt's lover (Robert), the other tenant in the building, Martin who has a severe case of OCD, and the aunt's (Elspeth) ghost, who plays a major role in the story.

I have to admit that the twins, Julie and Valentina, creeped me out a bit. I found it odd that women in their early 20s still dressed exactly alike - but we're allowed to see that that is more of Julie's doing than Valentina's.

Then you hit the last third of the book and there are some twists I didn't really expect. They're a little creepy and disturbing. These twists made me like the book a little less.

It is still wonderfully written despite the creepiness and oddness. Just be forewarned before you start it!

Too Many Cooks ...

You know the saying "too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the broth"? That's exactly what happens with Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (this is the 11th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series).

I started reading these before the True Blood craze, but I've kept reading them because they're a nice popcorn/potato chip read. They're quick, and they don't require much brain power. The first few or so in the series were decent for the formulaic novel. But, after a while, it became too much. By too much, I mean that there were way too many plot points. The books are all relatively short, so there shouldn't be more than two plot points. However, it's gotten to the point where there are about five different storylines going on - some don't even start until the middle of the book. Because they are short books, these stories don't get flushed out or developed. This results in me not caring about some of the stories, questioning why they're included in the book, or just not paying attention to them. I just wish she'd go back to the old style and simplify the stories. There's no need to smash all of that into such a small amount of pages. It's a series, for crying out loud. If you want to include that storyline, wait until another book and fully flush it out!

That being said, I'll still continue reading these books. They still serve their purpose of being an easy read - but I have to admit when I have a hard time of remembering exactly what happened in the book, maybe it's time to find a new series.

Burn by Nevada Barr

Nevada Barr has been one of my go tos for easy, brainless reading since I graduated from college. I have a weak spot for murder mysteries, and her settings of U.S. National Parks intrigued me. They've actually taught me a lot about parks that I wouldn't have known about otherwise.

So, I was really excited when I saw her latest in paperback at the bookstore a few weeks ago. I got even more excited when I realized it was set in New Orleans (I'll save my lovefest for that town for another time; suffice it to say, I can go on forever about that).

However, when I started it, I wasn't so excited. I am the first to admit that NOLA has its darker, seedier, more menacing side; I'd be a fool to not realize it. But, considering all that city has been through since Katrina (don't fool yourself into thinking it's been fixed), I don't know if I needed to read a book on its sex trade, especially its sex trade of minors (and I'm talking minor minors).

It's not a comfortable subject. No one wants to hear, see, or read about such things happening to kids. I definitely didn't want to read it in one of my no-brainer books.

Taltos by Anne Rice

First off, please ignore any formatting weirdness. Thanks to some crappy Mediacom service, our Internet is down so this is a phone post making it easier to be short and sweet.

This is the third book in the Witching Hour series, and it was probably my least favorite. It seems like Rice has one crapper in her series and this one may be it. I will admit I read this one quickly because I didn't like it as much.

This book gives the history of the Taltos race while intertwining it with the story of Mona's pregnancy, which ultimately carries on the Taltos race.

By about halfway through, I didn't care anymore what was going to happen. It does bring closure to the series but I was rather meh about it.