Anyway, this book is mostly Maura Isle’s story with only a small bit of the other characters. I’ve noticed alot of the books seem to do that, focus mostly on one woman or the other and give the other a smaller plot. In this one, Maura’s going to a pathology conference in Wyoming. She’s still having problems with her “secret” luvah (seriously, does anyone not know?), the whiney and not very dedicated to his vows priest, Daniel.  So they part on crappy terms. Maura decided to be more spontaneous and so when a former college acquaintance invites her on an overnight sky trip in a nearby town, she accepts.

It’s a mess and they never make it. They end up in a deserted town, with no way of contacting anyone. A few plot leaps later, Maura’s friends start looking for her, think she’s dead, hold a funneral, stop just in time realizing she’s not (sounds like a soap opera), head back to look for her.

It’s a pretty fast read. Once I sat down, I read it in a few hours. It’d make a good beach read I think. There are a few eye rolling moments, as I’ve noticed happen in this series, but mostly a good book. And I’m hoping after the end it’s the last time we see Daniel. I can’t stand him. I do however adore Maura’s other love interest, Anthony Sansone, the eccentric, rich leader of the Mauphisto Club (he showed up in the book with the same title). He’s in this one briefly though in my opinion, still comes out as a better man the Daniel who seems to be such an emo man-child it just disgusts me.

For true purists – they DO change a few things. Imprinting talk is minimal (no kid imprinting yet), Riley is made more of a central character, there’s not as much Bella babysitting, and there were a few other things. I didn’t feel it effected the story negatively.

My sister wanted to go again today and I almost did but I didn’t like the time. We will be going again next weekend though. I saw the 1st one 2 or 3 times in theaters but the 2nd got pulled from our local after only a few weeks so we only saw it once.

In this, a beautiful young mother and wife disappears and the husband is the prime suspect. There are plenty of others however including the neighbor, a 20-something sex offender, the wife’s estranged father who comes back into the picture conviently right after her disappearance, setting his sights on taking guardianship of her 4 year old daughter, and even a possible lover no one knew about.

I didn’t feel like the detective work in this one was as strong as Hide. They pretty much narrowed in on the husband and didn’t really explore anyone else, even though there was plenty of evidence. And then the twist at the end throws things and they STILL  are interested in the husband.

The audio performance of this one is better than most, as was Hide when I listened to it. There are 3 readers – 1 who acts as the missing wife/mother, 1 who is the sex offender next door neighbor, and 1 who’s an overall narrator.  This is a good listen.

The mystery and it’s solving was a tad over reaching but it is Sherlock Holmes. My brother was annoyed at how grand the villain’s scheme was but again SHERLOCK HOLMES.

The movie did further convince me Holmes/Watson were hitting it though. Watson getting engaged indeed!

Pretty early off Kate starts thinking there’s something not quite right with Esther – and if you’ve seen the trailer you know she’s right. Kid’s a murderous psycho.

And there’s the end. The trailer promises it’s shocking and you’ll never guess. Well, I’m pretty dumb and was watching with someone who’d had the end spoiled and shouted it out not quite midway through. I was right. Oops, guess I’m of the .1% they don’t count in that “you’ll never guess”…except pretty much anyone’s who’s ever seen a thriller and has a brain will probably at least start to kinda think of it.

Still, good movie. I’d never buy it or probably even watch it again – far to long – but it was a good rental.

It’s a hilarious movie with no scares but LOTS of gore and a cameo from Bill Murray. And it not only made me crave twinkies but also convinced me if zombies take over and I’m not in the first wave to be taken out, I’m hunting down Woody Harrelson, who played Tallahassee, because he was a BAMF!!!

There’s not much I can really say without giving everything away. The trailers kinda mis-sell this movie. Yes, Jennifer’s evil but there’s a reason behind it. And in the end, Needy does chose whether to face-off with her and end up the only one standing between Jennifer and the rest of the town. And the ENDING! Is cool.

Honestly I think the only reason so many people are saying it sucks is because their hormonal teenage boys who thought Megan Fox was going to get naked. And she never gets any more naked than she does in the trailers. So naturally it must suck.

If you like dark humor and quasi-horror movies, you’ll enjoy this.

Actual story: follows a family of women named Sparrow and tells some of their family history. It specifically centers on elderly Elinor Sparrow, her estranged grown daughter Jenny, who’s returned home, and Jenny’s 13 year old daughter, Stella. Sparrow women all receive a “gift” on their 13th birthday. Elinor can tell if anyone’s telling a lie. Jenny dreams the dreams of others. Stella can see how certain people will die.

And each gift in a way, puts each woman on a course that will greatly alter their life. Jenny runs off with her childhood sweetheart because she thinks he dreams beautiful dreams. He’s a liar and lazy and they end up divorced and it turns out the dreams were his brother’s all along – who’s been in love with Jenny for years. Elinor thinks her husband never lied to her but she knows he had an affair which he never lied about – he just didn’t tell her. So she shuts down after he’s killed in a car wreck and doesn’t trust anyone, even when someone grows to love her, even  as she’s dieing of pancreatic cancer. Stella has her dad warn a woman and the police she’s seen murder in the woman’s future. When it comes true, her father is the only suspect, putting Stella and her parents in a very bad spot.

I love pretty much every character in this story still. Except Stella. I hated her years ago and I still can’t stand her. There’s a fine line between teen angst and just being a little twat and Stella often titers over the line. Her mother left home and can’t along with her own mother Elinor because Elinor was literally emotionally unavailable to her. In fact, in one flashback we’re shown that even when Jenny was suffering a fever of over a hundred degrees, Eli was out in her garden ignoring her because she couldn’t face other people. Jenny had to call the doctor herself. However, Stella seems to think that not only should Jenny just get along with her mother but they should be all lovey and stuff. But when Jenny tries to take care of Stella, and she does seem to be a very good mother, every time Stella acts like her mother’s a horrid person. And it rubs me the wrong way.

Other than Stella being a disgusting little wretch, I enjoy this. Alice Hoffman has a beautiful, colorful way with words without delving off into purple prose. And this is a very good story to listen to at work too.

And I do. I’m not a rabid fan by any means. I do know an embarrassing amount of trivia I’ve found lately thanks to Facebook quizzes but have only read any of the books once each, excluding this. I do own the movie and have watched it a few times.

Anyway, I can see why some said it reads like fanfic. But don’t you kinda get the feeling that Bella “she’s so mature but really we are never shown why and are only told ad nauseum by other characters she is” Swan is really just an avatar for Stephanie anyway? That in her own mind she’s the prettiest, most special, amazing girl in Forks but gosh, she’s so darned clumsy! Silly Stephanie, I mean Bella.  So the fanficy aspect never bothered me because they all read like that.

I’m glad she finally had the guts to make Bella a vampire. I remember being annoyed in the first one they “fixed” her when they continued to hang out with her. That seems a little dangerous. But then we’d have never gotten the drama at the beginning of New Moon leading to the depression she goes through for the entire book…that doesn’t really read all that different because she kinda seems like an emo even with her darling Edward.

I find Reneesme a bit…creepy. But I’m not a kid person so page after page of everyone falling under her spell, which I took to be an offset of one of her gifts, was a bit weird but not unbearable.

The only thing that still bugs? Jacob imprinting on her. I know it was necessary to get the wolves and the vampires on the same side and ensure that Jacob would be part of Bella’s life/family forever without the weird obsession he’s had with her since late in New Moon. And I know they SAY it isn’t a romantic feeling until they’re older…but at what age would it automatically snap on? And since she ages quicker anyway. Same thing bugged me with Claire and …Quill? Emory? They’re interchangeable. But in Jacob/Reneesme’s case, there’s the added squick of her parents knowing whenever they’re having sex because they’ve got amazing hearing. And what if they don’t feel it’s time yet? That just grossed me out.

And yeah, it’s a bummer there’s no real fight at the end but I can understand Stephanie’s point of view. Realistically, it’s be a slaughter on both sides. She says she’s done with the Twilight saga but she left it open-ended enough that if she should change her mind down the road she could go back and write more. Or follow any one of the other or new characters. I’d love hearing about Kate and the other Denali’s. Or maybe a back-history on some of the Volturi. There’s lots of possibilities.

One thing I did keep thinking was there is NO WAY they can pull that off as a PG-13 movie. And I don’t think Kristin Stewart has the chops to do it. She doesn’t feel like book Bella anyway but I don’t think she can pull of the selflessness/martyrdom Bella goes through early on and how are they going to vamp her? It’ll be a hot mess. Assuming they managed to make the movie before half the cast O.D.s

So, we open with Rachel still trying to remember the night of Kisten’s murder. She takes the whole book to really do so but there is payoff there. Also, they’re tracking a banshee and get attacked multiple times. AND AL IS IN A DECENT PORTION AT THE END! I love Al…even though he’s an “evil” demon. And I kinda wish he and Rachel would hook-up, even once, but I digress.  SPOILER THAT YOU’LL SEE COMING A MILE AWAY: Rachel finally gets shunned and officially labeled a black witch. And near the end actually calls herself one, if only in her own head. And she no longer denies “dealing in demons” seeing as she’s the student of one.

Oh and there’s a plot about some ghost she met when she was 18 and needing to give him a body. And we meet her brother who’s a tool. And Ivy continues to angst and lust after Rachel. Bleh. I’m over that. Get her a boyfriend/girlfriend already and drop it.

Good story if you can get past the first 15 chapters. Listen to it if you can.