Primordial by David Wood and Alan Baxter

"Something terrible lives beneath the dark waters of Lake Kaarme, and it's hungry."

 Isn't that a great cover? I couldn't resist checking this one out. And Primordial turned out to be an entertaining summer read. Marine biologist Sam Aston has been hired by billionaire Ellis Holloway to search for a reported monster living in Lake Kaarme in Finland. The locals there tell lots of stories about this deadly predator, but Sam is skeptical. He's not excited about TV host Jo Slater and her film crew joining them, or filming him, but he needs the money Holloway has promised to pay him. And Jo turns out to be an unexpected ally when things on their expedition start to go wrong. And they do go wrong!

This book is what I like to call a good popcorn read. You know going in that lots of people are going to get chomped and only a few will survive, but that's what makes these books fun. There's not a ton of character development, but I thought Sam and Jo were both very likable. Holloway, on the other hand, was not only obsessive and crazy, but monstrous, too. (There's one scene in the book with some sheep that still makes me cringe.) The locals are hiding some dark secrets, too. This book is fast-paced, and there are some very intense underwater scenes. And the prehistoric lake monster is not only relentless, but vicious. If you like these kinds of books, then this is a good one. 

Happy Reading!

Road Trip!

I'm taking off on a very short road trip up through Wyoming for the next few days, so I'll be away from my blog. I'm going with my sister and her husband and my nephew. We plan on visiting a few fun sites, like Independence Rock:

 And Devil's Tower:

We also want to check out the Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Lovell:

And Martin's Cove:

And my nephew wants to tour the old Frontier Prison in Rawlins which is supposed to be haunted:

It'll be a short trip, but it should be fun. 

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Haiku Reviews...

 

Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie

A blind date with a 

cute cop leads to Abby's help

on his next murder case.

Mystery .... 295 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(This is a fun one! I really liked both Abby and Det. Dutch Rivers.)

A Wagon Train Weekend by Stephenia H. McGee

Can a trip back in time

save Seth and Collette's relationship?

They're about to find out.

Romance ....214 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(A sweet, lighthearted, just-for-fun romance set both in the present and in 1857. Thanks, Ashley, for recommending it!)

Devoted by Dean Koontz

A boy who can't speak.

A dog who can hear his thoughts.

Evil that must be stopped.

Suspense .... 369 pages .... 3/5 stars.

(Koontz's Watchers, which is also about a really smart dog, is a much better book.)

To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer

Books brought them together,

but secrets from Levi's past

just might tear them apart.

Romance .... 347 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(A librarian and a blacksmith falling in love...you were right, Cindy, this was a good one!)

Happy Reading!

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

 

This is the seventh novel by Thomas Hardy that I've read. If you've seen the movie, then you know that the two main characters are Bathsheba Everdene and Gabriel Oaks. Of the two, I thought Gabriel was the easiest to like. He's a simple, hardworking, unpretentious farmer when he first meets and proposes marriage to Bathsheba. But then his fortunes change, as do hers, and she ends up owning her uncle's large farm while Gabriel ends up working for her as her shepherd. There is no guile in Gabriel. He's solid and and steady and honest, though not exciting or handsome enough to tempt Bathsheba.

As for Bathsheba, she's a more complicated character. She's young and pretty and a little vain. She's also independent, spirited, and determined to hold her own in what is essentially a man's world. I admired her daring in deciding to run her uncle's farm on her own, but her youthful vanity made her do things at times that I didn't love, like when she sends an anonymous valentine to the handsome bachelor Farmer Boldwood to tease him just because he had the temerity not to notice her at the market-house. I guess there's nothing that draws a woman's attention like a man's indifference, at least in Thomas Hardy's world. Of course, when Boldwood then falls feverishly in love with her and asks her to marry him, Bathsheba finds she must refuse him because she does not love him back.

Sergeant Troy finishes the triangle of suitors encircling Bathsheba. He's handsome and charming and full of flattery. "He was perfectly truthful towards men, but to women lied like a Cretan." He also has another girl he's in love with, but he can't seem to stay away from beautiful Bathsheba. And Bathsheba, unable to resist his attentions, finds herself foolishly falling in love for the very first time. More drama then ensues. 

Almost all of the Thomas Hardy novels I've read seem to have a tragic ending, but while many tragic events do occur in this novel, there's actually a happy ending for both Bathsheba Everdene and Gabriel Oaks. Which made me like this one even more. Hardy's descriptive powers are also on full display in this novel. I like the way he writes, but sometimes his descriptions do slow down the narrative. Still, I'm very glad I finally read this one. Far From the Madding Crowd was first published in 1874 and counts as my 19th Century Classic for Karen's Back to the Classics Challenge.

Happy Reading!

Other Hardy novels I've reviewed on my blog:

Two on a Tower

A Pair of Blue Eyes

Under the Greenwood Tree

My three favorite Hardy novels:

    

June's Bookish Art...

 

Mary Cassatt -- Woman Reading in a Garden, 1880

"Reading forces you to be quiet in a world that no longer makes place for that."

--John Green

White Out by Ragnar Jonasson

 "It was a sight Asta Karadottir would never forget, even though she had only been a child when she saw it--or maybe for that very reason. She had been in her room in the attic when it happened...But what she saw--the terrible event she witnessed--would never leave her. She had never told a soul about it. And now she had returned after a long exile."

The plot:  

When Asta is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs below the Kalfshamarsvik lighthouse on the northern coast of Iceland, Ari Thor Arason is called in to help his former boss, Tomas, investigate. Ari Thor brings his girlfriend, Kristin, along because it's almost Christmas Eve and she's eight months pregnant. Not many people live at Kalfshamarsvik, which narrows their list of suspects to just four people. It should be an easy investigation, until someone else ends up dead. 

Kalfshamarsvik Lighthouse in Iceland

My thoughts:

The Icelandic setting in White Out is so alluring! And I thought Asta's story, and Ari Thor's investigation into her death, was very compelling. It's fast-paced and there are several good twists. If I had to describe this mystery in one word it would be riveting. And even though I haven't read any of Jonasson's other books, and this is the fifth book in the Dark Iceland series, I never felt lost. Ari Thor is a great character. I look forward to checking out Jonasson's other books. 

Happy Reading!

Another excellent Icelandic mystery:  My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

The English Bookshop by Janis Wildy

The plot:  Five years ago, Lucy made a promise to her dying stepfather that she would keep the family business going. But Wellslept Mattress is losing money. And her brother, Aaron, and her mother both want to sell. Only Lucy can't give up on that promise she made. Then she gets a letter from England that offers her some hope. It seems her biological father, Brian Baslow, recently died and left one-third of his business and property to her in his will. If she can convince the other two heirs to sell, she just might get the money she needs to save Wellslept. Only Baslow's Bookshop is charming as is the small English village of Wakeby where its located. And everyone in Wakeby is so welcoming and kind. And she likes Sam Burke, the single (and handsome!) manager of the bookstore. And she doesn't like Brian's wife's, Maura's, plan to sell the bookstore to greedy developers. But she really needs the money! What's a girl to do?   

My thoughts:  There are so many things to love about this book! There's a bookshop, and a dog named Barley. Wakeby is a quaint village full of genuine people who quickly befriend Lucy because of who her father was. I liked them, and I liked Lucy and sympathized with her as she struggled to deal with the death of a father she never really knew while trying to figure out how to save her family business back home in Seattle without destroying his bookshop. And I really liked her relationship with Sam. Theirs is a cute romance. Is this book predictable? Yes. Did I mind? No. I just enjoyed the happy ending. 

Happy Reading!