Never Slow Dance with a Zombie by E. Van Lowe

Never Slow Dance with a Zombie is a fairly cute and simple book. Margot & Sybil return to school one day, only to discover that there classmates have been turned into zombies!

Margot wants to be popular and now she has the opportunity to be the girl she always dreamed of. The school principal convinces them to carry on as nothing happened and they agree! Things become intense as they try to blend in and not be eaten... and Margot finds that being popular isn't all its cracked up to be.

The characters are simple and the storyline is fun. An easy, read that doesn't require much thinking.

Grade: B-

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

In Ludania, every ones class has their own language. They are not permitted to speak the language from other classes. Speaking or even understanding the language of a class outside of yours could result in your death.

This is a problem for young, Charlaina. She has a secret that could be deadly to her and her family. She understand all languages.

Everyone is required to pledge their loyalty to, The Queen. She is intolerant and cruel. A rebellion is in the works to change the way things are.

This is a fast paced book and the characters are interesting. You will be fascinated.

Grade: B+

101 Uses for My Ex-Wife's Wedding Dress by Kevin Cotter

Kevin Cotter is not a jilted ex-husband, he is just a man who has found a therapeutic way of dealing with his failed marriage.

He along with a few partners in crime find creative, funny and original uses for this ex wife's wedding dress.

The photos along with the accompanying stories make for an excellent book. If you just look at the pictures you will miss out on his spunky and fun personality. You don't have to be divorced or single appreciate this book.

If you visit his blog you can download a FREE chapter ... after all this is where it all started.

Grade: A

11/22/63 by Stephen King

You will NOT be disappointed by King's newest novel, 11/22/63.

Jake Epping is a deeply developed and realistic character. The story jumps off the pages. Each character, street and storyline is "alive".

This story centers around the Epping's travels into the past in an attempt to prevent he assassination of JFK. As Epping travels into the past, he changes the lives of others, each leaving a rippling affect....

King's time travel rules are handled in a believable manner. You will feel as though you are along for the ride. Putting down this book will be impossible, you will itch and ache in anticipation of what will happen next! There are no slow moments.

There is absolutely no way to predict the outcome of this book! It is a fantastic read. King throws in a few characters from previous books in a seamless and brilliant manner.

King is a master storyteller and this is perhaps his best non-horror book yet! Buy .. Borrow it, Check it out... GET it NOw.

Grade: A+

Overview: [B&N]
ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963, THREE SHOTSRANG OUT IN DALLAS, PRESIDENTKENNEDY DIED, AND THE WORLD CHANGED.WHAT IF YOU COULD CHANGE IT BACK?
In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King—who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer—takes readers on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.

It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away—a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than fifty years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer. Reading the essay is a watershed moment for Jake, his life—like Harry’s, like America’s in 1963—turning on a dime. Not much later his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson, in a different world of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine (where there’s Dunning business to conduct), to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading eventually, of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful, and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.

Crossed (Matched Trilogy Series #2) by Ally Condie

Crossed is the second novel in the Matched trilogy. It suffers from the "middle book syndrome".

It lacks the passion and excitement that was so prevalent in, Matched. Crossed is more of an adventure book --- a very, very, very long, drawn out adventure. The characters walk and walk and walk.... in search of one another and the rebellion. There is nothing exciting or thrilling about this book.

If you enjoyed and liked Xander, don't expect too much out of him from this book --- he makes a small but significant cameo. A few new characters are picked up along the way but the aren't really worth caring about.

The story is told from two points of view, Ky's and Cassia's however the sound like the exact same person. I found on more than one occasion, I had to turn back the pages to see just who was "speaking."

I think, I just expected a lot more this particular book and that is why I am so disappointed but it won't sway me from reading the third. I just hope it's better than this one because the series has so much promise.

Grade: C

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Carrier of the Mark is a pretty good read and Fallon has great writing skills however --- the characters and the plot are way too similar to other popular novels out there. I hate comparing books, so I won't go into detail other than to say it lacks originality.

The mythology and elements of nature are explain really well. I really enjoyed finding out about the character's individual marks and their powers. I found a minor character to be much more interesting than the main character and I hope that we find our more about, Aileen in the future books.

The next book in this series, isn't expected out until 2013 and that is a very long wait ----

Grade: B-

Summary: [B&N] Their love was meant to be. When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRís. But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker

Brains: A Zombie Memoir is told through the eyes of a single Zombie, named Jack Barnes. Barnes seems to have more cognitive abilities than other zombies. He has the ability to read and write.

Along the way he "collects" other zombies with distinguishable traits. They for a group of misfits who search to find the individual who released the zombie virus, in hopes that the has a cure.

The concept has a lot of potential but it just didn't captivate me. It was a bit of a sluggish read at times and not nearly as entertaining or fun as I thought it would be.

An average read .... one I would skip in favor of other exciting Zombie books.

Grade: C-

Ingenue (The Flappers Series #2) by Jillian Larkin

Ingenue is the second installment in, The Flappers Series. The stakes are higher, lives are at risk and the drama is intense.

Larkin's character's are spunky and real. Her writing jumps off the pages and she pulls you into the world of the roaring 20s.

Expect to be on the edge of you seat. The cliffhanger ending will leave you anxious for the final installment.

Grade: A

Overview: [B&N]
Power . . . love . . . scandal . . .
There’s never enough to go around.

In the city that never sleeps, Lorraine Dyer is wide awake. Ever since she exposed Clara Knowles for the tramp she was—and lost her closest confidante in the process—Lorraine has spent every second scheming to make her selfish, lovesick ex–best friend pay for what she did. No one crosses Lorraine. Not even Gloria.

True love conquers everything—or so Gloria Carmody crazily believed. She and Jerome Johnson can barely scrape together cash for their rent, let alone have a moment to whisper sweet nothings in the dark. And if they thought escaping Chicago meant they’d get away with murder . . . they were dead wrong.

Clara was sure that once handsome, charming Marcus Eastman discovered her shameful secret, he’d drop her like a bad habit. Instead, he swept her off her feet and whisked her away to New York. Being with Marcus is a breath of fresh air—and a chance for Clara to leave her wild flapper ways firmly in the past. Except the dazzling parties and bright lights won’t stop whispering her name. . . .

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

Turn of Mind is LaPlante's debut novel.

It is narrated by Dr. Jennifer White, who is suffering from a gradual decline in Alzheimer's disease. This story follows her life story and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of her best friend and neighbor.

LaPlante's writing at times is difficult to follow and the character's aren't very likable yet she captures the diseases in a believable and honest matter.

My biggest issue with this book is the unnecessary and poor treatment of a loving and sweet dog. It didn't' add to the story or serve any purpose.

This book is decent but if you want to read an excellent novel dealing with dementia, I strongly suggest, Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

Grade: C+

Empty by Suzanne Weyn

Empty gives a look into what our future could be without oil. A nonrenewable source we are rely heavily upon.

Empty is full of war, shortages, riots, global warming and the fight to stave alive. The characters are well done and true to life.

Weyn does a fairly good job at crafting a well developed and interesting story.

Grade: B

Overview: [B&N]
A dystopic look at what happens to one American town when all the fossil fuels run out...
Civilization has just run out.
It's the future - the very near future - and the fossil fuels are running out. No gas. No oil. Which means no driving. No heat. Supermarkets are empty. Malls have shut down. Life has just become more local than we ever knew it could be.
Nobody expected the end to come this fast. And in the small town of Sage Valley, decisions that once seemed easy are quickly becoming matters of life and death. There is hope - there has to be hope - but there are also sacrifices that need to be made, and a society that needs to be rethought. Niki, Tom, and Gwen may find what they need to survive. But their lives are never going to be the same again.

Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer

I thought Blood Wounds, was going to be a thriller but it really wasn't. It was more about the dynamics of a mixed family.

The characters aren't likable and I couldn't relate to any of them. This book covers many dark themes, murder, jealousy, depression, cutting and violence.

Blood Wounds is a quick, easy read but don't expect it to be as well developed and inters ting as Pfeffer's, Last Survivor's series.

Grade: C

Overview: [B&N]
Blood can both wound and heal . . .
Willa is lucky: She has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa’s peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother. Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? But as Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she also keeps her own secret—one that has the potential to tear apart all she holds dear