Who Doesn't love the Ice Cream man: Bookbabe Review of Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

It's been a few years since I have dived into a King Novel; and I was so happy to be re-introduced to him via Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges #1). I will admit that I was not sure I would enjoy a detective thriller by a novelist known largely for his horror novels. But, as a lover of crime novels and a good who - dun -it; I can say that King does not disappoint.
In Mr. Mercedes we meet recently retired detective, Bill Hodges. Hodges seems to be losing his way. He has lost his purpose after retirement. He spends his days watching crap tv and playing with a loaded gun; contemplating how long it will be until he is ready to pull the trigger on himself. But, that all changes when he receives a note from "Mr. Mercedes" - the man that carried out the City Center attack; that left 8 people dead and injured several others. After receiving the letter Hodges is determined to find out more about the letter and to track down the killer; he wants to put this case to rest. 
What I found amazing about the book is that King identifies the killer quickly. He wraps you so fully in the killers motives and mind that you simply have to keep reading. You also get to see both sides of the story unfold in a very satisfying and unpredictable way. The killer in this story is smart, dangerous and unpredictable. While his main crime (center city) was a "sledgehammer" he actually prefers to go after his victims with a "scalpel". We see this with the way he goes after Olivia Trelawaney and Hodges. What I love is that the reader is clued in to the just how close Mr. Mercedes is to Bill way before Bill and his friends can actually figure it out. Fortunately, for Bill and his crew they figure it out before the killer can do even more damage. 
I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads.

Favorite Quotes:

"Most people are fitted with lead boots when they are just little kids and have to wear them all their lives. These lead boots are called a conscience. I have none, so I can soar high above the heads of the normal crowd"

"Wouldn't work. You know that Dorothy Parker said, right? You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think"

Strong women come from the Desert: Bookbabe reviews A.D. 30 by Ted Dekker

A.D. 30 was my first experience reading a Ted Dekker novel, and the first real historical fiction novel I can say I really enjoyed. The book takes us into the life of Maviah; who is the daughter of a tribal leader. However, she is so much more than that. Maviah is a woman that has been thrown away by her father; sold into slavery, and sent back to her father in disgrace. She lives in a time where women are seen as property and have no rights. Its is during this story that we watch Maviah grow into a powerful woman who is fully willing aware of the fact that she is the daughter of a King. The most powerful part of this book is that Maviah is forced to help a father that does not care for her. She could be bitter, hateful and only look out for herself but she wants to be honored in the eyes of a man that cast her aside. 

So when he father is taken captive, and even though she loses her child, she decides to take a dangerous trip across the desert to meet with Herod. She walks into Herod's presence completely unsure on how she will be perceived or even if she will get the help that she seeks. It is there that she meets Phasa; Herod's first wife. It is through this meeting that things really begin to shift. As Maviah is waiting on Herod to come back from Rome she and Phasa become close; so much so that she feels comfortable enough to ask the young queen to help her in keeping her traveling companions safe. Phasa agrees to help, after Judah (one of Maviah's companions) kills a guard. It is only after this happens that Judah, Maviah, Saba and Phasa partake in a journey to meet Yeshua. It is during Maviah's first experience with Yeshua that I was reminded of how deeply personal and beautiful following Yeshua can be. It was during her experience with him that you are reminded that Yeshua is caring and deeply interested in the lives and well beings of his followers. He had the power to make every interaction personal; even though he was in room full of people. It is after this meeting that something in Maviah begins to shift. She begins to think about herself differently and she begins to think about life differently. After there journey and upon their return to the palace Maviah is entrusted with information that can drastically change the course of everything; especially since she now knows Herod had no interest in helping her. This change is circumstances sets her on a journey that takes her directly into the heart of the home of her fathers enemies. It is here that she slow emerges as the Queen that Judah always thought that she was.

What I loved the most about this book: I enjoyed the way Dekker wove the beauty of Yeshua's words into the story of a lost woman. This book truly is about the power and importance of faith. Its also about the struggle to stay the course and hold tight to your faith through even in the hardest times. 

I gave A.D. 30 5/5 stars on goodreads.com.

Quotes that I loved:

"The Stars do not lie"

"I was plunged beneath the waters of the Galilean sea a dirtied slave and emerged a queen fit for a king"

"You must understand...to have faith is to let go of knowledge as the means to salvation. To do so, one must embrace trust and mystery rather than make knowledge one's God...It is not where that matters so much as simply following? Faith, you see? Trust, like a child"

"You have heard me say, Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy...but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"

"The eye is the lamp of the body, if your eye is clear, you whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness"

"Put your faith in me, not the storm, nor the boat. I and the Father are one. You can not truly forgive until you surrender your belief in this storm and trust me instead"

These Two are Made for each other: Bookbabe Review of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

So I am just going to say it...Gillian Flynn is a bad ass!  I have never had this much fun reading a thriller. I will admit that the last real thriller (similar to this) that I enjoyed was Andrew Pyper's Lost Girls; and that was years ago. Gone Girl was definitely a book that I wish I had read in 2012 - when I originally purchased it. (Yeah I know, I let this gem linger on my shelf for a long long long long time.) Gone Girl takes us on a ride into the marriage of Amy and Nick Dunne; he is an ordinary guy and she is an extraordinary and deeply complicated woman.  Nick is the typical "man" - forgetful of almost all things sentimental, not necessarily clingy, but definitely head over heels in love with his wife. Well, at least at first! Amy is the "cool girl" - just what Nick likes. She seems to enjoy what he enjoys etc. However, that is a farce. She is just playing the "cool girl"; Amy is a sociopath. She truly does not care about anyone other than herself and is only concerned with what others can do for her. This is seen in the way she treats not only her husband but her parents; who can not seem to do enough for her. As their marriage goes along and things begin to stagnate; Nick's eye and possibly his heart begins to wander. Of course, Amy is not going to take that lying down and that is when, as they say "shit gets real"!  I will not ruin that for anyone; especially those of you that have not read the book or seen the movie. Let me just say....Amy's actions are 100% genius and 2000% crazy. I have never read a character like Amy; which is what made this book so interesting. Whats also completely crazy about this book is that while you could find something to dislike about almost every character (except maybe Go, Nick's sister) you find yourself wanting to root for both Amy and Nick. You want him to be vindicated and you want Amy's insane plan to work. Another amazing thing about this book is that it could happen. Anyone; man or woman, could pull an Amy. Of course, they would most likely be caught and we would most likely be watching the story on ID Channel because after all this is reality and not a bestselling work of fiction. 

I would recommend this book to anyone that really enjoyed the movie; which while completely close to the adaptation but so much more in depth. I gave the book 5/5 stars on goodreads.com. 

Quotes I loved:

"Should I remove my soul before I come inside."

"Amy, I don't get why I need to prove my love to you be remembering the exact same things you do, the exact same was you do. I doesn't mean I don't love our life together."

"I have a few married friends who are married - not many who are happily married, but many married friends. The few happy ones are like my parents: they're baffled by my singleness. A smart, pretty, nice girl like me, a girl with so many interests...I know that they secretly think there's something wrong with me, something hidden away that makes me unsatisfiable, unsatisfying"

Moleskin notebooks = Trouble: Bookbabe review of Finders Keepers by Stephen King

Wow just wow. Stephen King really kept the action going with Finders Keepers and tied this book very artfully into the first novel of the Hodges series. This novel is really about obsession; one guys obsession with an author and his work of fiction. Just like the first novel the villain is identified quickly; his motives are identified quickly and we also get the feeling that the guy is way way way off the reservation. Complete nutter. (And won't King have fun with that). The book even opens up with a in your face home invasion and murder. King really held no punches in the beginning and the deep dive into the book was very necessary. 
It takes a while to get to the point where Hodges (now four years older) gets into the story. 
The story revolves mainly around Peter Saubers and his family; whose father is on the survivors of the attack as City Center. At the beginning of this story Saubers and his family have fallen on very tough times. Having to had to move to a low income neighborhood, the kids losing friends; then drowning the debt from medical bills and having to deal with the pain of living off a teachers salary. Peter is hoping for anyway to help his family and it comes; in the form of a trunk buried in an abandon field. 
Of course, we all know that sometimes something good can turn into something very bad very quickly. And this happens just a few years after Peter has found the trunk. You could say that opening that trunk was like opening Pandora's box - Peter had no clue what danger awaited him or what the consequences of his actions would be. What  I loved about this book was the growth and depth of the main character; Peter was well written and fully flushed out. We saw the good in him; along with his selfishness. And it was this selfishness that seemed to link him to the villain. It was his; as well as, the obsession of the villain that could have destroyed them both and for a while I thought that it would.
What's amazing about this book is that our previous villain plays a small role; mostly towards the end of the book - but his reintroduction is sinister and seems to foreshadow that something truly scary is coming in the next installment of the series. I really can not wait to start it. 
I gave Finders Keepers 5/5 stars on goodreads.com.

Quotes that I loved:

"You created one of the greatest characters in American literature, then shit on him...a man who could do that doesn't deserve to live"

"The critical eye should always be cold and clear"

"A good novelist does not lead his characters, he follows them. A good novelist does not create events, he watches them happen and then writes down what he sees. A good novelist realizes he is a secretary, not God"

Loving the Bookish Life.....

So Booklover's Day has come about again this year and as always it reminds me that everyday is Booklover's day. 

After blogging, discussing and loving books all these years I can say there is nothing like be bookish. When I was younger I was made fun of for loving to read, even now some of my family seriously does not understand my obession with books. I have to stop at every bookstore; have to spend time organizing my reading materials. I even make lists of what I plan to read by season. (Speaking of which my fall list will be up this week!) While they may not understand my love of words; I can not really understand their dislike of reading. Reading, I believe, just makes us better human beings. It makes us smarter, makes us better problem solvers etc. Not that non-readers can not be these things. However, there is just something so magical about us bookish folks. I wish you all a wonderful and tea filled Book Lover's Day evening! 

A little stroll through Downtown Dover

I spotted the Tardis but....no Doctor....that's definitely not a Good sign...hopefully he's off running around saving the citizen of Dover, Delaware! 

So today is Dover Comic Con....I will warn you guys so am not all that nerdy but....I do have a love for all things Whoivan and Potter. But there are a few other nerd things I love! Like The Ghostbusters....Brings be back to my childhood...I only wish I could have seen more Doctor Who, Potter, even Supernatural respresented! Maybe next year. All in all, I had a pretty good walk around the area and got to scope things out. Dover Comic Con is definitely worth braving the humidity and crowds! 

Do you really want to disturb me....think wisely!