Random House Word Menu
Stephen Glazier
ISBN 978-0345414410

Blurb:

The critically acclaimed Random House Word Menu is the ultimate language reference: a reverse dictionary, thesaurus, almanac, and compendious glossary, all in one. Only the Word Menu organizes language the subject matter, the way we understand and use it, and from the general to the specific, so it’s easy to use.

For example: you’re can’t come up with the right word for the part of the wall you’re about to paint. A regular dictionary won’t help; your thesaurus isn’t specialized enough. Look in the Word Menu, first under "The Home," then under "Interior Structure," and then under "Structural and Decorative Element." There it is: dado, the lower part of wall separated from upper part by rail, moulding, or border.

Review:

What can I say about this book, other than… what a fantastic way to organize a dictionary of sorts!
It is laid out easily and aids finding the right word quickly. You start off by going to the section you need, then the sub section — and before you know it, you find the word you were after. Well, most of them, anyway.

I was looking for a word describing the loose gravel you get on mountainsides. It wasn’t under landscapes and seascapes. So I looked under geology. Materials, formations and substances. Did I find it? You betcha. Right there it was: Scree. Loose rock debris, talus.
Finding this word would have been next to impossible without the Word Menu book.

I can’t stress enough how every writer should have a copy of this on their shelf. It’s an invaluable resource.

However, if you get the paperback edition… a magnifying glass is another invaluable resource. The type of the paperback edition is tiny.
I’m not kidding. It’s minute and very hard to read, because it is so small.
4 stars from me, because of the type setting. I’m sure the hardback with it’s larger typeface would have been a resounding 5 stars.

I’m told the hardback has bigger type, so if you want to save your eyes — get the hardback copy of this.

The nice people over at Exaclair sent me a Quo Vadis Minister to review.
First of all — thank you very much, Karen, for allowing me to check out the planner, even at such short notice.

First impressions:

The diary is about A5 in size (16 x 24cm / 6½ x 9½) and approximately 15mm thick (20mm with the cover).
Mine came in the Soya Cover in Lavender (Blue)
The cover is soft and flexible, not too thick and covers the diary well.
There is no ribbon and no elastic band (which I would personally have liked. Looking at the range, the Habana version is the one I’d go for next time.)
The paper is smooth to the touch and superb quality. Not thin, or flimsy, but rather nicely weighted and solid without feeling like it’s a "fat" page.
There is an address book in the back, slipped into the cover.

The layout is very well done, one week to two pages, with priority spots at the top of the page, a space for phone numbers, Fax/Email, See/Do, Pay/Receive and Note spaces on the side.
Sunday is at the bottom of the pages, across both pages.
You also get:
International Telephone Access Codes
Average Temperatures
Chart of International Holidays
A "Year at a Glance" Planner spanning two pages, with holidays marked. 2009 at the front, 2010 at the back.
Maps
Several pages for receipts and payments
Note pages.
The diary covers December 2008 – January 1st 2010 with a weekly, timed layout, and January 2010 with a daily layout, covering the month.
Corners are perforated for easy marking where you’re at.

10/10 for first impressions, although I really would have liked a moleskine-like elastic band on the cover, like the Habana version, since I cart the diary around with me.

Usability:

Let me just say one thing — The paper in this diary is fantastic.
Quo Vadis use Clairfontaine paper, which is acid free and pH neutral. It’s opaque, doesn’t bleed, feather or smear. And the finish is so smooth to the touch, it’s hard to believe it’s not coated with something. You just want to keep touching that paper when you get your hands on it, it’s so nice to the touch.
I’m a fountain pen user and my Herlitz Tornado glides over it like a dream. There is no bleed through even with my troublesome Noodlers Le Coleur Royale, which tends to dry slowly and soak paper. My Shaeffer Imperial behaves nicely with Diamine Aqua Blue, as does the P51 with Diamine Washable Blue. None of them bleed through, no feathering and all dried quite quickly. The paper isn’t scratchy against the nib and allows the pens to glide smoothly across the page.
Not only that, but the colors come out bright and clean too!

I find the page layout of the Minister slightly on the narrow side, if you use a medium nib size, but I had no problem with my F nib P51. Still, you have room on the side if you need to make additional notes.
The "Year at a Glance" planner is great. I use it for my word count.
The hour type is relatively small, so if you are a bit challenged with reading — you might want to get your glasses out. I had to. I didn’t find it a disadvantage, because you sort of get a feel of where in the day you are, anyway. Plus, I also tend to write the exact time into the meeting/event I put in, anyway.

The corners tear cleanly, and don’t seem to fray.

The address book is useful, if you’re like me, and you tend to forget where the heck you put an address / phone number.

8/10 for usability. Mainly because I found sometimes there wasn’t a lot of room for an appointment note if it only took half an hour.

Overall:

The pricing for this planner is about $23 (£20.50) in Soya or Habana, but you can get it in Nappa Leather as well. You need to pretty much double the price then, from what I saw, but you get a leather cover.
The refill and address book is about  £14.63 (I didn’t see the bundle in US shops), the refill alone is $8 (plain) $16 (Gold Edge) (£12.33), the address book alone was $5 (Plain), $7 (Gold Edge)

Do I think $23 is expensive for this planner?

Absolutely not. I think the paper alone makes this a superb planner, since it won’t give out on you half way into the year. (Most of my diaries gave up by about June and fell apart.) This one will survive a year easily, and if you need to keep it for the record, it’ll last through that as well.

Final Verdict:

If you are looking for a diary that will serve you well throughout the entire year, looks clean and has a no-nonsense layout — then this is the one for you.
If you use a fountain pen… then this is definitely the one for you!
I am going to enjoy using my Minister until next year, when I will most likely replace it with either another Minister, or one of the other Quo Vadis planners. Habana cover that time round, because I like the look of it.
But my 2010 diary is absolutely going to be another Quo Vadis!
Not only that, I will most likely get one of the pocket versions for my other half, who uses and abuses his diaries like you wouldn’t believe. He generally ends up having to replace his diary mid year, because it falls apart. A Quo Vadis might just survive his treatment of it.  

One Silent Night
(Dark Hunter Series)
Sherrilyn Kenyon
ISBN 978-0312947064

(No, I’m not kidding.)

Blurb:

It’s the Christmas season and all hell’s breaking loose. Literally. While humans shop, an angry demon lord is plotting an all-out onslaught against his enemies, which -unfortunately for us – includes the human race. But as Stryker gathers his forces, he discovers a grown son he never knew existed and an angry ex, Zephyra, who’s as determined to end his existence as he is to end ours. The ultimate predator is about to meet his match as new battle lines are drawn and the Dark-Hunters are rallied for a blood bath on Christmas Eve. The only question is this: can Stryker survive his oldest enemy to fight the ones he really wants to kill ? or will Zephyra finally have her shot at the husband who abandoned her?
 

Review

First of all… I was hoping this one would see Sherrilyn get back to pre-Acheron form.
While I liked the story in Acheron, I thought it deviated too much from the previous ones.
It was not a romance, as far as I’m concerned. At least not until the second half of the book.

So yeah, my hopes were high that she’d got it all out of her system.
Epic Fail, darling.

For starters — the blub is shoddy, really shoddy, but not Sherrilyn’s fault. That one is down to copy editors, editors, marketing people and whatnot at St. Martin’s Press.

That blurb…
The angry Ex who wants to kill him is there, yes.
Everything else in the blurb is wrong.

1. There is no angry demon lord, but a demon/ex god type creature Stryker sets loose.
2. War is not going after humans, he’s going after Ash and Nick, at Stryker’s request.
3. Stryker doesn’t discover a SON he never knew existed — but a daughter. (who the hell didn’t spot THAT one??)
4. The Dark-Hunters barely get a mention, let alone join the fight.
5. It has nothing to do with Christmas, other than the culmination on Christmas Eve.

The entire book feels backstory and setup for future books, basically.
She’s written herself into a corner with Ash out of the picture now, the big enemy Artemis is relegated to the sidelines — she needed new big guys, bigger than she had before. (That’s where Savitar and Jared came in a few books ago, it started back then, so I knew this was coming.) Suddenly Nick turns into some ultimate being. There is all manner of setup of the new world as it is forming (with the new powers and stuff, and an explanation thereof) and in the middle of all that you have a lackluster love story which isn’t really a love story at all.
This is not a romance. It’s nothing like previous books, except that you get tons of past — and not enough present. She keeps touting Stryker as the ultimate lover — well. SHOW would have been better than TELL. Wow. I would have seriously handed this book back and told her to make me love the characters. I didn’t see Stryker come across as a likeable guy. Yeah, he has faults, yeah, he has to overcome them — but it happens way too fast, way too easy.
Stryker suddenly has a heart. I suspected he did, but he deserved so much better than this book. He deserved better than Zephyra, too. It didn’t make me perceive him as the strong, unshakable heroes I’m used to from Sherri. Instead my sense of strength that I got from him in previous books, evil and malicious as it may have been, transformed into a sense of "What kind of spineless weak git is this?". We keep being reminded what he’s capable of — but it felt more like "Remember, he’s really evil".
I didn’t like Zephyra. (to the point  have to double check how to spell her, and I can’t remember what she looked like — and I finished the book an hour ago…) It was bland and boring, because the "I hate you, you left me" "I had to or daddy woulda killed you" got old real quick.
I mean pa-lu-heeze. Get over it already!
The story lacks the passion of previous books. The characters lack depth and purpose. They came across whiney, spoiled and irritating. As well as too powerful. Too much "I hate you" followed by "I’m sorry" to really have a conflict. Yeah, I like a heroine who can kick the hero’s behind, but I don’t like all powerful. It made me dislike her.
There is way too much backstory and setup to get any sense of the people whose story this is supposed to be. And they deserved better than being thrown into this hodgepodge of storylines.
There’s too much Ash, Savitar, Nick, Jared, Artemis and whatnot involved, along with a whole slew of new and old gods.
Too many things smack of deus ex machina, or at least a serious cop out.
Too much tell instead of show.
Too much explanation where I could have done without, not enough where I needed to know.
And throughout — there is a lack of the tension that made the previous books keepers.
When I’m more interested in the gay bodyguard than in the hero… that’s not good!
First time I give Sherri a lackluster two stars. The reason for the pervious ones being keepers is because they were about the people in the story, not about the world around them. This time it’s more about the world and the powers in them and who does what — with a bit of gratuitous sex thrown in — than about the people.

All in all, I’ll only recommend it to keep on track with the series, but other than that… I kept getting bored.
I was more interested in reading about Davyn than Stryker, more intrigued by Medea than Zephyra — and that’s bad, when it’s not their story.
I know I’m a harsh, brutal, critic, but I also know Sherri can do better than this.
I’ll still get the next one, in the hope we return to previous keeper books, but chances are slowly running out. Stop worldbuilding and start writing about people again.

Man I hate slam-dunking Sherri, but this one doesn’t deserve to stand next to the others.

Acheron
(Dark Hunter Series)
Sherrilyn Kenyon
ISBN 978-0749908669

Blurb

Eleven thousand years ago a god was born. Cursed into the body of a human, Acheron endured a lifetime of hatred. His human death unleashed an unspeakable horror that almost destroyed the earth. Brought back against his will, he became the sole defender of mankind. Only it was never that simple…
For centuries, he has fought for our survival and hidden a past he never wants revealed. Now his survival, and ours, hinges on the very woman who threatens him. Old enemies are reawakening and uniting to kill them both.

Review:

Finished reading the book. Now… I have mixed feelings about it.

First, let me tell you about it.

I have wanted Ash’s story for a long time. Now that I have it… In a way I wish I didn’t.
Not because I didn’t like it. It’s a heartbreaking story and one worthy of him, but… It brought a character who was larger than life down to the realm of mortals. I don’t get tired of Sherri’s writing. It’s sassy and out there, it always has been and I’ve loved everything she’s ever written, even before this series was ever born. I’m biased where her writing is concerned, that’s why — although I truly love her books — I don’t usually put my thoughts about them to paper. (Or screen, in this case.)
With that in mind…

I read the book, all 700+ pages of it, in (almost) one setting. Us mere mortals have to sleep when our eyes start to droop. It starts before Ash is born and continues through the horror of his childhood. If you’re squeamish, this isn’t a book for you. If you want to know what makes Ash tick, it’s a book you should read. The betrayal, the pain and suffering that have shaped the character are laid bare in a horrendous chain of events. You get to see Ash’s soul, his pain, his lack of self-worth. It’s there, in brutal detail. You get to see Artemis and how their unfortunate relationship starts and develops into supreme hatred. But to hate something, you have to love it first.

I loved to read about the interactions between Ash and his DH’s, loved seeing Talon miss at basketball. As heartbreaking as the story is… I think I grinned as much as I cringed.

I won’t tell you the story, I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. But I can tell you that, while I liked the heroine, I hated her at the same time. Because she takes Ash out of the equation. I’m happy for him, but that doesn’t mean I like her.

I guess we have to get used to Savitar and Jaden as being larger than life in place of Ash, and that’s why I have mixed feelings about the book. No, he’s not any less powerful or potent, he’s just different now. The book changes him from the Ash we know and it’ll take a while to get used to that thought. I’ll reserve judgement until I read some more books first. I want to see where Sherri goes with this. I know she can do it, I’ve always believed in her, even way back when, when she didn’t really believe in herself. Sherri, if you ever trip over this, let me tell you — I see you in Ash. A lot. You’re a survivor. Don’t ever change that.
And for what it’s worth… one day we will meet up and then I’ll give you that hug I wanted to give you 11 years ago, when you told me some dimwit told you that you’d never get published, that what you write isn’t publishable. The woman was wrong. I told you that then and I’d love for you to know that you’re my heroine. Because you gritted your teeth and did it anyway. By any means you could. And I truly, truly want you to know how good it makes me feel to see you go from strength to strength and leave that dark time behind.
Back then, when everything dropped around me, and I hit rock bottom… I didn’t think I’d ever write again. Then I saw YOU rise from the ashes. And you made ME believe it can happen. Thank you for that.

I have a few gripes though. (When do I not?)

There are a couple inconsistencies. (Sorry, I read books not just as a reader, in my mind I crit the dang things and edit…) There are bits the editor should have caught, but I can forgive them. The book is very long. Things get missed. Or maybe I missed it and skip read, but I re-read the previous pages and it was still there. It’s the hospital scene after Tory wakes up… I won’t elaborate, but… hello. She just woke up. When did she get a chance to speak to her friends? It’s a little thing, but it made me go "Huh?". A couple of others, too, but really, I can live with it and fill in the blanks.

Overall, it’s a riveting read. It’s not like the other DH books, but at the same time it is. It’s a lot darker, more painful. It took guts to write that. It’s a story of survival.

Most of all, it’s a reluctant keeper. Reluctant, because of what I said above: Ash is out of circulation now.  We need a new mysterious badass to root for and worry about, now.
(So get on with it! Chop chop, back to that keyboard, break time is over!)

And BTW… I want Styxx’s story. Yeah, he’s a bastard. A total and utter… yeah. That.
But something tells me he’s not quite as bad as you paint him and that he’s saveable. You hinted at it. Grr. Something tells me there’s more to him, and that while he was a total and complete vindictive, evil bastard to Ash… he had his reasons. Everyone had it in for Ash, yet there were still some who rooted for him.
Who did Styxx have? That waste-of-space father of his, who wouldn’t know love if it bit him? The mother who more or less abandoned him, too?
I might be wrong. I might have him all wrong and he’s supreme evil. I might have completely misunderstood. But…
It makes me wonder.
No one is born evil. We’re all the product of the events that shape our lives, the product of the actions of other people toward, or against us.
So yeah… Make me like him, I dare you.

Highly Recommended — if you can stomach the torture.

Sebastian
(Ephemera Series)
Anne Bishop
ISBN 0451460960

Blurb:
Long ago, to stop the onslaught of the Eater of the World, Ephemera was split into a dizzying number of strange and magical lands connected only by bridges—which may take you where you truly belong, rather than where you had intended to go.
Now, with the Eater contained and virtually forgotten, the shifting worlds of Ephemera have been kept stable by the magic of the Landscapers. In one such land, where night reigns and demons dwell, the half–incubus Sebastian revels in dark delights. But then in dreams she calls to him: a woman who wants only to be safe and loved—a woman he hungers for while knowing he may destroy her.
But a more devastating destiny awaits Sebastian, for in the quiet gardens of the Landscapers’ school, evil is stirring. The prison of the Eater of the World has weakened—and Sebastian’s realm may be the first to fall…
Intoxicating, erotic, and intensely romantic, Sebastian is for those who know on which side of the heart—Light or Dark—their passions lie.

Review:
Firstly – I don’t know where they got the "erotic" part from. It’s not. It’s about as erotic as the Black Jewels Series… even though the guy is an incubus.
That said, it’s still a damn good book. Not as good as the Black Jewels, but good nonetheless. I kept reading and Sebastian is adorable when he struggles with his incubus side… and the fact that he’s falling in love with "the little rabbit". The supporting cast, Teaser, Glorianna (Belladonna), Lee, Nadia… all of them are well rounded characters and make the world come alive.
As usual, Anne Bishop creates a world of Landscapers and Bridges, of Wizards and Demons… and yet they are all human. Dark, or light, it doesn’t matter. They all have a little of both, just in different doses. She meshes their worlds together almost seamlessly, so that what’s dark… may or may not be evil. And what’s light… well. All may not be as it seems.
I finished the book and luckily already had "Belladonna" sitting here waiting to be read. So that’s the next review.
It’s Fantasy and it’s an Anne Bishop. Seriously, what more could you want???

Highly recommended.

Labyrinth
Kate Mosse
ISBN 0752877321

Blurb:
July 1209: in Carcassonne a young girl is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the true Grail. Although Alaïs cannot understand the strange words and symbols hidden within, she knows that her destiny lies in protecting it. It will take great sacrifice and faith to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe – a secret that stretches back thousands of years to the deserts of Ancient Egypt
. . .
July 2005: Alice Tanner stumbles upon two skeletons during an archaeological dig in the mountains outside Carcassonne. Inside the hidden tomb where the bones lie crumbling, she experiences an overwhelming sense of malevolence, as well as a creeping understanding that, however impossible it seems, she can somehow understand the mysterious ancient words carved into the rock. Too late, Alice realises she’s set in motion a terrifying sequence of events that she cannot control and that her destiny is inextricably tied up with the fate of the Cathars 800 years before.

Review:
I liked it. It’s not a bad book, not a bad story, it kept me reading and I wanted to know who the two skeletons were, but…
There’s always a but, isn’t there?
Frankly, I think about half the book could (and should) have been edited down a bit.
Kate Mosse writes very wordy, to say the least. I don’t speak French, so the translations were handy, but it became tiresome.
I liked Alaïs a damned side better than Alice. The former had spunk, the latter just kind of… plodded along. The parallels of the names were too obvious I thought. You knew who was who, and I think it might have been better to not kind of repeat the cast, 800 years on.
However.
Carcassonne… It came alive on the page. Absolutely stunningly alive. I have been there before, so some of the things she describes wake memories inside me of a very enjoyable day spent there. It zinged. Seriously, I don’t know a better word for it.
I won’t spoil the plot if you want to read it, but prepare yourself for a VERY thick book. It’s 697 pages. (I warned you she’s wordy!)
Because of the wordiness, because of the lackluster Alice, I’ll only give it a 3 out of 5, but 2 of those are because Kate Mosse made Carcassonne come alive again for me, and made me want to go back to visit.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe
Fannie Flagg
ISBN 039456152X

!!!

Ok.

If you are female, and you have not read this book… shame on you. You must have been living under a rock someplace.

Cleo Threadgoode, an octagonarian, tells frustrated, menopausing and terribly terribly tense Evelyn Couch about her life.

Sounds like a right load of drivel, doesn’t it?

In her mind, Cleo escapes back to her home of Whistlestop, Alabama, in the early thirties. She tells the tale of the town, the people, the events… the barbeque, the cafe… and the occasional murder.
It is a riveting tale, interspersed with Evelyn’s own struggle to come to terms with her own life, while she listens to this 80 year old lady, who sort of adopted her.
It’s funny, it’s tragic, it’s macabre… it is full of life.
You will hear about Idgie, about Ruth. You will meet Sipsy and big George. And most of all, you will fall in love with the characters. I’m tellin ya…

The secret’s in the sauce…

I’d give this one a 15 on a 10 scale.

Unforgiven
Lindsay McKenna
ISBN-13: 9780373617487
Seriously.

Oh. My. God.

Ever had a book where you just *knew* you’d read that before?
Unforgiven is the story of a part Apache / part "Jaguar" Sniper who gets put into Ecquador to kill the leader of the locals because he’s terrorizing the mining company.

I read another book with a "Jaguar People" theme, which also had an Apache Military guy after the local troublemaker in South America. I don’t recall the name or who wrote it, but… It was way too similar. But nevermind. I was prepared to give this a shot anyway.
So. I start off and from the get go the hero seems incredibly weak. Too weak to be "the top sniper" in the Marines.
He’s in prison because he tried to kill the general who raped and murdered his wife and daughter, but managed to "vanish" the DNA evidence and get Mr. Top Sniper locked up for 20 years. (Uh-huh.) Then a CIA agent comes and offers to give him his freedom (in Equador) after he kills the guy who is causing mayhem for a mining company there – but he’s never allowed back into the US or he’ll go back to prison. (Right. The US Government asks him to kill someone and then won’t allow him back in the country? I’d question that, but HE doesn’t… nevermind.)
The night before he goes he has a vision of a woman and falls instantly in love. (Book hit the wall at this point.)
I forced myself to pick the book up again, but she’d already lost me. Anyway.
He gets there, the local rich nice girl is the perpetrator of the mayhem and she’s also a shapeshifting Jaguar. A lot of explanation of the "Warriors for the Light" at this point and how his parents trained him and whatnot. OK.
SHE already knows not only who he is but also why he is there. (Nowhere is it explained how she would know this.) and she’s wrestling with the fact that she’s attracted to her killer. He finds and shoots the "elusive" mayhem maker the first night on her tail, when the "agents" who were after her haven’t been able to get a bead on the ghost for 2 years. She wears a vest and shapeshifts (she always ends up dressed as she was, complete with guns and everything after btw) into a jaguar and escapes.
Two weeks later she goes to see him again and finds out he’s been existing on candy bars. She offers food and he spills his guts to her about his past. (Picture the book hitting the wall again kthx)
It gets really convaluted and idiotic after this (yeah like it isn’t already) he goes all emo and cries a lot (He’s a freaking MILITARY SNIPER!!) there are pages (plural!) of explanation of how all the mysticism works and while they compare notes of the stories they were told ("Oooo your story is the same!") and they recover a magic artifact and there is suddenly a "save the world" myth and all kinds of wild setting up sequels going on (oh yah, I am well aware of it kthx)…
They fall in lurve (just like the legend says), she goes to convince his enemies by means of a lock of hair, his papers and his sniper rifle that she killed him (Show me the head, then I might believe it) and his saving her and both of them ending up in the shower… ok. Fine. The second they are done with sex in the shower… she knows she’s pregnant. (More legends incoming!) I’m not kidding, she *knows* instantly. Come ON now… that’s just so 80’s…
Oh and the emerald mine doesn’t belong to the bad guy either, it belongs to a peasant whom they found dead in the jungle after he’s been missing a few years.

Time to finish the book, right?

WRONG.

"Two months later" You end up enduring no less than 30 pages of a "historian/archeologist" who tells them about some tablets she found in Machu Pichu —- insert regurgitation of *everything* you already read 8 times from several angles about this legend…
MAN… Don’t bother with it.

Dangerous Temptation
Kathleen Korbel
ISBN-13: 9780373617494

This is kind of a quirky book. I like the premise, though I have to say, from the back blurb I expected something slightly different.
Not to worry, I enjoyed reading about fairies and elves and leprechauns… and finally I understand about that pot of gold!
Let me just say… they have *nothing* in common with Tinkerbell.

The hero thinks he is dreaming for quite some time – understandable since he just fell off a Cairn. Nuala is very likable, so is Zeke. I like how Ms. Korbel didn’t try to make him a die hard skeptic who couldn’t believe what’s in front of him. He’s open, puzzled and unsure, but open to the possibility that it might just not be a dream, that he really is in the land of the fairies and that the woman he is falling in love with is really the daughter of the fairy queen.
Never mind that it means he can’t have her. He can’t stay, either. Trouble is, Mommy dear – the Queen – has slightly different ideas about how this is all going to end. I did outguess the tests – but it was ok. It didn’t spoil things.
Since I don’t want to spoil the book for people, I’ll only say these things:

• I want to read any other books she might write about this "universe".
• I want Liam’s story. (One line and I want to read about him – well done!)

Anyway, I enjoyed this one, hope you do too, if you read it.