Southern Vampire/ Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris

My friend Mary suggested the first book in this series to me. She told me it was like the Twilight series, but for grownups, because it is much funnier and much saucier. She was quite right. It is not as "romantic", although there is quite a bit of romance. The first book is Dead Until Dark. In it Sookie Stackhouse is a telepathic barmaid. She has many problems because of her ability. She knows too much and if she lets others know she can hear their thoughts, the think she is crazy. When Bill Compton, a vampire, moves into the area, he is perfect for her to date since he is dead, therefore no thoughts. The whole series is very good, I would love to have a week to sit on a beach and read them all. Much good fun!

Book 1: "Dead Until Dark"
Book 2: "Living Dead in Dallas"
Book 3: "Club Dead"
Book 4: "Dead to the World"
Book 5: "Dead as a Doornail"
Book 6: "Definitely Dead"
Book 7: "All Together Dead"
Book 8: "From Dead to Worse"
Book 9: "Dead and Gone"

Aside from being a great book series, I am told that HBO has made the first book into a TV series called True Blood. I have not seen any of it since I have no cable, but maybe someday.

My mother-in-law had recommended Charlaine Harris' other series' to me as well. I will try them soon and get back to you. For more information, check out her website.

Foul Play by Janet Evanovich

This book was pretty silly, as most of Janet's books are, but I laughed out loud repeatedly. The book follows Amy as she loses her job as a children's TV show host to a chicken and gets a job at a vet office, where the chicken is subsequently stolen from. Amy is blamed when she walks into the office the next morning, unknowingly, and carrying fresh, homemade chicken noodle soup.

Very funny, even my husband was laughing out loud.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

I read this YA book just for fun and it was a lark! I'm going to recommend it to my friend Meredith, as I think she will enjoy the word play. Synopsis from B&N:
"Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father's "Bunny Rabbit."
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer.
Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew is lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind."

Frankie masterminds so many great pranks that you find you want to be her.

Unwind by Neal Schusterman

I'm not going to say too much about this book, in case some of my book club members tumble upon this post before July 15. It is really good, you should read it. Here is the blurb from B&N:
"

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them

Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until theireighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

In Unwind, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award winner Neal Shusterman challenges readers' ideas about life -- not just where life begins, and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive."

Read it.

Heart of the Sea by Nora Roberts

3rd in the Trilogy. Darcy has always claimed that she only wants a rich man who can provide for her want of material things. She doesn't plan on falling in love, ever. Until Trevor Magee shows up on the scene.

Narrator wonderful. The whole series is emotionally satisfying!!!

Tears of the Moon by Nora Roberts

The 2nd book in a trilogy. Brenna O'Toole has a "yen" for Sean Gallagher, a man she has known all her life. She figures a good roll in the hay will cure her of it, and so she proposes it to her. Sean is horrified...Brenna is like his sister. Then he starts to think of it and decides that she isn't going to get rid of this 'yen' so easily. Especially when Carick, the fairy king, gets involved.

Again, the narrator is wonderful. I love the Irish accents and Gaelic words. Both the book and the audio are worth the time.

Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts

This is the first in a trilogy. I've read the series before and really enjoyed it, so when I needed something to listen to in the car, I gravitated toward this. In this first book, Jude has come to Ireland from Chicago and she's not sure why. She's always done what is right and expected of her in life. Since her husband of 2 months left her for another woman, so has been restless and unhappy. In a move not understood by her parents, she quits her job as a psychology professor and goes to stay in Ireland for 6 months. Here in the small village of Ardmour, she is welcomed with open arms since her grandmother was raised there. She befriends the Gallagher siblings and Brenna O'Toole. All the while she is supposedly writing a paper on the psychological aspects of legends and storytelling. When she becomes part of a legend, things get very interesting.

I loved this book and the narrator is wonderful in her Irish accents, and the pronunciation of many Gaelic words. A great read or listen!

Fancy White Trash by Marjetta Geerling

This book was absolutely hilarious. I found myself thinking that I couldn't believe a book could be so far out and yet so believable. Abby is 15 and lives with her two older sisters, her niece (daughter of oldest sister), her mom and Guitar Player (mom's new husband). All of a sudden Mom announces that she is pregnant. Oh, I also forgot to mention that middle sister is also 8 months pregnant (by Guitar Player, but before he was married to her mom). And possibly older sister is preggers too? So, Abby has come up with the One True Love Plan to keep her from ending up like the rest of her family. She is assisted in this major quest by her best friend, the boy next door who is adamantly trying to insist he's not gay. All in all, a very fun book. Aimed to teens, but great for adults too.

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

I had read and seen quite a bit of pre-pub hype for this book. May times when there is too much hype, the book is not all that good. That was not the case with this title. The Chosen one is about a 13 yr. old girl, Kyra, who has grown up in a polygamous sect of a cult. She has 24 brothers and sisters and her father has 3 wives. Suddenly, it is announced that the Prophet has had a vision from God and she is to marry her uncle, age 60, in 4 weeks time. While her father does all he can to fix things, the Prophet insists it must be so. So, it is up to Kyra to decide if she should save herself and never see her family again, or go about life as "normal" and enter into an incestuous marriage to a man 4 1/2 decades order than she, as a 7th wife. Excellent book, I was cheering her on and hissing at the bad guys.