Pretty In Ink: A Tattoo Shop Mystery by Karen E. Olson

Pretty In Ink: A Tattoo Shop Mystery by Karen E. Olson



This is the 2nd book in the Tattoo Shop series, and is just as good, if not better, than the first!


From Amazon: 

Product Description

Murder in the city of sin...

Brett Kavanaugh is a tattoo artist and owner of Vegas's hottest tattoo shop, The Painted Lady. And in her spare time, she does some sleuthing. After Brett and company ink Sin City's newest drag queens, they're invited to opening night at the strip's glamorous Nylon and Tattoos show-which ends in disaster when a stranger with a Queen of Hearts tattoo fatally injures Britney Brassieres with a champagne cork. And when another drag queen is found poisoned, it looks like someone's targeting Vegas's fabulous femmes... 

This was such a fun book - how can you go wrong with tattoos, a hot doctor, a scary cop, drag queens, and poison?!  This book pulls it all together and keeps you reading and reading.  Definitely recommend!! 

Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change? - Sign the Petition

Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change? - Sign the Petition

And the Companion Book to the Movie:

 
Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It by Participant Media and Karl Weber


If you want to read about this as well, the movie was largely based on these two books:







The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan


Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (P.S.) by Eric Schlosser

and if you haven't seen the movie:

Food, Inc. ~ Eric Schlosser

I watched it last night on Netflix - it's available on Instant Play - so you can watch it NOW if you have a Netflix account.




I watched Food, Inc. last night, and now I feel like I'm on a mission!  Please education yourself on the food you eat, where it comes from, how it gets to us!

It's Friday!  Time for another Book Blogger HOP!! 

This is for ALL BOOK BLOGGERS (NEW AND OLD) and READERS!  Let's make some new friends and have fun!  It's FRIDAY!!!

NOTE:  You can snag the linky code and post the Hop links on your site, too!  That way someone can start with link #1 and hop around in order to each person's site without having to come back here each time!  At the bottom of the linky list, just click on "Get the code here"!  Let me know how you like this feature!

ABOUT THE HOP:

In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blogger Hop to give us all book bloggers and readers a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on!  So, I created this weekly BOOK PARTY where book bloggers and readers can connect to find new blogs to read, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!  So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start PARTYING!!

Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.

If you start following someone through the Hop, leave a comment on their blog to let them know!  Stop back during the week to see other blogs that are added!  And, most importantly, the idea is to HAVE FUN!!

OPTIONAL TWIST:  

On your blog hop post, tell us about some of the other great blogs you've found while Hopping around!  

DISCLAIMER:

The Hop isn't just for you to throw your link in there and not visit any other blogs.  It's all about networking and finding new blogs that are of interest.  So, in the spirit of the Hop, try to make some time to visit other blogs and don't post your link if you are not planning on visiting other blogs in the Hop that week.  This is a weekly event, so if you don't have time this week, that's fine!  We'll see you next week!

If you sign MckLinky, please share the love and POST ABOUT THE HOP ON YOUR BLOG!  How else will anyone else find out about it and come join the party?

Please use the following format when entering your link below (be careful - I don't always have time to go in and edit your link!!):

NAME OF BLOG (How long you've been blogging; what genres you PRIMARILY review)
I know a lot of us read all different genres, but if you had to choose ONE OR TWO genres that you review more often than others, what would they be??

Example:
Crazy-for-Books (21 months; contemporary fiction/mystery)

So, let's do the Hop!

P.S. BEFORE YOU ENTER YOUR LINK - DID YOU READ ALL OF THE RULES ABOVE??  DON'T FORGET TO LIST THE REQUESTED INFORMATION IN YOUR LINK!!!!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday - Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, Bk 5) by Richelle Mead

 

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a feature for bloggers to swoon over upcoming releases they can't wait to get their hands on.

My pick is

Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, Bk 5) by Richelle Mead - release date 5/18/10

 

Product Description

Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong...

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir's-and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere.

She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him... forever.

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Razorbill (May 18, 2010)
• ISBN: 1595142509 / 978-1595142504

A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans

 
A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans


Book Description:  Thirty-year-old George Davies can't bring himself to hold his newborn son.  After months of accepting his lame excuses and strange behavior, his wife has had enough.  She demands that he sees a therapist, and George, desperate to save his unraveling marriage and redeem himself as a father and husband, reluctantly agrees.

The book goes back and forth in time between George as an 11 year old who has recently lost his father and adult George who is keeping a notebook for this therapist.  The writing is amazing, and for a first-time writer, I'm completely impressed!  The story is cohesive, if a bit confusing in places, the characters are well-written.

George as an 11 year old was visited by an invisible "friend" - was it a vision?  was it a product of George's imagination?  Is George insane or in touch with the supernatural?

The book gives readers quite a bit to think about, but doesn't really give many answers - so if you like books that end with a nice, clean finish then this book may not be for you.  But if you like a book that holds you in its grasp, gives you lots of ideas to ponder, and leaves you thinking about it well after you close it up, then I recommend this one.

Recently Read

Day After Night: A Novel by Anita Diamant

I was disappointed in this book. I thought the premise was fascinating - Jews who were being detained after WWII by the British as they made their way to Israel. There was so much I didn't know about this period of time, and after reading this book I still don't! I think this book could have been much more in-depth, both in the history and in the characters. The characters were almost two-dimensional - I didn't feel connected to any of them - the backgrounds were only a few pages long and scattered around the book. Unlike The Red Tent, which was outstanding, this book just didn't do justice to the story.

Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

I listened to this on audio, and really enjoyed it!  The narrators, Hope Davis and Campbell Scott, totally made it interesting.  The book itself was good, but a little predictable and in some places, a bit cliched.  Still, it's definitely worth listening to.

Succubus Dreams (Georgina Kincaid, Bk 3) :: Richelle Mead

Another fun addition to this series!  Honestly, I think this is the best one yet.

Book Description:

Some days, a girl just can't catch a break... especially when the girl in question is Georgina Kincaid, a shape-shifting succubus who gets her energy from seducing men. First there's her relationship with gorgeous bestselling writer Seth Mortensen, which is unsatisfying on a number of levels. It's not just that they can't have sex in case Georgina inadvertently kills him (generally a turn-off for most guys). Lately, even spending time together is a challenge. Seth's obsessed with finishing his latest novel, and Georgina's under demonic orders to mentor the new (and surprisingly inept) succubus on the block.

Then there are the dreams. Someone, or something, is preying on Georgina at night, draining her energy, and supplying eerie visions of her future. Georgina seeks answers from Dante, a dream interpreter with ties to the underworld, but his flirtatious charm only leaves her more confused -- especially as the situation with Seth reaches crisis point. Now Georgina faces a double challenge -- rein in her out-of-control love life, and go toe-to-toe with an enemy capable of wreaking serious havoc among mankind. Otherwise, Georgina, and the entire mortal world, may never sleep easy again.

 Without giving too much away, there's a lot going on in this book - maybe that's why I liked it so much!  Between the mentoring of the new succubus, the dreams and energy draining, angels in town, new characters (Dante, Tawny, to name a few) - there was just a lot packed in this one.  I'm definitely going to get started on the next one soon.

The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium, Bk 2) by Stieg Larsson

 

This book (#2 in a 3 book series) is just fantastic!  I loved the first one so much, and was so afraid this wouldn't be as good.  I was thrilled to discover this was better!  I stayed up late last night, curled up in bed with a swiftly dimming booklight, reading each and every word of this amazing book.

As many know, Mr. Larsson died after writing the three books in this series.  While I can't wait to get the 3rd one, it will definitely be bittersweet knowing that it is the very last.  A sad thing that such talent is lost to us now - but thank goodness we have these three books to treasure!

From Paperbackswap.com:  Lisbeth Salander, the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker, is a wanted woman. Two Millennium journalists about to expose the truth about the sex trade in Sweden are brutally murdered, and Salander's prints are on the weapon. Her history of unpredictable and vengeful behaviour makes her an official danger to society -- but no one can find her anywhere.

Meanwhile, Mikael Blomkvist, editor-in-chief of Millennium, will not believe what he hears on the news. Knowing Salander to be fierce when fearful, he is desperate to get to her before she is cornered and alone. As he fits the pieces of the puzzle together, he comes up against some hardened criminals, including the chainsaw-wielding 'blond giant' -- a fearsomely huge thug who can feel no pain.

Digging deeper, Blomkvist also unearths some heart-wrenching facts about Salander's past life. Committed to psychiatric care aged 12, declared legally incompetent at 18, this is a messed-up young woman who is the product of an unjust and corrupt system. Yet Lisbeth is more avenging angel than helpless victim -- descending on those that have hurt her with a righteous anger terrifying in its intensity and truly wonderful in its outcome.

My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers, Bk 2) by Rachel Vincent

 

It took me a while to get into this one, but I'm glad I stayed with it - it turned out to be very good!  In this 2nd book in the series, Kaylee is living with her dad now and learning more about being a banshee.

She discovers that girls are selling their souls for fame and fortune, and when she finds out what exactly that entails after they die, she's determined to help get a soul or two back for them.  With her boyfriend Nash's help, as well as Tod, she travels to the Netherworld.

While not near as good as the first book in the series, this was still pretty entertaining.