Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by J.L. Murray
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book reminded me of an early Anita Blake novel...smart, and sassy detective looking to solve a crime and not die while doing it. Along with a cast of varying talented men, the book is a fast read.

My biggest issue with this novel is the characterization of all the minor characters. They all sound the same and they're poorly developed. I didn't care about any of them. And because I didn't care, I ended up not liking this book at all.

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Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Um, what happened to the plot? No, really. Where did it go? What a crappy book. It's all sex, sex, Anita can't deal with her feelings, sex, and more sex, oh and towards the end there's a hint of a big bad. But then Hamilton does what she does best. Concludes everything quite suddenly in one neat little chapter. Except it doesn't make sense.

Don't get me wrong. The sex doesn't bother me at all. It's the bullshit in between. The constant nagging back and forth of the same old issues. Over and over again someone is pissed. Someone is hurt. And it never changes. It's frickin' annoying.

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Time flew at work today. It started with a staff meeting and led into what seemed to be an easy adjustment interview prep. Except it wasn't. And a simple 30 minute appointment turned into an hour and half freak out session. Then my co-worker got a cuss filled phone call from her husband, and it all went downhill from there.

It was definitely a busy Friday.

And after that phone call, it felt like we were checking the news every ten minutes as we attempted to complete our jobs.

Forsaken by Keary Taylor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was painful to finish. A heroine who bitches and moans just because her guy won't propose? Seriously? Nothing about this book is remotely realistic - not the characters or the story. So it's about angels. I get that realism doesn't matter, but at least make these characters believable. Not mopey and blah.

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I make it a point to stop thinking about work when I get home. Work stays at work (for the most part) and the evenings are for any miscellaneous thing I can use to waste my time. Sometimes I miss having homework, but then I don't. Who wants the stress? Not me.

Of course, since I have a few hours of the day all to myself, I've been debating what to do. I'm doing the Goodreads challenge and have set myself up for 25 books a year. I'm already 5 books behind and have 12 books to read by December 31. To my credit, the books I love to read tend to be 600 pages and up. I've already read close to 7000 pages this year, so my being behind isn't too shabby. I do hate to lose, so I may be a bookworm for the rest of the year.

It doesn't help that my shows are back on today. I'm really looking forward to Fringe and The Vampire Diaries (read it at 13, the show is such a guilty pleasure). And I'm sure I'll pick up a few more by next month.

And on top of everything else, there is so much I want to do, and can't figure when to do it. I do know that I treasure these distractions.

Steamside Chronicles by Ciar Cullen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book deserves 2.5 stars. It's not the worst thing I've read, yet it wasn't the best either.

The protagonist, Emily Fenwick, is a police officer who is suddenly whisked into an alternate New York set in 1890. Except it's not really an alternate New York, nor are there any scenarios that could be labeled steampunk. It's more fantasy-based with a world that I found intriguing.

Emily wakes up in Steamside, a world connected to 1890's "normal" New York. Steamside's inhabitants are refugees like Emily who long to return to their times. Why are they here? It's not clearly explained, and that's not a good thing, which is a shame because Steamside is interesting.

Rather, the setting is used more as a backdrop to a juvenile, nonsensical romance between the two leads. POVs were difficult to distinguish, and the dialogue was all jumbled up. The romance was tedious and unbelievable. Have I mentioned juvenile?

It was a fun read, but Steamside Chronicles just wasn't the best.

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Dead Reckoning by Ronie Kendig
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was one of the first books I acquired for my Kindle. It sounded interesting and it was a cheap buy. The only downside is that I'm not going to get the last six hours back.

Shiloh Blake is an auburn-haired beauty running from her past. She's prideful and has no religion because daddy dearest made her lose her faith. On a scuba diving expedition in India, Shiloh is suddenly thrust into an international chess match of spies which forces her to face her past and find love. Except it's not that simple. It's worse.

The novel is horribly predictable. By the second chapter you know who Shiloh will choose, and that she'll regain her faith. Her troubled past is treated like a big secret, yet when the truth is revealed at the end of the book, it's nothing. The male characters are stereotypes. There's the born again Christian wanting a submissive wife, and the suave, deadly spy unable to dish on his feeling because he just... can't... go... there... yet.

Under the pretense of being an adventure filled novel, the ease with which the characters get in and out of trouble is ridiculous. Characters are chased, shot, and tortured, and by the next page they're peachy keen and drinking mimosas by the beach. This book just wasn't entertaining, although I'm sure romance junkies may find it amusing.

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The Waste Lands by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stephen King, you meanie. I mean, really. You ended it there?

I read this book years ago. So long ago that I didn't remember anything about the book except for the end, and after such a massive cliffhanger, I'm thankful that I have the next book in the series. I have the complete series!

The characters progressed and grew, shedding their troubled pasts as they moved further into their journey, and yet keeping what truly made them unique. Eddie is still the loveable smartass, and Susannah, a true badass. This book was more about them rather than Roland and his demons, although they played out brilliantly throughout their journey.

I think what surprised me the most was how much I care about these characters. So much, that if something ever happened to them (in the books, of course), I think I'd cry.

It's not as brilliant as the first two books in The Dark Tower series, but it's still a worthy read.

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So the ritual begins anew.  I've an asylum merits hearing next week, and I'm already stressing (on top of other stuff).  All day today I started researching tips on authenticating documents and battling objections.  I had an intern do a little more research in case I need it for court.  I plan on pouring over everything this weekend so I won't miss anything. I'm that freakish, but hey, it works.

Direct examinations scare me the most.  At the hearing I have to make sure my client is able to tell his/her story via my questions. And it never fails that I'll get objected to for accidently leading.  Seriously, I wish everything were leading. I rock a cross examination like a 15 yr pro.  Except it's not to be.

So if I start rambling over the next week, don't mind it.  Everything will go back to normal the following week.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to remind myself that sometimes to be able to read a classic, one needs to do it in one day, more or less.

I read this in bits and pieces. Sometimes only a chapter at a time. I found myself groaning at the long introspective musings of Rodion. Then I freaked like the closet philosopher-lover that I am when dealing with the passages on "ordinary" and "extraordinary" humans.

This book is not for the meek, but oh how I loved it. I only wish I'd read it sooner.

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