Hell for the Holidays by Chris Grabenstein

Christopher Miller is at it again to save the city. Well maybe not so much the city but get one more bad guy off the streets. With the anniversary of the last attack, which affected Chris’ daughter Angela, he really wants to stick around home as much as possible. But that does not prove to be possible. It seems to be a terrorist attack at first but Chris does not see how that could be possible with the usual suspects uninvolved. It will take some quick thinking on his part as well as the team he works with to bring down whomever is leading the attack before something horrible happens.

Mr. Grabenstein brings it again with this thrilling story about the Holidays. It is one that leaves me on the edge of my seat. His compelling characters really keep you turning pages. They are easy to feel for or cheer for. The situations seem outlandish at first but then it does not mean something like this could not happen. The scary thing is that it could very well happen.

I was really happy to read more about Christopher and his family. Angela is so sweet and his wife Nicole is always there to remind him when he needs to be home no matter what is going on. I was surprised at the character Dr. Tully that he could easily sway people’s thinking in following him just was not something I thought could happen. But if it is someone who shares your beliefs that definitely would help sway you. The things that that characters got away with at first was astonishing. It certainly made for interesting reading. I just was curious at how long it would take Christopher and his team to figure it all out.

This story had me at first since it is a character that I am fairly familiar with. This book did not disappoint for one moment. I hope there is another one in the works because this is a character I would love to read more about.
Chris Grabenstein/ Christmas Book Challenge for AN2R/ Christmas book/ 396 pages/ 5 out of 5

ask now the beasts by Ruth Rudner

Ms. Rudner takes up through different experiences in her life with animals. She also put into words how well and how poorly we communicate with animals. I was thoroughly impressed with how well she wrote her emotions down. I found this book really intriguing. Ms. Rudner has had a lot of fun experiences in her life and I enjoyed reading about them.

Some of it was about the different pack mules she would have on her travels. She also talked about the cat that she had growing up. It was so cool that she had remembered so much about her past. It was interesting to read not only about the different animal habits but how it affects their world. My favorite stories were Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, The Drugstore Cat, and Tulivu. Each story had a lot of heart in it and was interesting to me. I was surprised at how well Ms. Rudner presented the information in some of the stories. It felt like I was right next to her watching things unfold. She is even more curious than I am about animals and that was what kept me turning the pages.

This book was well written and the after word really touched my heart. She didn’t so much as tie things up neatly but explaining her journey with animals thus far really gave me a good glimpse into her life. Animals were important to her and she did her best to not to invade their world. We don’t want wild animals to depend on humans for food. That is one thing that most people forget, as much fun as it is to feed wild animals they won’t learn how to take care of themselves and we won’t always be there. Animals in a Zoo is a completely different world and I found myself agreeing with the author about it. She is definitely someone I want to read more about and learn more about her adventures.

Ruth Rudner, Non-fiction, Animals, 204 pages, 5 out of 5

I have a couple of more review books to read and then I hope to read another Christmas book!

Nov Reads and Stats

Books I read:
242.The Séance by Heather Graham A+
243. Cave Painters by Gregory Curtis A
244. Death’s Courtship by Jory Strong A
245. Harvest of Hearts by Ashley Ezell A+
246. Everlasting by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss A+
247. Thigh High by Bonnie Edwards A
248. The Flamenco Academy by Sarah Bird A
249. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers A+
250. Stray by Rachel Vincent A+
251. Jinx by Meg Cabot A+
252. Camouflaged Hearts Anthology by Aliyah Burke, Jennah Sharpe, SL Majors & Bronwyn Green A
253. Too Late For Romance by L.M. Gonzalez A
254. A Valley To Die For by Radine Trees Nehring A+
255.The Sheikh’s Unsuitable Bride by Liz Fielding A
256. Love Under the Mistletoe by Deborah Macgillivray, Leanne Burroughs, Amy Blizzard, Billie Warren Chai, Gerri Bowen, and Judith Leigh A
257. Stone Cold by David Baldacci A
258. The Christmas Child by Max Lucado (Xmas Book Challenge) A+
259. A Simple Complexity by Rick Traylor A+
260. The Privateer by Dawn McTavish A+
261. Creepers by David Morrell B
262. Christmas with Anne by L.M. Montegomery (Xmas Book Challenge) A+

My Stats:
Total books Read: 21
New Authors: 24
Fiction: 20
Non-Fiction:1
TBR: 0
Scary Books: 1
Cozies: 0
Chunksters: 3
Christmas books: 2
Books Reviewed: 11
From the Stacks: 10
Books I Bought: 4
PBS Sent: 5
PBS Received: 4
Total Pages Read: 6,538

I would have posted this sooner but life is crazy!

The Tokyo Look Book by Philomena Keet

This book is a guide to fashion on Tokyo primarily. It shows everything from mainstream well known brand names to the underworld of fashion. There are characteristics to each side but they can often be blurred. But that is the fashion world; nothing has to stay the same. Everyone interprets what he or she wants from each designer. I really liked the individuality of each person pictured in this book. I was even surprised that the author got people to pose for her. Sure they only had their first names or character names mentioned in the book but it took a leap of faith to get that much information.

A couple things that I really enjoyed were the fact that the designers were real people. They started out on the bottom like everyone else. I also liked the fact that they were doing their best to stay true to who they are. Whether that meant creating their own line or selling things that were second hand. They had a gathering that was amazing. And even some celebrities were after some of the clothing of the Japanese designers.

Having a fashion week in Japan didn’t surprise me at all. Though I was surprised that it didn’t start till later on. I guess some things take time but that would be fun to go too. Not sure I would buy any of the clothes, but it would be fun to watch it all happen in front of me. I do sew from time to time so seeing the creations that happened were fun and brilliant. Some of them I’d never wear in a million years but applauded the brave souls for them anyways.

If you love fashion and want to learn more about a culture this would be the book for you. I was impressed with how it was put together and I certainly learned a lot from it. Definitely one I am glad I have read. I also have to applaud Yuri Manabe for being able to capture people so well with her camera!

Philomena Keet. New Author, Non-Fiction, 224 pages, Fashion

I have a couple more review books and then I hope to get back to a few of my own.