City of Women by David R. Gillham

This is a book about the Second World War in the city of Berlin.  I found it very interesting since I visited the City of Berlin when I was 18 years old in 1986.  The wall was up.  We went through Check Point Charlie and stayed in a hotel in Berlin and saw the bombed out city before there was much repair done to it.

This was definitely not a cheerful book to read and I wouldn't have normally read it had I realized how sad it was and how horror-filled.  I think the situations described are entirely possible.  Having seen the city in 1986, I think it is possible life was really as it was described in the book.  Sigrid does seem unrealistically lucky and abnormally intelligent and able to conduct herself under terribly horrible circumstances.

There were bright spots, such as when Sigrid's husband lends her a hand towards the end of the novel and when Sigrid helps her friend.  I would hate to live as described in the novel and I hope I never have to.  Although, sometimes office politics reminds me of the atmosphere in this novel.  This book would be rated R if it were a movie.  I don't want to read about horrible things like this.  I would give this book a 6/10.

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

This was a teen book.  It was OK and bizarre, not boring. The story line was interesting and I was surprised by it.  These super-human teenagers are raised by super-human parents.  The parents end up dead in their bedroom and Tandoora is accused of murdering them along with her siblings.  The story is told from Tandoora's point of view.

The bizarre part of the book for me was the way the children acted and their circumstances.  Tandoora has no emotions apparently and her older brother won the Heisman trophy for football and her other brother was a child prodigy who played piano like Mozart or better.

I would give this book a 6/10.

Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto

This is the last book in the Halo Series.  Bethany and Xavier are chased by Sevens that are like Heaven's rebel renegade army.  That was unbelievable to me, even in fantasy since if they were renegade, they wouldn't be in Heaven or working for Heaven.

Eve, Bethany's psychologist in Heaven was also an unbelievable character since someone so repulsive in their militant soul-crushing state probably wouldn't be in Heaven either.  I suppose it is difficult to argue since it is fantasy though.  I just don't really feel comfortable fantasizing about something like that along with the author.

During this novel Bethany and Xavier are under cover hiding from the Sevens that seek to apply justice to Bethany for marrying a mortal (Beth and Xavier are married at the beginning of the first chapter or somewhere around there).

Beth and Xavier hide undercover at Ole Miss University so they get to experience University life.  Eventually the Sevens realize that Xavier is a 1/2 human, 1/2 angel and they want him more than Bethany.  Ivy is Xavier's creator who got Xavier's mother to have a child.

Bethany eventually is captured toward the end of the novel and taken to Heaven prison where she gets a psychologist, Eve to help her become an angel again and forget her mortal life.  You have to read the book to see how it turns out :).  I would give this novel a 7/10.  Better than the rest, but still somewhat not settling well with me.

Hades by Alexandra Adornetto

I question if it's ok to go delve into these topics when I'm reading it as I am worried that someone reading it may think this is what Heaven or Hell is really like, even though I don't know what it's like, I don't feel comfortable reading someone's version of it, but I guess I feel comfortable enough to go ahead and read anyway.

So I know it's a story, but I am not sure Lucifer would be so restrained considering all the suffering in the world. The book makes it seem as if Jake, the Demon is capable of loving someone, even though he is a corrupt being right to the end, I would have thought he would be a lot meaner than what he is portrayed as in the book.

Bethany goes to hell in this book and is rescued out of it by her Brother Gabriel the Archangel and Ivy a Seraphim and Xavior, her mortal boyfriend.  The novel describes hell while Bethany is down there.

The beginning was somewhat tedious, but it got going somewhere around the first part of the middle.  The reason the beginning was somewhat tedious was that it got old listening to how in love Xavior and Bethany were.  I am older though, and this book was made for teens.  I would give this book a 6/10, but my teenage children would probably give it a 9/10.

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

I read some reviews on this book and the reviews were very harsh.  This was definitely a book for teenagers.  The reviewers were all angry that the people in the book were white or caucasion and there were no other colors.  They were also very angry that it was written from a religiou,s and to them, close-minded, point of view.  I thought it was a great book.  If you don't like it, don't read it.  I thought it was fine.  Although, for me, a tad boring.  I am 45 years old though, and the people in the book are teenagers.  I think there is nothing wrong with all the characters being religious and white and that it is ignorant to fault the author for that.  If the characters were all black and non-religious would white religious people get all mad?  People should respect each other.

As for the book, It was about angels who come to earth to help out the humans and the cause for good.  An angel falls in love with a human boy and they end up being girlfriend/boyfriend.  My teens really enjoyed this book.  They bought all three in the trilogy.  I thought it was OK.  I would give it a 6/10.

An Accidental Light by Elizabeth Diamond

I was surprised that I liked this book.  I thought I wasn't going to at first because of the cover (making a heart sign with your hands and light coming from your hands and the rest of the cover dark).  It was good though.  I liked how the author wrote the book from different view points.

A police officer (I think he was off-duty) hit a child with his car and killed her.  She died in his arms.  The book centers on how this affected the police officer, his family, the mother and father of the child who died, and basically everyone in the book.

I thought it was entertaining to read.  It wasn't a book where I can't put it down, but I did enjoy reading it.  I know someone who died young though, and it made me cry thinking of the feelings these people were going through.

I would give this book a 7/10.

The Good Sister by Diana Diamond

I found myself respecting the author 3/4 of the way through this book regarding the plot of this story.  I don't think I could have written a mystery story so well.  I thought the language was rude and I wish she would have omitted it.  Most of her books have a crudeness that I would rather not allow into my life, not that I'm any better, but I don't want to invite what I recognize as undesirable since I have enough character I would like to work on in myself already. 

Once again, people who are ridiculously wealthy are the main characters in the book.  The exception to this book was that EVERYONE was ridiculously wealthy or had been at one point in their lives. Padraig was poor, but he was never really struggling like most people do in "real" life.

Two competitive twins fight over Padraig, a famous and, at first, thought to be wealthy actor.  Eventually they find out Padraig is on the verge of poverty (probably living like a real person) and he marries one of the sisters (Jennifer) who is thought to be the less attractive and the more brainy of the two.  Christine, the outgoing voluptuous siren ends up sleeping with Jennifer's husband and several attempts at murder eventually end in death. 

I really enjoyed this novel.  The violence and swearing was too much. The murder is so creepy the way the author gets right into the logistics of killing someone.  She almost makes it seem like it's a good idea to murder someone, or the thought process is rational.  It's very unsettling.  The story, though, is quite intriguing and holds my attention.  I find the story entertaining.

I would give this book an 8/10.