A Charmed Death by Madelyn Alt

Started: 11/27/06
Finished: 11/28/06
Year: 2006
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf
Blurb (from back cover): "Now Maggie is Indiana's newest witch. Learning to cope with her newfound powers is tough enough, but add to that keeping the stock at Enchantments organized and remembering to tape reruns of her favorite show, Magnum, P. I., and Maggie's got a full plate.
"But when she witnesses an altercation between a local teenage princess and another customer in Enchantments-and later the girl turns up dead-she feels compelled to investigate. Though the police are at a loss, Maggie has some tricks up her sleeve, or to be more specific, some spells, charms, and mystical intuitions. And with the help of her boss (and favorite witch) Felicity Dow, Maggie is spellbound and determined to get to the bottom of this murder."
Opinion: Included some ghost haunting material which I enjoyed. Fairly predictable but still a fun mystery. For a complete review, check out MyShelf.com next month.

The One Worth Waiting For by Alicia Scott

Started: 11/25/06
Finished: 11/26/06
Year: 1996
Genre: Romance (Silhouette Intimate Moments)
Grade: B
Blurb (from back cover): "An unspoken promise from years before was all Suzanne Monteomery had to get her through the hard times. But get through them she did, because she knew it was only a matter of time until Garrett Guiness walked back into her life.
"And now Garret was back on her doorstep-though he didn't exactly walk in. He came equipped with a multitude of injuries and not a clue as to how he had gotten them. So maybe the only way he could remember was to leave her once again-with the promise, of course, that he would be back for her.
"Sometimes the more things change..."
Opinion: After reading Wizard and Glass, I needed something to get my mind off of it and this book did the trick. Like all other Harlequins or Silhouettes, the book is predictable but yet it was fun to read-and that to me, sometimes, is the most important thing.

Wizard and Glass by Stephen King

Started: 11/19/06
Finished: 11/24/06
Year: 2003 (this edition)
Genre: Sci-fi/fantasy
Grade: C-
Reason for reading: continue with the Dark Tower Series, borrowed from Natalie
Blurb (from front page): "Roland and his band of followers have narrowly escaped one world and slipped into the next. There Roland tells them a tale of long-ago love and adventure involving a beautiful and quixotic woman named Susan Delgado. And before long, Roland is drawn into an ancient mystery of spellbinding magic and supreme menace..."
Opinion: Probably the worst book in the series so far. I just do not care about Roland's past and it doesn't really seem to take a huge role in who Roland is and why he does what he does. I'm hoping that there will be some connection or I will just be really disappointed in this book.

Who's the Boss by Linda Turner

Started: 11/17/06
Finished: 11/18/06
Year: 1995
Genre: Romance (Silhouette Intimate Moments)
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from back cover): "Riley Whitaker had been sheriff of Hidalgo County for so long, he wasn't figuring on much trouble come election time. So it came as a heck of a shock for a Texas good ol' boy like him to find out he'd be getting the fight of his life-from a woman!
"Becca Prescott sure was riled up, and every woman in the county was on her side in this battle of the sexes. But the damnedest thing was, that feisty little single mother had him wishing he could do a little fraternizing with the enemy..."
Opinion: A pretty good romance quick read. Just what I needed before I go back to the Dark Tower series.

The Ultimate New York Diet by David Kirsch

Started: 11/16/06
Finished: 11/17/06
Year: 2006
Genre: Diet
Grade: C
Blurb (from book jacket): "When supermodel Heidi Klum needed to get into tip-top shape for the Victoria's Secret fashion show-just eight weeks after giving birth to her second child-she turned to a miracle worker, celebrity fitness trainer David Kirsch, and his Ultimate New York Diet.
"But you don't have to be a celebrity-or a New Yorker-to reap the benefits of this fresh approach to a healthy, fit lifestyle. All you need is the desire to take control of your eating and your body and the willingness to change your life for the better. Once you take that first step to a new, improved you, there's no limit to how fabulous you can look and feel!
"The Ultimate New York Diet provides the tools to slim down quickly and safely:
"A diet broken down into three phases over the course of eight weeks, so you can see results fast and be inspired to stay on track.
"Advice on how to make healthy choices at all types of restaurants, allowing you to eat out every night.
"A guilt-free cheat day that allows you to splurge.
"64 quick, easy-to-prepare recipes for healthy, satisfying meals
"Ten-minute workouts you can do anywhere-from your cubicle to a taxicab-that will raise your metabolism so the weight comes off fast.
"David Kirsch, author of the wildly popular Ultimate New York Body Plan, has written this book for the needs of people with busy, multitasking lives-people who want to be on top of their game when it comes to their careers and their bodies. This is not just a diet; it's a life transformation. After completing The Ultimate New York Diet, your attitude toward food, exercise, and wellness will be forever changed and you'll finally have the key to a fit and fabulous body."
Opinion: Not one of the best diet books that I've read. Too many foods that are banned in the first phase-foods that some professionals state are necessary. For a complete review, please check out MyShelf.com next month.

The Waste Lands by Stephen King

Started: 11/13/06
Finished: 11/16/06
Year: 2003 (this edition) originally 1991
Genre: Sci-fi/fantasy
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from Natalie, continuing the series
Blurb (from front page): "Roland, the last gunslinger, moves ever closer to the Dark Tower of his dreams and nightmares as he travels through city and country in Mid-World-a macabre world that is a twisted image of our own. With him are those he has drawn to this world: street-smart Eddie and courageous, wheelchair-bound Susannah.
"Ahead of him are mind-bending revelations about who and what is driving him. Against him is arrayed a swelling legion of foes-both more and less than human."
Opinion: It's very obvious where Stephen King got his inspiration for this series. The series is getting better as I do continue reading it. Glad that I didn't give up like I had done before. But, still not as good as King's horror books.

On Wings of Angels by Ken Follett

Started: 11/6/06
Finished: 11/12/06
Year: 1984
Genre: Nonfiction
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from back cover): "The Team: The Eagles, a group of volunteers from the executive ranks of a great American corporation, hand-picked and trained by a retired Green Beret officer.
"The Mission: To penetrate a heavily guarded prison fortress in Iran and free the American imprisoned there.
"The Odds: If you had to calculate them, you didn't go.
"The story on these pages would have been incredibly exciting had it been fiction. But it is more than that-it is fact. It's a story that only Ken Follett, today's master of action and suspense, could do justice to."
Opinion: A surprisingly entertaining read-I'm not a real history buff and could really care less about Ross Perot but this book let me see him in another light. Definitely glad that I grabbed it to read.

Hearts of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Started: 11/3/06
Finished: 11/6/06
Year: This edition is 1999 but originally published in 1902
Genre: Classic Literature
Grade: C
Reason for reading: booksfree.com book
Blurb (from book jacket): "In Heart of Darkness, Marlow, a seaman and wanderer, recounts his physical and psychological journey to the center of the African continent in search of the dangers and enigmatic trader Kurtz. While navigating the dark rivers of the Belgian Congo, Marlow witnesses the brutalization of the natives by white traders and struggles with what he discovers is the true heart of darkness."
Opinion: In my attempts to brush up on some classics, I requested this from booksfree. Not one of the best classic books but certainly not one of the worst. I can understand why it's considered a classic and I guess that's the main point-understanding why it is considered a classic.

The Hard Way by Carol Lea Benjamin

Started: 11/1/06
Finished: 11/3/06
Year: 2006
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from book jacket): "A lifelong New Yorker, Rachel Alexander has seen her city change shape through the years. But while New York has never been cleaner and crime is rapidly in decline, a vestige of grittier days remains. When wealthy business owner Eleanor Redstone approaches Rachel to ask if she can investigate her father's murder-a brutal slaying that occurred when he was pushed onto the subway tracks-Rachel takes the case, plunging herself into parts of the city only its poorest residents have ever known. Because to solve Gardner Redstone's murder, Rachel must disguise herself as a homeless woman and live on the streets, searching for the dispossessed man witnesses say made the fatal push. In one of the coldest winters New York City has seen in years, Rachel is helped by a homeless Iraq War veteran, a man whose sad circumstances leave Rachel pondering her own fortunate life. This is a once-in-a-lifetime case that, before it's over, will engulf Rachel in a dangerous new world and change the way that she sees her city forever."
Opinion: One of the better mysteries that I've read. Kept my interest throughout my flight to Florida. For a more complete review, be sure to check out MyShelf next month.

Dangerous by Caroline Cross

Started: 10/31/06
Finished: 11/1/06
Year: 1993
Genre: Romance (Silhouette Desire)
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from back cover): "Logan Bradshaw was a hard man, as hard as the life he led-running a high-country horse ranch and raising two boys alone. The last thing he needed was some damn woman turning his life upside down. No woman alive could be trusted, and that went double for this one, who could make a grown man ache like a schoolboy...
"But Gloryanne Rossiter owned a piece of his spread now, and she meant to stay, whether the dark and dangerous Logan Bradshaw liked it or not. The simple pleasures of the ranch were bringing her a newfound peace of mind-but the rancher was another story. Whenever he laid a hand on her, wild horses couldn't drag her away..."
Opinion: The story is much better than the written blurb on the back. Highly predictable but still entertaining.