Broken Music by Sting

Started: 11/26/16
Finished: 11/29/16
Year: 2003
Pages: 337
Genre: Memoir
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed off TBR bookcase
Blurb (from book jacket): "Having been a songwriter most of my life, condensing my ideas and emotions into short rhyming couplets and setting them to music, I had never really considered writing a book. But upon arriving at the reflective age of fifty, I found myself drawn, for the first time, to write long passages that were as stimulating and intriguing to me as any songwriting I had ever done.
"And so Broken Music began to take shape. It is a book abut the early part of my life, from childhood through adolescence, right up to the eve of my success with the Police. It is a story very few people know.
"I had no interest in writing a traditional autobiographical recitation of everything that's ever happened to me. Instead I found myself drawn to exploring specific moments, certain people and relationships and particular events which still resonate powerfully for me as I try to understand the child I was, and the man I became."
Opinion: As a fan of Sting and of The Police, I had wondered how Sting came to be Sting. This book provides an insight to how Sting became the man that he is and the hard life of trying to make it into the music business. Overall an enjoyable read despite some parts seemed choppy.

The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis

Started: 11/23/16
Finished: 11/24/16
Year: 2017 (ARC)
Pages: 348
Genre: Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for LibraryThing
Blurb (from back cover): "Just before Henry Aster's birth, his father-outsized literary ambition and pregnant wife in tow-reluctantly returns to the small Appalachian town where he was raised and installs his young family in an immense house of iron and glass perched high on the side of a mountain. There, Henry grows up under the writing desk of this fiercely brilliant man. But when tragedy tips his father toward a fearsome unraveling, what was once a young son's reverences is poisoned and Henry flees, not to return until years later when he, too must go home again."
Opinion: A simple but yet complex literature novel that showcases how some can never leave home. Henry's characterization shows how alike he was to his father even though he didn't want to be. Overall a decent story.

Feliz Navidead by Ann Myers

Started: 11/16/16
Finished: 11/20/16
Year: 2016
Pages: 331
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: Review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "It's the most picturesque time of the year in Santa Fe, and Chef Rita Lafitte of Tres Amigas Cafe hopes the twinkling lights and tasty holiday treats will charm her visiting mom. Rita is is planning fun activities, such as watching her teenage daughter, Celia, perform in an outdoor Christmas play. What she doesn't plan for is murder.
"Rita discovers a dead actor during the premier performance, but vows to keep clear of the case. Sleuthing would upset her mom. Besides, there's already a prime suspect, caught red-handed in his bloodied Santa Suit. However, when the accused Santa's wife begs for assistance-and points out that
Celia and others performers could be danger-Rita can't say no. With the help of her elderly boss, Flori, and her coterie of rogue knitters, Rita strives to salvage her mother's vacation, unmask a murderer, and stop this festive season from turning even more fatal."
Opinion: This was a fun Christmas mystery read-with enough plot twists and turns. Flori and her gang of knitters cracked me up a few times. A definite read for cozy fans

A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

Started: 11/3/16
Finished: 11/15/16
Pages: 969
Year: 1999
Genre: Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from Dave
Blurb (from back cover): A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient city of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to take stake their claims through tempest, turmoil and war.
Opinion: Lots of blood, sex, brother and against brother. Ongoing decent characterization of characters that survived the first book. I will be continuing with the rest of the series.

The Name I Call Myself by Beth Moran

Started: 10/30/16
Finished: 11/3/16
Year: 2016
Pages" 338
Genre: Literature
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: Librarything
Blurb (from back cover): "The good news for Faith is that she has met Perry. He's rich, gorgeous, and has vowed to leave his playboy ways behind forever and marry her.
"The bad news is that Perry's mother is planning Faith's nightmare wedding, including the dress from hell.
"While dreaming about her ideal ceremony, Faith goes to her mother's church-and ends up joining the choir! Here she meets a man who makes her feel safe, perhaps even safe enough to share the dark secrets that are catching up with her.
"Secrets she's not even confided in her fiance, despite the fact that danger is closing in..."
Opinion: Faith seems to be an every day, laid back type of personal with a very scary history. Not surprising that she cannot disclose it to her fiance. Some of the situations that she finds herself in are funny and and written in just in time to break down the seriousness and dangerous parts of Faith's story. I do wish that the ending was slightly different in regards to Faith's brother. Other than that, this was a great read and I will be thinking about Faith's character for a while.