Pop Travel by Tara Tyler

Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller

Rating: 5 stars

In the year 2080, the newest technology is Pop Travel, a way to "pop" from one place to the next. It still takes place in an airport (unless you're rich enough to own your own pop travel set up), but instead you are issued a tranquilizer and when you come to a moment later, you have arrived at your destination.

J.L. Cooper is a private eye in a little town outside Atlanta. He leads a quiet life until a nervous, paranoid man comes with him asking for help. His fiance disappeared after popping and the authorities are writing him off as just a jilted lover, but he knows otherwise. He's convinced there's a cover up and that the government is out to get him. Cooper has no idea that by trying to help this man, he will put his own life in danger.

I loved this book. I could so easily see it being a movie. It is sci-fi in that there's advanced technology, but otherwise, it's not that far out of the realm of reality and current technology. The characters in this were likeable and real. It was suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat, unable to put the book down.

Highly recommended!

City of Bones, Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Rating: 3.5 Stars

16 year old Clarissa "Clary" Frey's life is turned upside down when she meets 3 mysterious teenagers at a club.  Next thing she knows, she's being attacked by a demon, her mother is missing and she's being taken in by those teenagers into their sanctuary.  Everything she thought she knew turns out to be a lie. She learns about a whole other world of demons, vampires, werewolves and Nephilim, who are children of the Angel Raziel - and who she is one of.   She has to help stop a rogue Nephilim from making himself an army to destroy the peace accords keeping all these entities in check.

Ok, so I'm late to the game with this one.  The movie is coming out in August and I decided to read the book.  I liked it.  It was fast-paced and interesting.   I liked the characters and the story.  It's not the OMG IT'S SO GOOD that The Hunger Games was, but it's more along the Twilight "It's enjoyable I'll keep reading" good.

SPOILER ALERT!!!  DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK

However, with all that said, at the end of the book when Clary confronts Valentine and Jace is there and we discover that Clary and Jace are brother and sister?  Yeah, I threw up in my mouth a little bit.  And said EWWWWWWWWWW really loudly.  And gaged.  And squirmed in my seat. Then made more retching sounds.

My favorite movie may be The Empire Strikes Back and I love all thing Star Wars, but all that Luke and Leia share is a peck.  A peck!  No tongue!  No hints at them destined to be soul mates!  And absolutely not love.  YECH.  Seriously, I am so skeeved out by this, I don't want to read the rest of the books even if it turns out to be an elaborate hoax.  Just the thought of it is too ... YUCK.  I mean, if they had reacted like I am now, I might have been ok with reading more, but they are still so clearly in love and OMG IT'S YOUR SIBLING!!!  Oh God, I'm gagging again just thinking about it...

So yeah, book 2? No thanks.

And to the author - way to ruin a book for me.  Well done, you.  Well done.

Wordless Wednesday: Summer time and the living is easy

Summertime in my family means relaxing by the pool, reading books and...dirty dogs.  We pay exorbitant amounts of money to get our dogs groomed at the beginning of summer, just thinking that they'll be cooler with less hair on them.  We always forget what is coming up...

Before - aren't they so nice and white?

You see, my dogs love to float on rafts, be squirted or splashed and one of them even likes swimming.  And what fun would being wet be if you couldn't immediately go roll in dirt?  No fun, that's what it would be!  

After, dog from above, left

After, dog from above, right

They're lucky they're cute.

*This is a part of the Wordless Wednesday blog hop hosted by Create With Joy.