Friday, July 6, 2018

Book Trailer Friday [@RandomHouse @TransworldBooks]

Beth Dorey-Stein's From the Corner of the Oval - a tale of being the White House stenographer during the Obama administration will be released on the tenth. Any book (or book trailer) that can suggest looking like, "a librarian . . . or a well paid prostitute," has me curious to what the author (and her life) are like. Here's the trailer:

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about From the Corner of the Oval:

The compulsively readable, behind-the-scenes memoir that takes readers inside the Obama White House, through the eyes of a young staffer learning the ropes, falling in love, and finding her place in the world.

In 2012, Beck Dorey-Stein was just scraping by in DC when a posting on Craigslist landed her, improbably, in the Oval Office as one of Barack Obama's stenographers. The ultimate DC outsider, she joined the elite team who accompanied the president wherever he went, recorder and mic in hand. On whirlwind trips across time zones, Beck forged friendships with a tight group of fellow travelers--young men and women who, like her, left their real lives behind to hop aboard Air Force One in service of the president. But as she learned the ropes of protocol, Beck became romantically entangled with a consummate DC insider, and suddenly, the political became all too personal. Set against the backdrop of a White House full of glamour, drama, and intrigue, this is the story of a young woman making unlikely friendships, getting her heart broken, learning what truly matters, and discovering her voice in the process



Spiegel & Grau // July 10, 2018 // 352 pages // Goodreads // Book Depository // Amazon

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Into the Drowning Deep ~ Mira Grant review [@seananmcguire @orbitbooks]

Into the Drowning Deep (Rolling in the Deep #1)
Orbit
November 14, 2017
440 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a “mockumentary” bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.

Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price.''



If you thought Jaws was the only reason you should stay out of the water this Fourth of July holiday (or if you always thought that seemed silly), be prepared to worry about something else entirely.

It was supposed to be another 'mockumentary', a bit of 'crytozoological fiction thinly veiled as fact," from Imagine Entertainment: Lovely Ladies of the Sea: The True Story of the Mariana Mermaids. Just a bit of fun to make the network a ton of money.

Until the ship was found abandoned in the middle of the ocean.

Three years later, Imagine is trying again and this time Victoria Stewart, whose sister was part of that first ill fated voyage is there, looking for answers.

If the fate of that first ship, the Atargatis is anything to go by, though, the mermaids they're looking for aren't the cute, singing Disney sort. They may have more in common with Jaws.

I absolutely loved the blend of science fiction, science fact, myth and fables, personal relationships - both past and present - the sea and its secrets, beauty and hazards . . . and the danger. Tory, Luis, Dr Toth, Olivia, and all three Wilson sisters gave readers characters they could care about, characters you wanted to find answers and also, you know, wanted not to die. 

The different ways they are each trying to prove something to and/or about themselves while most are also trying to make scientific discoveries added another layer to the story. It not only gave them a great reason for being there, a deeper understanding of the ocean and marine life but also made sure the Melusine was not going to head for shore at the first hint of danger.

Then, it made for some great thought processes, actions, and decisions (both in a good, safe, going-to-save-you way and in ways that made the story better even if they were incredibly dangerous) later in the story.

I loved the characters, their snark and wit, and their intelligence. I really appreciated that the author gave us a diverse cast of characters and that who they were and how they experienced the world also played into their choices and was important to the larger story and its development, as well.






Monday, July 2, 2018

Into the Black Nowhere ~ Meg Gardiner review [@MegGardiner1 @DuttonBooks]

Into the Black Nowhere (UNSUB #2)
Dutton
January 30, 2018
355 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

** Contains spoilers for UNSUB (#1), the first book in this series - see my review here **


Inspired by real-life serial killer Ted Bundy, an exhilarating thriller in which FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix faces off against a charming, merciless serial killer

In southern Texas, on Saturday nights, women are disappearing. One vanishes from a movie theater. Another is ripped from her car at a stoplight. Another vanishes from her home while checking on her baby. Rookie FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix, newly assigned to the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, fears that a serial killer is roaming the dark roads outside Austin.

Caitlin and the FBI's serial crime unit discover the first victim's body in the woods. She's laid out in a bloodstained, white baby-doll nightgown. A second victim in a white nightie lies deeper in the forest's darkness. Both bodies are surrounded by Polaroid photos, stuck in the earth like headstones. Each photo pictures a woman in a white negligee, wrists slashed, suicide-style--posed like Snow White awaiting her prince's kiss.

To track the UNSUB, Caitlin must get inside his mind. How is he selecting these women? Working with a legendary FBI profiler, Caitlin searches for a homology--that elusive point where character and action come together. She profiles a confident, meticulous killer who convinces his victims to lower their guard until he can overpower and take them in plain sight. He then reduces them to objects in a twisted fantasy--dolls for him to possess, control, and ultimately destroy. Caitlin's profile leads the FBI to focus on one man: a charismatic, successful professional who easily gains people's trust. But with only circumstantial evidence linking him to the murders, the police allow him to escape. As Saturday night approaches, Caitlin and the FBI enter a desperate game of cat and mouse, racing to capture the cunning predator before he claims more victims.
Into the Black Nowhere was an even better read than UNSUB. We now know Caitlin and not only what happened to her in the first book, but how the Prophet impacted her life in the past, as well. With Caitlin now a part of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, it is her job to get into the minds of serial killers,  It is Caitlin's dream job, but it also required her to move across the country - from California to Quantico, Virginia - leaving Sean and making their relationship now a long distance one.

I liked that, while the story immediately throws Caitlin into a case, to working on profiling and catching a killer, she was definitely still the newbie. We saw how she had to prove herself, to feel things out. That bit of transition not only allows readers to become more familiar with the aspects of her work, but also felt more realistic.

The search for the killer - and then trying to prove whether or not a suspect is really the one to be watching - was intense, sometimes twisted and dark. Yet, it never felt rushed or like it was more dramatic than would actually be true simply for a thrilling read.

I loved that we also saw Caitlin's attempts to balance her personal life (her relationship with Sean, her friendship with Michelle) with not only her new job and the pressures and stressors it provided, but also the distance and absence of physical, face to face interactions. Knowing her better as a person away from being a profiler makes you more invested in her character - as a profiler and in her personal life.

The bits of the story that slowly crept up on you, until you realized just how much they may matter, has me very anxious to read Book 3, The Dark Corners of the Night.





Other Books You May Also Enjoy:  The Sleeping Doll (Kathryn Dance #1) by Jeffery Deaver and the Lucy Kincaid series by Allison Brennan




Book Trailer Friday [@RandomHouse @TransworldBooks]

Beth Dorey-Stein's From the Corner of the Oval  - a tale of being the White House stenographer during the Obama administration will be ...