Review: Welcome to My World, Johnny Weir

Title: Welcome to My World

Author: Johnny Weir

Hardcover: 272 Pages
Publisher: Gallery
Release Date: 1/11/11
ISBN: 978-1451610284

Description:

In a memoir as candid and unconventional as Johnny Weir himself, the three-time U.S. National Champion figure skater who electrified the 2010 Winter Olympics shares his glamorous, gritty, heartbreaking, hopeful, and just plain fabulous life story. How does a boy from rural Pennsylvania become an all-American original style icon on the ice and off, adored by fans around the world, and hailed as “The Lady Gaga of skating” (Salon.com)? The answers are here, in his invigorating and thoroughly entertaining chronicle of the emergence of his natural talents for skating and horseback riding; the physically and emotionally grinding path to becoming a champion; a family who sacrificed everything to support his passions; an ability to rise again after the most devastating defeats and never look back; an appreciation of style (from his mom) and self-discipline (that would be from his dad); and a fearless confidence to say whatever’s on his mind.

Because when you’re Johnny Weir, you don’t worry about what other people think. You let everyone else worry about that for you.

Welcome to his world.

My Review:

I have to admit that yes, I am one of Johnny's Angels.   What is a Johnny's Angel, his fans of course.  Rather if it is his skating or his TV show, I have always been a huge fan of Johnny's.  I love his personality, who he is without pretending and conforming to what he "should" be.  

I was ecstatic when I found his book at the local Library and I have to admit I was the first one to check it out.  With that being said, I was absolutely shocked when I read his book.  If anyone watches his show, you would know that he and the skating federation do not have a wonderful relationship.  I was a shamed of how they treated Johnny because he is different, because he is who he is.  Yes, Johnny can be a diva but who doesn't have those moments, in my opinion, his diva moments are far better than hockey fights, and other player meltdowns. 

Welcome to My World, starts when Johnny was a child and showed how his parents sacrificed for him.  It showed his struggles and his growth not only as a man but as a skater as well.  I'm going to end this review with one of my favorite passages from this book.

"Putting people in boxes--whether the label is lesbian, gay, nerd, or freak---is just phony.  In our society, too many people box up their personalities, stowing away aspects of themselves that don't fit in the confining shape.  In that sense, I wish people would come out, to live freely and openly.  I wear my heart on my sleeve.  Whether it's with my mother, best friend, or lover, I give everything that I am.  To me, gay and straight is only sex.  Love is completely without boundaries."

My Rating:

Review: Alpha, Rachel Vincent

This blog contains spoilers.

Title: Alpha

Series: Shifters

Author: Rachel Vincent

Mass Market Paperback: 480 Pages
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: 10/1/10
ISBN: 978-0778328186

Description:  

YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE FAYTHE… 

The unscrupulous new Council chair has charged Jace, Marc, and me with trespassing, kidnapping, murder, and treason. Yeah, we’ve been busy. But now it’s time to take justice into our own hands. We must avenge my brother’s death and carve out the rot at the heart of the Council.

It’s not going to be easy, and loss seems unavoidable, but I have promised to protect my Pride, no matter what. With a target on my back and Marc at my side, I’m heading for a final showdown that can—that will—change everything forever.

But life never waits until you're ready.

My Review:

Faythe, once again finds herself in trouble with the Council and now Jace, Marc, and herself are charged with trespassing, kidnapping, murder, and treason.  On top of that, she has to revenge her brother's death and take down certain members of the Council.  If that isn't enough, once again the fight over Faythe continues between Jace and Marc.  

In Alpha, you find old friends coming to play, favors called in, death, and war.  With her family and her Pride at her side, can she come on top once and for all?

The last in the Shifter series had me sitting on the edge of my seat.  Alpha had it all.  Over the series I watch Faythe grow and become much more of an Alpha then I expected.  With sound advice from her father, she learned that her mother also, was between two men, and her father won.  That left the question whom would she choose my favorite Jace or the stray Marc?

When Faythe became Alpha she had some tough decisions to make and with help of her father's closest friends, she takes on her enemies.  Alpha had it's fair share of death, and at times, I dotted my eyes. 

Alpha was a great read just like the whole series, I was sad to read the final page of Alpha.  Rachel Vincent did a wonderful job creating her Werecat world.  All six books had me begging for more

My Rating: 

Review: Harvest Moon, Robyn Carr

Title: Harvest Moon

Series: Virgin River
Author: Robyn Carr

Mass Market Paperback: 368 Pages
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: 2/22/11
ISBN: 978-0778329428

*I received a copy from Mira*

Description:

Rising sous-chef Kelly Matlock's sudden collapse at work is a wake-up call. Disillusioned and burned out, she's retreated to her sister Jillian's house in Virgin River to rest and reevaluate.

Puttering in Jill's garden and cooking with her heirloom vegetables is wonderful, but Virgin River is a far cry from San Francisco. Kelly's starting to feel a little too unmotivated…until she meets Lief Holbrook. The handsome widower looks more like a lumberjack than a sophisticated screenwriter—a combination Kelly finds irresistible. But less appealing is Lief's rebellious stepdaughter, Courtney. She's the reason they moved from L.A., but Courtney's finding plenty of trouble even in Virgin River.

Kelly's never fallen for a guy with such serious baggage, but some things are worth fighting for. Besides, a bratty teenager can't be any worse than a histrionic chef…right?

My Review:

In Wild Man Creek we learned that Luca, Kelly Matlock's mentor, was leaving his wife leaving the next step in their relationship open.  However, that all came crashing down when Luca's wife Olivia visited Kelly in the restaurant where she worked.  Olive came in throwing accusations of affairs, sexual messages and how Kelly Matlock was having an affair with her husband all were false accusations.  It only progressed worse from there when in the kitchen a co-worker yelled at Kelly also accusing her of sleeping with Luca. 

When she opened her eyes she found herself staring at an emt, she had fainted at work.  With test showing nothing wrong and new medications to help her with stress she returned to work only to make one of the biggest choices of her life, she walked out. 

Now jobless she once again returns to Virgin River and too her sister.  Once arriving at Virgin River she decided she needed a drink or two.  That is where she met Lief Holbrook.

When Kelly Matlock walked into Jack's bar, he was blown away from her beauty.  Offering his shoulder to lean on he never imagined what was to come.  It didn't take long for Kelly to get drunk although she insisted that she wasn't.  Being the gentleman that he is he drove Kelly to her sister's house. 

Lief has his own problems, his wife died two years ago and his step-daughter is rebellious, even though she is smart she is failing her class, getting into trouble, and make terrible decisions.  He would do anything for her.  Slowly he seen her progress but that wasn't the only thing progressing.

Courtney did not want another mother Kelly did not want a daughter but making Courtney understand that Kelly was not going to be her mother was easier said than down. 

All three grow and learn to open up to new possibilities.  Together they learn new boundaries, new determinations, and more about themselves and others.

I enjoyed reading Harvest Moon it was enjoying to watch all three grow.  Lief, heartbroken after his wife's death and has not been involved with anyone since, Courtney, lost her mother and rejected by her real father and treated horribly by her stepmother and brothers.  Kelly was hurt and looking to restart life without the help of Luca.  All three with different paths and yet all three together make a stronger foundation.

Also I enjoyed the fact that Courtney showed emotions that I myself rarely read about with death of a parent, rejection from another, and the fear of losing the only person who loves her.  It broke my heart seeing her suffer within but I could relate.  Robyn Carr's Harvest Moon had the laughs, the tears, and the growth. 

My Rating:

Review: The Best of Friends, Susan Mallery

Title: The Best of Friends
Author: Susan Mallery

Mass Market Paperback: 368 Pages
Publisher: Pocket Star
Release Date: 9/28/2010
ISBN: 978-1416567189

Description:

In high school, studious Jayne Scott and wild child Rebecca Worden became unlikely best friends—a tie that endured even after Rebecca fled her family to live overseas.  After Jayne’s mother passed away, she became part unpaid assistant, part surrogate daughter to the wealthy Wordens.  But now, ten years later, Rebecca is coming home to L.A. to cause havoc for Elizabeth, the mother who all but rejected her.  And Jayne finds herself pulled deeper into the Wordens’ complicated family dynamics—especially when Rebecca’s brother, David, returns as well. 

David is the man Jayne always wanted and knew she could never have.  But when he gravitates toward her in spite of Elizabeth’s protests, her vow to escape the family’s shadow is put to the ultimate test.  And as lies are shattered and true feelings exposed, Jayne must decide where loyalty ends, and love begins. . . .

My Review:

The Best of Friends, had me from the beginning.  I cannot say too much without giving away the story, and that I won’t do.  Very rarely does a book make me cry but this one did, it showed how friendships could be misleading.  The Best of Friends had it all wrapped into one wonderful story happiness and tears.

My Rating:

 The Best of Friends (Pocket Readers Guide)

Review: Eternal Kiss of Darkness, Jeaniene Frost

Title: Eternal Kiss of Darkness

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Series: Night Huntress World

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: 7/27/2010

ISBN: 978-0061783166

Description:

An immortal war has been brewing in the darkness...and now one woman has stumbled into the shadows.

Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she's only imagined in her worst nightmares.

At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he'd seen it all. Then Kira appears - this fearless, beautiful....human who braved death to rescue him. Though her burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.

But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose either the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.

My Review:

What can I say or how can I start? Both in the Night Huntress Series featuring Cat and Bones, and the Night Huntress World Series featuring First Drop of Crimson, Spade and Denise, book 1, I did not care for Mencheres. In fact, he was one of my least favorite in her series. However, after reading Eternal Kiss of Darkness I developed a new fondness for him. In EKOD you learn some of his past, his life, and the reason why he is the way he is.

Mencheres is a master vampire who is over forty-five hundred years old who is rescued by a human, Kira Graceling. Kira is a strong woman who is more concerned with her sister then being surrounded by vampires. They both fight their feelings that they have for each other after all they both have been burned in the past. I found it very entertaining that Mencheres could not control Kira as he could anyone else. I also found insightful seeing Mencheres in this light never would I have guessed that this was the true Mencheres.

Vlad Tepesh came when Mencheres called. This was another part of EKOD that I enjoyed was learning some of the history between Vlad and Mencheres and I loved Kira’s reaction to Vlad which is typical when one meets the one and only Vlad. Bones and Cat make an appearance as well. What I did not like what their judgment of Kira, assuming that she is like Mencheres dead wife Patra. Neither of their opinions mattered to Kira. No matter what happened in the past, in present day, ghoul, or vampire Kira gladly defended Mencheres.

What I missed was Ian of course, and I also missed Spade but I could see how they did not pertain to EKOD. EKOD made me want to reread all of the Night Huntress books now knowing more about Mencheres.

Once again, Jeaniene Frost hits the target dead center. While reading you can feel the humor, pain, despair, compassion, hope, and passion in her books. There is no doubt that Jeaniene leaves you begging for more. I, for one, cannot wait until the next installment of the Night Huntress Series This side Of The Grave slated for next year. If you have never read any of her books, I suggest that you do so. 

Rating:

Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World, Book 2)