Review: The Casual Vacancy by: J.K. Rowling

The Casual Vacancy by: J.K. Rowling

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

512 pages

Genre: General Fiction

Summary: This novel is about a small town named Pagford, in England. A member of the parish council, Barry Fairbrother, dies and leaves a casual vacancy. The residents of Pagford now are trying to figure out who will take his seat, and it is all political. This small town might seem cute and quaint but the residents are anything but.

Review: This is nothing like Harry Potter. There is no magic. If you are looking for a book like that then you will be very disappointed. On the other hand, if you are looking for a dark and somewhat depressing novel then you are in luck. It is very well written, but it wasn’t everything I had hoped for from this critically acclaimed author.

I’m going to come right out and say it. At times this book was a little slow. I felt like the beginning of the novel, where Rowling builds up the background information on the characters, takes way to long. This may be because she focuses on a lot of different characters, but in the end I grew bored at times. It took a lot for me to really get into the novel at first. Once I finally started actually finding the characters interesting it was easier for me to want to actually pick up the book and read it instead of having to force myself to read it.

The characters in this novel are all interesting and they all have some dark secret or problem in their lives. If you are faint at heart then don’t read this novel. It has teenage sex, abuse, and much more. It can be pretty graphic at times. Sometimes it was hard to relate to the characters because they were all so messed up. At other times I was so involved in their lives that I was either cheering them on or hoping for their demise.

When this book finally started to grab my attention I would have to say that I enjoyed uncovering the secrets that are deeply hidden in Pagford. Some of them where painfully obvious, but some of them were surprising and made me cringe.

People that are not Harry Potter fans will enjoy this novel and some that are Harry Potter fans may not. I don’t regret reading this book. Like I said before, it was very well written and had some good characters and plot twists. So I suggest that you give this book a try either way. Just be prepared for a somewhat messed up and depressing town of people and their stories.

Rating: 4/5

Books for Vacation

On Monday my husband and I are going on our honeymoon! So I went to the bookstore and the library and got a few books for the trip. Check out what I'm bringing. It is a little bit of everything.

At first I thought that maybe I'm bringing too many books, this is my honeymoon after all, but we will be gone for quite some time and I am a fast reader so I think the amount of books I am bringing is legitimate.

The Casual Vacancy by: J.K. Rowling

I started this book a week ago and still need to finish it. I still haven't had a lot of time to read so I'm hoping to finish it up on our trip. It is totally different from Harry Potter, very dark, but very addictive.






The Mark of Athena by: Rick Riordan

I am a huge Rick Riordan fan and I can't wait to dig into this one. I figured it is the perfect fantasy novel to bring on a fantasy honeymoon.








Reflected in You by: Sylvia Day

This is not even close to a great novel. It is however a very steamy trashy romance novel that seems to fit the honeymoon atmosphere.







Commencement by: J. Courtney Sullivan

I got this from the library. It sounded like a perfect summer read. I know it isn't summer, but it will feel like summer where I am going.







What are some of your favorite vacation books? Do you have any beach read recommendations?

Review: Red, White, and Blood by: Christopher Farnsworth

Red, White, and Blood (A Nathaniel Cade Novel) by: Christopher Farnsworth

Publisher: Ballantine Books

400 pages

Genre: Fiction, Vampires

Summary: Nathaniel Cade is the President’s vampire and Zach is his handler, they are the only ones that can keep the United States unaware of the supernatural beings that are roaming the earth. In this Nathaniel Cade novel they go up against the boogeyman. This monster comes back and never seems to be able to be defeated. This time the boogeyman goes after the one person that Nathaniel Cade has to protect, the President, during the very important 2012 presidential race.

Review: This is the best Nathaniel Cade novel yet. If you have yet to read this series you should give it a try. It is a different kind of vampire novel and one that shouldn't be passed up if you like books with supernatural aspects in it. Don’t expect a lot of romance, but there are a lot of awesome fight scenes.

This novel does have some typical vampire quirks in it, but there is more to it than what meets the eye. I think that the core of this novel is the relationship between Nathaniel and Zach. Their back and forth conversation is entertaining and always lightens the mood in this dark series. Nathaniel barely talks and Zach always has a sarcastic comment to make. They make a really good team, one worth reading about.

At times this book gets a little crazy and hard to believe. On the other hand, sometimes I truly believe that there is a vampire protecting the President, and when a book can get you to believe it could actually happen in real life, even though it can’t, I believe that makes it a pretty good book. This book did a lot better at this than the last one. The last one got a little too crazy at times. I know what you may be thinking, that this book is about the boogeyman, a non-scary monster that children are afraid of. Well, this boogeyman is totally different. He will make you cringe. There are some very heart-stopping plot twisting moments that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

For some reason I can’t find any more words to explain/review this book. Just take a chance and enjoy. Who wouldn't want to read about a vampire that will do anything to protect the President?

Rating: 4.5/5