Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

Delia’s world is upended when her father is arrested and charged with kidnapping her from her mother when Delia was a child. When he admits that it is true it sends her on a search for her own identity.

This book is interesting but it seems like the author wanted to pack a lot of disparate information into it. Search and rescue dogs, alcoholism, kidnapping, Hopi traditions, life in jail. Sometimes it feels like you are reading several different books at once.

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum’s sleazy cousin and boss Vinny has been kidnapped. Now it is up to Stephanie, Lula, and Connie to get him back even though they aren’t sure if they really want him returned.

I listened to this one on audio. It was rough going at first because after having read the previous 15 books the voices on the CD didn’t match the voices in my head. It was pretty good though. I liked this one because it had Hobbits. I think my favorite books in this series are the ones were the minor characters save the day.

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Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I did a reread of these two books to see how my take on them was changed by seeing the movies. When I read them the first time I liked each book better than the one before. I think that was because they were resolving the story for me. Now I think that Mockingjay is the weakest one. Maybe I was just seeing it as a screenplay and realizing that it will be the hardest to get on screen since so much of it balances on people’s mental states. The ending with Buttercup the cat always gets to me though. I don’t mind the violent end of thousands of people but put in a sentimental animal part and I get weepy.

Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay

Ned is 15 and accompanying his photographer father to a shoot in Provence. While killing time in a cathedral he meets a man who tells him that he’s stumbled into a very old story so he better leave. When supernatural things start to happen around him he finds help from an aunt that he has never met and realizes that he is part of a very powerful family.

I like this author a lot because you never know what you are going to get when you read one of his books. They are all different. He also doesn’t explain everything that goes on in the books. In this one something bad happened to his aunt that caused a rift between her and Ned’s mother. It is hinted at but never fully spelled out. There are several other things like that in here too. Who or what is his uncle? It can be a bit frustrating but overall I like it.