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Title: Murder in the Irish Channel by Greg Herren Publisher: Bold Stroke Books 240 pages Genre: Mystery LGBT Synopsis: It begins as a simple missing persons case—a young MMA fighter's mother has mysteriously disappeared. But as New Orleans private eye Chanse MacLeod starts digging around, he discovers that she is the leader of a group fighting the powerful Archdiocese of New Orleans over the closing of two churches. As the trail leads from corrupt church officials to powerful real estate developers to the world of cage fighting, Chanse soon realizes there are a lot of powerful people who want to make sure she stays gone—and don't have a problem with getting rid of a pesky gay private eye. Review:  There are many twists and turns in this book and I have to say I didn't see the outcome.  This series just gets better and better.  While this series isn't as racy as his Scotty series seems to be, its just as entertaining. I appreciate that Chanse's character i

Title: Silent Tears: A Journey of Hope inside a Chinese Orphanage by Kay Bratt Publisher: Mariner Books 352 Pages Genre: non-fiction Synopsis: Irrepressible memories. Vacant eyes. A child being dangled from a third story window. A boy tied to a chair. Children sleeping in layers of clothing to fight off the bitter cold. An infant dying from starvation. Some things your mind will never allow you to forget. Silent Tears is the true story of the adversity and triumphs one woman faced as she fought against the Chinese bureaucracy to help that country’s orphaned children. In 2003, Kay Bratt’s life changed dramatically. A wife and mother of two girls in South Carolina, Bratt relocated her family to rural China to support her husband as he took on a new management position for his American employer. Seeking a way to fill her days and overcome the isolation she experienced upon arriving in a foreign country, Bratt began volunteering at the local orphanage. Within months, her simpl

A weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursdays   What’s more important to you? Real, three-dimensional, fleshed-out fascinating characters? Or an amazing, page-turning plot? (Yes, I know, they are both important. But if you had to pick one as being more important than the other?) This is sort of one of those chicken and the egg questions to me...I would have to say that I need a good plot to keep me going even if the characters are fabulous.  If the plot isn't going anywhere but I know my characters life story so what...I'm not trying to be their friend I want to be entertained.  But then again if I have a good plot and lousy characters that could ruin it for me as well...so which comes first not sure but if I had to pick I think I would go with plot.

I started this last year and thought I would continue the tradition.  This is my top 10 favorite books that I've read this year.  That does not necessarily mean that they were published this past year some may have been published long ago and some may not be published until 2012 but all the books on this list were read by me in 2011. This list is in no particular order I just put them down as I remembered them. I don't want to list an author twice so if I've read more than one book by this author  this year   that I also believe should be on this list I will put a star after their name. Season of the Witch by Natasha Mostert Stolen by Margaret Peterson Haddix* Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen Cutting  For Stone by Abraham Verghese Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay This is Us: the new all Ame

Title: A Perilous Conception by Larry Karp Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press 250 pages Genre: Mystery I received this book as an advanced electronic galley from netgalley.com It was released Dec 6, 2011. Synopsis: It’s 1976. Despite fierce international controversy over whether in vitro fertilization should ever be performed in humans, doctors around the world race to be first to produce a baby by this procedure. Dr. Colin Sanford, a brilliant, ambitious obstetrician in the Pacific Northwest city of Emerald, has a plan. He recruits Dr. Giselle Hearn, an experienced laboratory geneticist-embryologist at the University. Drs. Sanford and Hearn, working secretly, set out to put their names in history books. Several months later, Dr. Sanford’s patient, Joyce Kennett, gives birth to a healthy boy, and Sanford prepares to make an announcement at a press conference. But before it convenes, Ms. Kennett’s marginally- schizophrenic husband kills Dr. Hearn and then himself. Police Detec

Its that time of year again...the time to decide what reading challenges I will attempt for 2012 1. Nordic Mystery Challenge 2012 - well this is a given since I'm hosting this challenge but I thought I would like is anyway. 2. The LGBT Book Challenge - I loved this challenge and although I didn't read as many lgbt themed books as I may have the year before I did stumble across some good ones. 3. Adoption Reading Challenge - I'm torn about this one.  I think I might just do this on my own instead of actually joining the actual challenge.  So I will leave it on my challenges page but I won't be posting the links to the challenge wall. 4. Shelfari Reading challenge ...I really fell down on this one this year...I spent so much time blogging that I didn't go back and link to the challenge site.  I am going to work on this for next year. I don't know if I will join any other challenges I'll have to see how it goes.  Being in school and working full t