Undead and Unwelcome (Undead #8)
by MaryJanice Davidson

Summary

After the events of Undead and Unworthy (book 7), Betsy finds herself in a tense situation.  Returning the body of Antonia the werewolf to her Pack, isn’t exactly the Vampire King and Queen’s idea of a good time. But politics aren’t always fun, so Betsy and Eric head to Cape Cod in attempt to make peace with the Werewolves. While events are unfolding on the Cape, things back home are spiralling out of control for Marc. Laura has slipped a little to the dark side, and without the Vamps around to help him Marc is left with a desperate situation.

Review

The first part of Undead and Unwelcome seems to be mostly a recap of what happened in book 7. There’s quite a bit of explaining who all the characters are and an endless amount of retelling the story of Antonia’s death. Personally, I think by book 8 in the series it’s time to stop with the endless exposition. (If people want to get caught up they should read some of the earlier books. Fans already know who everyone is.) Things do pick up in the second half of the book when the story finally starts to move forward, but I wouldn’t call this one of the more eventful Betsy stories.  And there’s a definite lack of character development. Much of the story occurs during internal dialogue from Betsy and Marc, while Sinclair and Jessica barely even have lines. There is some interesting development with BabyJohn, which I enjoyed, but not a lot else happens in this outing.

Verdict

Definitely one of the slower stories in the Betsy series, I think Undead and Unwelcome would have worked better as a short story with all the repetition cut out. Here’s hoping the next Undead book is actually a book!

 
Please join me in wishing Jody a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! As I’m sure is obvious, this site would be nothing without her. One of my favorite things about Jo is how she loves books just as much as I do. Is it possible to have a book soulmate? Because she’s totally mine.

Jo… It’s your birthday and you know what that means?! I hope you’ve got some Floo Powder handy because it’s time to go to Hogwarts! Also, I borrowed Errol from the Weasleys so your presents should arrive soon… Although I can’t promise Errol won’t have dropped them a few times.

Seriously, though, I hope you have a great birthday. I love you to death and my days would not be the same without you in them. I will be forever grateful that our mutual love for Buffy Summers brought us together. Now when I read a book I know you’re going to love, I can’t wait to talk about it with you. I love our discussions about who Stephanie should choose, what adventures Kendra and Seth are up to now (OMG! I need to read Book 5!!), and what shoes Betsy is wearing now. In fact, I need to go email you…

The Necromancer (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #4)
by Michael Scott

Summary

Book four in the series brings twins Josh and Sophie Newman back to San Francisco for a very brief reunion with their aunt. But they barely have time to call their parents and let them know they’re OK before their adventure continues. Nicholas and Pernelle have also returned to San Francisco, and along with a few new players they band together in an effort to stop Machiavelli from releasing the creatures trapped in Alcatraz. Meanwhile, the rest of our heroes (Scatty, Joan, Shakespeare, Palmedes and Saint-Germain) are reunited in an alternate location with a great battle of their own to stop. How will either team succeed with their forces split?

Review

I’m sad to report that I was very disappointed in The Necromancer. I’ve really loved each of the first 3 books in this series, but found this one to be uneventful filler. The last 30 pages contained all the necessary portions of the story, and rather than bore us with 200 pages of filler, this could have (and should have) been the opening chapters to book # 5.  And then after wading through hundreds of pages of build-up, we’re left with a rather abrupt cliffhanger. I was honestly shocked when I turned the page to find out that the book had ended after only a few chapters of action.

Verdict

While I wasn’t impressed with The Necromancer, I will most definitely continue with this series. I very much want to know what happens in the end. Hopefully this one was a mis-step and the next book will actually have something in it.

Help! My brain seems to have shut down on me this month. I’ve yet to finish a book in September! And while September is usually a slower reading month for me, it’s never been this slow! And it’s not even a case of not liking the book I’m reading… I specifically set aside the review books and picked up the 4th book in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series that I’ve been waiting to read for ages, but I can never seem to get in more than a few pages a day. I’ve also been busy at home, and having another chatty boy living with us hasn’t helped at all, but I’m beginning to really miss getting lost in a good book.

So I thought, I’d ask my fellow book lovers and reading experts to find out what they do when this happens…

What do you do to beat the book blah’s when they strike? Or does this never happen to you? What’s your secret to finishing a book when you’ve hit a rut? And how do you come up with ideas for interesting blog posts when you have no book reviews to share? Help a fellow book lover get her groove back!

Happy Friday folks! As you can probably tell from the tumbleweeds blowing around here, things have been pretty busy for the past few weeks. September always seems to be a busy month for me, and with some changes happening at home, I haven’t had a lot of time to read or write about what I’ve read in a while. Hopefully things will pick up soon, but in the meantime I have a little Friday Freebie for you!

Anyone who reads WAGB knows that both Rae and I love Janet Evanovich and are eagerly awaiting the debut book in her new Unmentionable Series. The first book in the series is called Wicked Appetite and will be released in just a few days on Sept. 14, 2010.

If you’re like us and just can’t wait, or if you’re new to Janet Evanovich’s work and would like to test before you buy, you can check out a sample of Wicked Appetite now on Janet’s website! A preview of the first 21 pages of Wicked Appetite can be found here.

As you may have noticed, we’re taking a little break from the WAGB book club this month. September’s always such a busy month, between back to school and new fall TV (which both Rae and I have a healthy love for), so we thought we’d take a little break and come back with some fresh selections in October.

Because we like to hear your thoughts and want our book club to reflect our reader’s tastes, we’re letting YOU decide on our October book club selection!

Please let us know which of the “Can’t put it down books” you’d like to read and discuss next month by voting in our poll. And if you have other books that you think would make good book club selections, be sure to let us know in the comments below because we’ll be making choices for future months as well.

I’m a HUGE fan of Angie Dudley over at Bakerella. She puts my cake decorating to shame. Better yet, she’s just as sweet as the treats she makes. I don’t know her personally or anything but her posts never fail to bring a smile to my face. Which is why I can’t wait to get my hands on her book, Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats, which hit shelves this week.

Even better Angie made a little video to promote the book and in it she shows you the basics of making cake pops. Awesome! (She’s also posted about making the video over at Bakerella.) I really need to make some of these soon. I’m making the cake(s) for a friend’s son’s first birthday next weekend. Maybe I’ll sneak some cake pops in there as an extra treat.

So, my fellow bakers, be sure to check out the cake pops section of Angie’s blog. If you like what you see, I’m pretty sure you’ll love her new book as much as I will!