Redwall (2002)

Several years ago I had the pleasure of hearing the author of Redwall, Brian Jacques, speak. He said he started writing when he was unable to find good, descriptive books to read aloud at a school for the blind. That's why his books are so rich with description.
"Cluny was a bilge rat; the biggest, most savage rodent that ever jumped from ship to shore. He was black, with grey and pink scars all over his huge sleek body, from the tip of his wet nose, up past his green and yellow slitted, eye, across both his mean tattered ears, down the length of his heavy vermin-ridden back to the enormouse whiplike tail which had earned him his title: Cluny the Scourge!"
The parallels to The Lord of the Rings are too numerous to mention but mice, shrews, and sparrows (men, dwarves, and elves) fight off invasion from rats (orcs). Frodo, oops, I mean Harry Potter, er, I mean Matthias, discovers his destiny to follow in the footsteps of Martin the Warrior. The resemblance between Matthias and an image of Martin in a tapestry had gone unnoticed until the abbey was threatened. He goes on a quest to recover Martin's sword to help defend Redwall Abbey from the rats. While leaving his friends behind to fend for themselves, he faces dangers and meets new allies along the way to recovering this valuable artifact.
I had been meaning to read Redwall for many years and I am glad I finally did. I doubt I will read the entire series (ah, the old problem of so many books and too little time) but it is not because I wouldn't enjoy them.
I recommend this book to fans of adventure books. It's an enjoyable good vs. evil story.
My rating for this book: +++

Revelations (2008)

This is the third book in the Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz and I have to say I did not enjoy it as much as the first two. It seems that everyone has a second angel name and it was confusing as to which were the good angels and which were the bad angels.

I was disappointed, too, because I was left feeling that I have to wait for the next book (good for the author's bank account but frustrating for me). Since Rowling and Meyer have their readers comfortable with books reaching up to 600 pages, it seems that de la Cruz might have given us more with this book and not left us hanging in the wind.

I would recommend that readers wait until the series is finished and then read them all at once. Fans of vampire romance books will love this series.

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty (2008)

It's interesting, sometimes, to figure out exactly what attracts you to a certain book. In this case, I was intrigued by the term "triple shot betty". When I read the description of the book, I was further drawn in by the fact that it took place in Sonoma, just over the hill from my home! My confession is that I am not a real fan of chick lit, even though I have to admit that once I start reading a book of this genre, I find I like the main character, feel sorry when something bad happens, and celebrate when everything is fixed (if that's the case). In Jody Gehrman's book, Geena is looking forward to a summer where her best friend, Amber, and her cousin, Hope, meet and the three of them enjoy hanging out. Well, you know that if that was all that happened it wouldn't be a very interesting book. Geena is smart and funny and has a totally unique view of the world. I highly recommend this book to girls who enjoy revenge stories.

My rating for this book: +++