I’ve finally been leisure reading more lately. The last few months have been busy and tiring. Lots of work, and a bunch of birthdays and social gatherings to attend to. “Stuff” was just going on. Work was pretty busy in January and February, but it’s gotten less hectic now (or else I’m just getting more efficient), and my energy levels are back up again.

Why were they down, you ask? Well, that would be because my husband and I are expecting our first child this summer. We’re very excited, as it took a while for it to happen for us. And even though we’d been trying, I was still pretty shocked when it actually happened. So the first few months were sort of an adjustment period, where all I could really think about was being pregnant and if everything was going well, and dreaming about what life will be like when the little one arrives. And the first trimester wasn’t so good to me. Nausea and exhaustion were my constant companions. I’d start reading a page of a book and just fall asleep. I’d get 8 hours a sleep a night and still need a 2 hour nap in the middle of the day. I’d spend hours on the couch, willing the nausea to just go away.

But not anymore. I’m 5 months along and I feel really, really good right now. My other constant companion is kicking a lot now, particularly around my bladder, and waking me up at night. I find myself up early in the morning, unable to sleep, and wondering what to do with myself after the now regularly scheduled 5 AM trip to the bathroom. So I’ve been reading more (not in the bathroom, mind you, as I find the couch a lot more comfortable), and I realized how much I missed it.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that this book blog might just be a little less neglected for the next few months. Yay for that :)

Isabella Swan is back with her band of monsters. Her relationship with her vampire boyfriend, Edward, is back on track, and they’ve returned to life in Forks, Washington to recuperate from their eventful trip to Italy and Bella’s run in with the Volturi. Bella’s high school graduation is now a few short weeks away, and with graduation comes Carlisle Cullen’s promise to turn Bella into a vampire when she’s ready. Except, nothing ever really goes as planned, does it?

Even though Bella and Edward got past that whole, “We can’t be together because it’s too dangerous” drama that kept them apart for all of New Moon, Bella is still in danger, and her problems haven’t gone away. Her werewolf friend, Jacob, is still in love with her and still in hate with the vampires as ever. Her vampire friends and werewolf friends are still at war and refuse to co-exist peacefully. Her moronic father is still (rightfully) disapproving of Edward for leaving Bella to fall apart in New Moon and driving her to do crazy stunts with Jacob, who her clueless father seems to think is a better choice for her as a boyfriend. Her demanding and controlling boyfriend Edward refuses to let her spend time with Jacob, who he thinks isn’t in control of his werewolf instincts, but Bella just wants to lead on encourage Jacob’s feelings continue to break Jacob’s heart spend time with her best friend and have things go back to the way they were before Jacob got all furry and older than his 16 years. Of course, there’s still the physical threat of the Volturi, who want Bella transformed into a vampire sooner than later, since humans aren’t supposed to be aware of the vampire’s existence. And oh yeah, let’s not forget that there’s still a crazy, vengeful vampire named Victoria out there intent on killing Bella for causing her vampire mate’s death. Then there’s also the matter of the reports of a serial killer on the loose in nearby Seattle that reeks of vampire army raising.

So Bella’s got a lot on her mind. (more…)

Joe Carpenter lost his wife and two daughters to a horrific plane crash with no survivors that authorities blamed on a mechanical error. He accepts the explanation, but can’t accept his family’s deaths. For a year, Joe has shut himself off from the world, locked up in his apartment, grieving his losses. On the first year anniversary of their deaths, Joe visits their graves and finds a woman there, photographing their tombstones. The woman claims to be the sole survivor of the plane crash that had killed over 300 others on board. But before she can explain how this is possible, she is chased away by two men intent on keeping her quiet. Joe’s curiosity is piqued, and he starts to think that if it’s possible she survived, perhaps others did too… perhaps his own wife and daughters could have survived. Using his skills as a former crime journalist, Joe starts investigating the two men trying to keep the sole survivor quiet, and begins to learn things about the crash that suggest all is not as it seems, and perhaps there is hope that his family will be returned to him. (more…)