The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead

When Kit is late for a date with his girlfriend he takes what he thinks is a shortcut through an alley. He ends up in another time and place. He meets his great-grandfather Cosimo there. Cosimo entreats Kit to come with him and help him find the Skin Map. A map that is tattooed on a man's chest that shows travellers how to get from one time period to another.

Kit refuses to help Cosimo. He leaves the time he is in and goes back to London to meet with his girlfriend. When he tries to explain to Wilhelmina why he is late she refuses to believe him. Bent on showing Mina that all he has told her is true, Kit takes her to the place that he entered another time before. They are separated while making the "leap". Kit to his great-grandfather's and Mina to 1600's Prague.

Mina joins forces with  Etzel on his journey to Prague to open a bakery. Their business is lagging until Mina introduces coffee to the citizens of Prague. Her and Etzel open the first coffeehouse to huge success. When Mina meets a fellow traveller from another time period she is shrewd enough to learn all that he is up to.

Kit and Cosimo and Sir Henry are all trying to find not only the Skin Map, but also trying to find what time period Mina jumped to. Time is running short as they are constantly followed by Burley Men bent on following them to find the map and use it for their own nefarious schemes. Will Kit and Company be able to find the map before it is too late?

I have mixed feelings about this book. It drug in parts. I was most captivated with Mina's experience and wanted to flip the pages faster to get to her part more quickly. The ending was very disappointing in that I felt like I was right in the middle of some serious action and turned the page and it was over. I know that there is another book in the series that is coming out in September, but still felt a bit ripped off. Also, I received this book from BookSneeze. I thought that they were a Christian book distributor, but this book had little or no Spiritual content.  I honestly do not know that I would pick up the second book.

The Meowmorphosis by Franz Kafka & Coleridge Cook

I have never read any of Franz Kafka's stories so was not familiar with The Metamorphosis. I went online to look it up and get kind of an idea of what it was about. I also read a bit of biography about Franz Kafka to get an idea of what he was like as a writer. So, after doing all of that I then read The Meowmorphosis, Quirk Classics mashup of  Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

In The Metamorphosis Gregor Samsa a salesman wakes up one morning turned into a bug of some sort. In The Meowmorphosis mashup Gregor Samsa wakes up as a cute little kitten.

I have to say I just didn't get it. I didn't know what the point of Gregor turning into a bug/or cat was all about. If Kafka was trying to impart some kind of message it was lost on me. My fault I am sure, as I am a pretty black and white kind of person. I want things spelled out for me.

All in all Gregor's life seems pretty depressing. He is evidently supporting his family. It seems that after he turns into a cat his resentment of that comes through. Once he no longer can support them his parents and sister have to find jobs in order to help them survive. They seem to be sunk in hopelessness as they do their jobs. It falls to Gregor's sister to take care of him which she does wholeheartedly at first but then comes to resent.

*SPOILER* Once Gregor passes, his family seem to come out of their funk and their burden is lightened and their hopelessness is lifted. So my question is, "What was the point?"

This is not to say that I didn't like the story. Coleridge Cook did a great job infusing funny little cat antics into the story to make it more amusing. I guess I am just not a fan of Kafka.

Bite Club by Rachel Caine

A new gym has opened in Morganville. From the time Shane visits it he is changed. Taken into a back room of the gym he is offered a deal he cannot refuse. Learn to fight with Vampire's. This seems to be just what Shane is looking for in order to get even with the Vampire's for what they have done to his family and friends.

Gloriana is a Vampire that has the ability to glamour the people around her. She has glamoured Shane into taking revenge on the Vampire's. Also she and Vassily have been supplying the fighters with energy drinks that seem to cause the humans to have super fast skills like Vampire's.

All of Shane's pent up rage spills over into his fighting and into his personal life. Eve, Michael and Claire try to find a way to rescue Shane from the club and from himself. Will they be able to save him before Amelie decides to mete out justice Vampire style?

As always living in Morganville does not provide a quiet existence for Claire. I was so stressed out reading this book! Mainly because I just couldn't stand the thought of Shane and Claire's relationship falling apart. I won't tell you how it all ended, but I will say that as always Rachel Caine has written an exciting story and I can't wait for the next Morganville Vampire book to come out!

Book Club Update

 Remember book club is May 21st. If you haven't gotten your copy of Words by Ginny Yttrup yet hop on over to Edgy Inspirational Romance and check out the information to get a free copy on your Nook.

Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry

For 7 months Tom has been training Benny, Lilah, Nix, and Chong how to survive in the Rot & Ruin. Preparing them for their trek east in search of the jet they all saw fly over them months before. Nix cannot wait to leave all of her memories behind. Lilah cannot wait to feel freedom outside of the fences. Chong is only going for an overnight camping trip to further his training and of course to be with Lilah for a little while longer.

Once in the Rot & Ruin though things do not go the way they planned. Things seem to be happening in the Ruin that indicate that Gameland is once again up and running. While checking out a dead body they encounter Preacher Jack. A man whose title doesn't match his evil countenance.

When they all become separated things go from bad to worse. Not only struggling against the living dead, they are also having to contend with an evilness in humans that they never thought possible.

Once again Jonathan Mayberry has kept me on the edge of my seat! There were times in the story that I would get so stressed out that I had to set the book down for a while! This is an ARC copy that I received at TXLA in April. Jonathan Mayberry was kind enough to autograph it for me. It comes out in stores in August of 2011. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

Bite Club by Rachel Caine

I'm going to go get a copy of this at Borders today. I'm a little scared to read it though. I told a friend that if Rachel Caine messes with Claire and Shane's relationship I was going to be mad. Obviously I am worried about that before I even start reading! We'll see...


UPDATE: I went to Borders and they didn't have it(but it was on order), then I went to Barnes and Noble and they didn't have it(but it was on order and they could put my name on a list)...finally I went to Hastings and there it was!!! Why didn't two of the biggest book chains have this already? Curious minds want to know!

Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo

Emma Grant's life seems to be falling apart. She found her husband in a compromising situation(on their dining room table) with her Teacher's Assistant. She was asked to leave the University she was teaching at for being accused of plagiarizing a paper. She has sold everything she has in order to buy a ticket to London to pursue lost letters of Jane Austen that may or may not exist. When she arrives she finds that she is not alone in the flat she is borrowing from her cousin. Her former best friend Adam is also staying there. Adam had tried to tell Emma that the man she was going to marry was no good. Unfortunately they had a falling out and have not seen each other for years.

Emma goes to see Mrs. Parrot once she arrives in London. Mrs. Parrot is part of a secret group called the Formidables. They have been entrusted to keep Jane Austen's letters secret. She sends Emma on different "tasks" to prove her worthiness to view the real letters. Emma immediately decides that once she gets hold of these letters she will be able to reinstate her status as a professor.

While trying to keep secret what she is doing for Mrs. Parrot, Emma becomes suspicious of Adam. He seems to be turning up wherever she goes. Anyone who gets hold of these letters would become famous. Throughout the story Emma is fighting her attraction to Adam. After all she believes that life does not hold Happily Ever After endings for her.

This was such a fast, fun read. I want to read Beth Patillo's Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart  as I am sure it will be just as fun.