Mandy Reviews: Hot Water by Erin Brockovich and CJ Lyons

ISBN #: 978-1-59315-684-8

Page Count: 275

Copyright: 2011

Publisher: Vanguard Press

Book Summary:

(Taken from dustjacket flaps)

Environmental activist AJ Palladino, first encountered in Rock Bottom, is no stranger to the juggling act of managing work and family. But when she's asked to leave home for a case involving a nuclear power plant, it takes all her strength to keep everything from crashing down on her.

Colleton River is a new, one-of-a-kind nuclear facility in South Carolina designed to create medical isotopes with the potential to save millions of lives. Recently, the plant has been plagued by a series of mishaps that, despite several investigations, remain unexplained. The accidents have caused local unrest and drawn the attention of anti-nuclear protest groups, as well as several homegrown terrorists who sense an opportunity to sow fear and chaos.

When Colleton River's owner contacts AJ for help, she knows she will have her hands full investigating the accidents and calming tensions at the plant. But AJ's simple business trip takes disastrous turns as she uncovers the source of the plant's accidents and, after an approaching hurricane prevents her from returning to West Virginia, her son disappears.

As AJ's life back home unravels, the plant hurtles toward nuclear catastrophe - with AJ caught between both worlds.

Can AJ stop the plant's meltdown and save the community, herself, and her son in time?

*Side Note: The first novel the AJ Palladino character was portrayed in was Rock Bottom, Erin Brockovich's debut novel. To read my review of Rock Bottom, click here.*

Mandy's Review:

Cover

The cover makes me think of heat, humidity and Southern summers ... which people in the South know it is not a pleasant thing to experience, especially if you're not used to it.

Plot

AJ and Elizabeth are hired to try and make a South Carolina nuclear plant acceptable by the townspeople. While AJ's away dealing with that, Elizabeth is fighting to keep David, AJ's son, safe.

Not to mention we have a radio-active alligator, an overzealous grandfather, a hitman trying to kill his target for the second time and a lawman trying valiantly to defend the woman he loves.

Main Characters

AJ - Still a single mom, but this time around she's permanently employed and has a stable home for her son. She tends to find herself in dangerous situations on a regular basis.

Ty - A local K9 officer who spends time with David, AJ's son, helping to give him a male role model.

Elizabeth - A lawyer and AJ's boss. She is slowly learning to appreciate and enjoy her single life in West Virginia, which is a lot different from her life in Philadelphia.

Overall

An easy read that is fast-paced and will keep you entertained until the end. I am interested in reading the third AJ Palladino novel, if only to see what happens with the lawman's budding relationship with the woman he's loved since they were kids.

I believe the AJ Palladino books are ones that most fans of Tom Clancy and John Grisham fiction would enjoy.

Mandy Reviews: The A-Men Return by John Trevillian

ISBN #: 978-1848766-198

Page Count: 425

Copyright: 2011

Publisher: Matador Publishing

Book Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

Four years have passed since the destruction of the Phoenix Tower and with it the infamous A-Men. The once-great Dead City is now a no-go zone; abandoned and forgotten. Living in this nightmarish underworld Jack is a twisted shadow of his former self, a lone survivor in a world of warring ganglords and their crazed disciples.

Yet something is stirring in the sanctuary of the near-space starstations; a realisation that Heaven's governing sentience is dying and the one thing that can save civilisation fell to earth a long, long time ago.

From unrelentingly visceral to outrageously comic, this is a harsh and poetic twenty-second century noir fable. Yet beneath the hardboiled action is a philosophical journey of one man's rebirth in a harsh and unforgiving world.

It's The A-Men. Only harder, faster: darker.

 

*Side Note: This is the second book in the series. To read my review of the first book, The A-Men, please click here.*

Mandy's Review:

Cover

I love that this cover features Sister Midnight, one of the main characters in this novel, instead of Jack again (another main character).

Plot

We return to the world of a mad scientist, a group of misfits and an unrealistic world, based on a fairy tale, that is slowly dying. It is a futuristic world we enter in which sex, murder and territorial wars run rampant.

The scientist, now on death row, gather the A-Men back together for one last mission. Can they come together again one last time? Or, are the hard feelings they parted with going to hinder them from joining and, ultimately, result in the scientist's death?

Main Characters

Jack - aka The Nowhereman - The main leader of the A-Men. In this novel, Jack finally gets his memory back. He's still a kick-ass, shoot-first-ask-questions-later type which simultaneously gets him in and out of trouble ... depending upon the circumstances.

Susan - aka Pure - She's out for revenge against Jack for how easily he dismissed her the previous summer. She still loves him and ends up helping him ... at least, until her own life is at stake.

Esther - aka Sister Midnight - Although she's turned holy, that doesn't stop her from loving, and helping, Jack when he needs it. She can fight as well as any warrior and sticks with Jack until the end of the mission.

Nathaniel - aka D'Alessandro - Writer and creator of Forevermore, a fairytale (and amusement park) about a perfect world where death doesn't exist. He's a little mad-scientisty and is on death row for his actions against the company he previously worked for.

Overall

Another stellar novel from John Trevillian. I love, love, love the chapters being written in each of the main character's voice. It allows the reader to get to know each of the characters personally. This series of novels could easily be made into a movie (or movies) and/or a television series.

If you are a fan of sci-fi, futuristic events or just a mind-blowing, amazingly written story, then check out John Trevillian's A-Men trilogy: The A-Men, The A-Men Return and Forever A-Men (which I cannot wait to read!).

TRW2011: What Book Are You Thankful For?

This is the first mini-challenge in the Thankfully Reading Weekend 2011.  In this challenge, we are to post about the book we are thankful for and why.

This may sound a little trite and cliche, but the book I am thankful for is the Bible. I was raised in a religious household and the Bible has always been the foundation and definition of our beliefs. With it, we learn about our relationship with Christ and how we are to relate to others. It has been a source of comfort to me for the majority of my life and there is nothing I would trade for the knowledge I have gained while reading its pages.

You may see me say un-Christlike things or behave in an unchristian manner. Just know that I am human, as we all are, and am struggling to constantly change my thinking and actions to line up with God's word. I don't judge others and their mistakes because I know I make them, too.

So, anyway, that is the book I am most thankful for.  What about you?

Thankfully Reading 2011 Weekend: Kickoff Post

Good morning everybody!  =)  Are you still in the throes of your turkey, stuffing, cranberry coma?  Well, I'm not!  I am up bright and early (for me, anyway) to begin this year's Thankfully Reading Weekend.

I've never been a big fan of all the crazies out shopping on Black Friday (If you're one of the crazies, more power to you honey!).  So, since I'm already staying inside I figured I'd get some reading done off my huge TBR list.

I'm not sure how many I'll actually be able to read, but here's my proposed list:

1. The A-Men Return by John Trevillian (Already started, just need to finish)
2. Hot Water by Erin Brockovich
3. Treasure Me by Christine Nolfi
4. The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum
5. The Wayfinder by Darcy Pattison
6. Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
7. Lodestone - Book Three: The Crucible of Dawn by Mark Whiteway
8. The Third Q by Arnold Francis and Robert Luxenberg
9. The World As We Know It by Joseph Monninger
10. Killer Sweet Tooth by Gayle Trent

I realize this is an ambitious list, but I do not plan on getting much sleep this weekend.

I am also hoping to participate in the mini-challenges while posting reviews and progress posts during this fun weekend. So, check back periodically on here and on Twitter (#thankfulreading) to follow my progress.

Good luck to all the Thankfully Reading 2011 Weekend participants!

Charlene Reviews: Please Help Me Lift Something Heavy. Thank You! by Dr. Rick Gelinas

ISBN #: 978-0978765897

Page Count: 374

Copyright: 2011

Publisher: Ophir Publishing

Synopsis:

(Taken from helpmelift.net)

This book provides a glimpse into the life of a modern American family over a period of seventy-five years.

Told in the first person from the point of view of the family's eldest sibling, a random succession of memoirs follow a young child through a boyhood that is often tumultuous, sometimes tragic or near-tragic, and occasionally hilarious.

The tale takes us on adventures and misadventures typical of any boy's formative years, yet is unique for its blend of the assumable and the impossible, the timid and the daring, the quotidian and the outrageous, along with the yearning and the loving that signals real growth as the boy becomes a man.

Told with the abandon of the fiction writer but the constraint of the nonfiction writer, this story often glides easily across the lanes of fine literature, like a good skier enjoying his whispery glide back and forth down a snowy slope he knows quite well.

Charlene's Review:

Lift, as the author calls his book, is an enchanting collection of stories from the life of Dr. Rick Gelinas. Sometimes humorous, occasionally tragic, the stories contain plenty of heartfelt sentiment. Consisting of 32 short stories, Dr. Gelinas takes us on a tour of his many mishaps and lessons learned along his, and his family's, lifetime.

The premise for his writing is to expound the necessity for all of humankind to reach out and ASK for help, and to be open to RECEIVE help. His writing style is enjoyable, as if you are sitting alongside and watching his journey. I especially enjoyed reading the paragraphs that preface every story, as they provide a moral lesson and insight into what Dr. Gelinas himself learned from that particular time in his life. The "something heavy" he refers to is whatever you, the reader, is carrying. His writing is in hopes of lightening the reader's load through his humor and giving them hope to continue their own journey. The Gelinas' also donate 100% of their "royalties" to help homeless women veterans.

Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommended.