I know that I previously mentioned this series in prior posts, but I didn’t elaborate on it too much.  The In Death series by J.D. Robb (a.k.a. Nora Roberts) is one of a kind.  Nora Roberts is known for her romantic novels, with over 100 written.  The pseudonym J.D. Robb was adopted because she and her publishers didn’t want readers to know that the author was already so well-known and popular.  J.D. is from the first initials of her two sons, and Robb is a shortened version of Roberts.

The In Death series is printed in both paperback and hardback, and the first was released in 1995.  Robb continues her romanticism in this series, but with a twist: the setting is 2058, a futuristic world we can only imagine right now, but so much has already started to come true.  The main character?  Eve Dallas, a New York City Police Department detective with a horrific past.  Got your attention yet?

It is not necessary to read these books in order; however it does provide a better reading experience because you can get to know the secondary characters in the order that they were introduced.  There will be 30 In Death novels published by March of next year, though other books have been written under the pseudonym of J.D. Robb.  Now that it’s been almost 15 years since that first book of the series hit shelves, fans are made aware that it is Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb; many of the more recent books have it written right on the front.  I’ve read quite a few in this series, and own quite a few which I need to read.  Definitely check them out if you enjoy a good romantic/suspense novel, and even if that’s not your forte, check ’em out anyway.  You might just find a new genre that interests you.
 
I haven’t read many Stephen King books, but I own a lot.  And one of them that I read over the summer freaked me out, a lot.  The one I was reading is called Cell.  Basically, everyone with a cell phone go crazy-animalistic on everyone in their paths.  But Clay Riddell is one of the few who are unaffected.  The novel tells his story as he progresses with a few others who help him, but he learns that no one is the same anymore.  He sets his mind to doing anything he can to get his wife and son back to him, despite the fact that they (like just about everyone else) are practically walking zombies.  This story became so realistic to me that I was afraid of my cell phone for awhile.  It really takes a new look at how dependent we have become on technology.  Definitely a good read, and will capture your attention and take you into a whole new world that you have probably never imagined existing.
 
This is a very unique book that brings supernatural fiction to a whole new level.  Ever Bloom had a near-perfect life before the accident.  She was popular, gorgeous, had a boyfriend, and got whatever she wanted when she wanted it.  But when she, her parents, her sister Riley, and their dog Buttercup were driving down the road late one night, a deer ran into the road, and their father tried to swerve and miss it, but drove into a ravine.  The whole family ended up dead, except Ever.

She was the only one who lived through the accident, and continuously blamed herself for it.  When she wakes up in the hospital, everybody has an aura surrounding them.  When she firsts mentions it to one of the nurses, she is put through eye exams and psych evaluations, until she realized to keep her newfound ability to herself.

That wasn’t all, though.  Every day she was being visited by Riley, who had died in the accident.  At first, Riley wouldn’t speak at all, and only communicate with hand gestures and expressions.  Soon, Ever found out that Riley really could speak to her, and it wasn’t long until she realized that Riley was trying to live out her ideal 13 year old life through Ever, because Riley had been in the accident before she turned 13.

Everyone has an aura, and each aura differs from person to person, and it depends on their moods.  Damen, a mysterious person who seems to have a special interest for Ever, shows up at the school to attend.  Bad things start happening to her best friend, Haven, who is becoming more and more obsessed with the goth look.

When Ever finds out that Damen is an Immortal, what will she do?  And how will she react to the other things he has been keeping from her?
 
From the moment I started reading this book last night, I could not put it down.  It quickly became my number 3 favorite book, and I wasn’t even halfway through it.  By the time I finished the last page and had put it down, it became tied for my number 2 favorite.  The setting is 1987, and centers around the life of a 14 year old girl, Ellie, and how she is forced to grow up quicker than what she would have liked.

Her father left the family when she was younger, and her mother changed entirely after that.  Her sister Gwen is popular, well-liked, while Ellie doesn’t really have any friends, and doesn’t think too highly of herself.  When their mother gets abusive- verbally and physically- the two sisters each cope with it their own ways.

Ellie keeps everything bottled up inside, lies, and pretends that everything is fine, finding peace watching the fireflies outside her house.  Gwen, on the other hand, turns to alcohol, drugs, and partying.  Ellie tries her best to keep the peace between their dysfunctional family, while Gwen and their mother are often antagonizing one another.  When a good-looking musician moves in next door, Ellie feels like she is in love with him, and does everything she can to be with him- despite their 6 year age difference, while she continues to do her best to save the family she dearly misses.

This story is full of humor, heartbreak, despair, loneliness, and brings into light the abuse that is so real in this world.
 
Darkly Dreaming Dexter.  A serial killer, who kills the bad people.  But he doesn’t just kill them; he confronts them, and makes them suffer.  And his way of killing is just as unique as he is.  It all started when he was just a boy, as we see in flashbacks throughout the book.  He would kill small animals such as squirrels, and once, his neighbor’s dog.  His adoptive father, Harry, worked for the police department at that time, and had found Dexter at the scene of a crime, and proceeded to adopting him. 

It wasn’t long before Harry realized what Dexter had gotten himself
into, and what he was becoming.  The only thing he could do was intervene, and teach Dexter how to control himself.  Control himself enough so that he could fight off the urge to kill something, and only kill the people who deserved death (rapists, killers, etc).  Dexter fine-tuned his style from the beginning, carefully and dutifully working. 

Harry helped him, and helped him to find and know who the bad people were.  Dexter makes sure he has proof of the wrongdoings of the people he kills.  He works as a blood splatter analyst for the Miami police department, which also helps him during his moonlighting job.  However, when a string of murders display a resemblance to his own style of killing, he is both flattered and frightened- of himself and this mysterious murderer. 
This book series by Jeff Lindsay has inspired the Showtime series, Dexter.
 
Another book I had to read recently for school was John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace.  The setting is a boys’ boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II.  It tells the tale of two boys who become friends, and ultimately strive to be like the other one, though neither realizes this fact.  Complete opposites from one another, Gene keeps to himself constantly, and is very intellectual, while Phineas is good-looking, an athlete, and a risk-taker. 

The story centers on their becoming friends, and the trials and errors their friendship goes through.  This is also another book which provides an insight into what things were like during World War II: while it is about a strong friendship, one of the minor characters, Leper Lepellier, is the first of their extended group of friends to enlist.  The war really begins to hit home and they begin to realize the seriousness of what is going on outside the walls of their school.  Also might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but definitely a worthwhile read.
 
It’s been awhile since my last book review, and I honestly cannot remember the books I’ve read recently.  However, that might be because I haven’t done a lot of reading lately.  One book I did read lately was Ernest Hemingway’s novel, A Farewell to Arms.  It is the story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front, who falls in love with an English nurse during World War I.  The gruesome descriptions of the horrible events that were happening all over really bring a sense of reality to the story.  The romanticism that Hemingway brings to life brings a new realization of relationships between people way back when.  We had to read it for school, and it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.  However, the frank portrayal of the characters and what was endured during World War I provides us a timeless look into the past.