Tuesday, April 7, 2015

A to Z April: F Reviews - Five Things I Can't Live Without by Holly Shumas/Fatalis by Jeff Rovin

Again I have a chick lit book to share, but the other book is going to be what I'd call an adult science fiction title.  So first a synopsis from Goodreads for each one, followed by a few sentences from me about why I liked them.

First is Five Things I Can't Live Without by Holly Shumas.  This was a fun read.  As I go back through Goodreads and look at all the reviews, I see a lot of one and two star reviews. But, my sister and I both gave it five stars and since we always like the same books, I'm sticking with mine.  People said the character was too crazy?  Maybe I'm that crazy too and that's why I enjoyed it so much.  :-)  Here's the blurb from Goodreads:
On paper, Nora's life looks perfect. She's moving in with her boyfriend Dan, she has a stable job and a great group of friends. But she's stuck in what she refers to as "meta-life," the plight of overthinking and secondguessing to the point of self-sabotage. One day at work, Nora decides to thwart her meta-life by following her instincts. In what feels like a moment of revelation, she quits her job. Immediately, her meta-life goes into overdrive: What on earth was she thinking--and what is she going to do now? Fortunately, when a friend asks Nora to rewrite her Internet dating profile, she realizes that not only is she good at it, but she really enjoys it. Billing herself as a Cyrano de Bergerac for the lovelorn, Nora finally begins to find professional success. But soon, Nora's meta-life has latched onto the question she's asked so many clients: What are the five things she can't live without? Is her flourishing business one of them? Is Dan? With each new client and each step she takes in her own relationship, she must confront her biggest demon--her self-sabotaging "meta-life." But will she be able to slay it forever?

Second is Fatalis by Jeff Rovin.  Now, Jeff Rovin is really more widely known for his humor and joke books, more kid stuff than this type. Although he has this one and another one, Vespers, that I really enjoyed. He also was co-author on the book that came out last year by one of the stars of The X-Files, Gillian Anderson.  I love this type of book, love prehistoric creatures and other kinds of nature science fiction.  Here's the blurb from Goodreads:
When an ancient fissure is jolted in the hills above Los Angeles, the giant cats -- in suspended animation since ancient time -- awake. And then the deaths begin, attributed at first to the modern hazards of setting up a rich and teeming metropolis so close to the natural mountain habitat of bobcats and wolves. But something else is descending from on high, stalking at night, moving from prehistoric time toward modern civilization.Hannah Hughes, local newspaperwoman, and Jim Grand, a melancholy anthropologist, know the threat is real and more dangerous than anyone realizes. Their mission is to find the cats and confront living specimens before their nemesis, Sheriff Malcolm Gearhart, destroys what may be the last link to our ancestors' time. But the cats' preternatural sense of smell is guiding them closer and closer, because the cats are on a mission too.  

Those are my two reviews for today. Have you read either of them?  Or either author?  And while you're here, don't forget to enter my giveaway below!

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