Hiatus

Meet our little one, born April 7. And the reason this blog will be going on a short hiatus; not much time or will to read at the moment. :)

The Girl Who Played with Fire

I have to say, as much as I enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the second book in the trilogy is even better. There were some slow parts in Tattoo, primarily the first 30 pages and the last 45-50 pages or so. This one has kept me hooked from page one. The story is action-packed, the characters are interesting and Lisbeth Salander, our heroine (if you can call her that), kicks butt.

When Lisbeth finds herself in a heap of trouble that has to do with three murders, she's forced to go into hiding and try to solve the murders, and clear her name. Turns out she's the link, and her shadowed past, which we learned so little about in the first book, takes center stage. The journalist Blomkvist believes her innocence and starts his own journalistic investigation, parallel to the police investigation, to find out the truth. The truth isn't pretty - it involves sex trafficking, sexual abuse and considerable brutality - but it definitely grabs you and draws you in anyway.

We get a whole new cast of characters in this book. With series I'm always wary of new characters. Will the author make me care about them as much as I do the main characters? Will these new guys be fully formed and worth my time? Will I hate one so much it'll ruin the story for me? But, I've enjoyed the new characters in this book - both the good guys and the bad guys. And when the bad guys get their comeuppance, I give a little cheer.

When the book trades off between the investigation from both the police's and Blomkvist's perspective to Lisbeth's, there can be a little repetition. The author takes us through some of the same information, just through Lisbeth's eyes as she finds out. Part of me thinks this is unnecessary; and I tended to skim those few parts. But, they were so few, they didn't take away from the story.

I can't wait for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest to come out in May. I'm anxious to learn the rest of Lisbeth's story. (Warning: Do not read the synopsis to the third book if you have yet, and want, to read the first two. There are some spoilers.)

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

OK, Twilight fans, we're in for another treat. Stephenie Meyer announced that she's releasing a short story called The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Bree was a newborn vampire in Eclipse, so this 200-page story tells about things from her perspective. Meyer says that the short story came in handy for the writers, director and actors in Eclipse, the movie, when they were trying to really get a feel for what newborn life was like.

The physical book will be available for purchase June 5, but Meyer is also offering an electronic copy for free to fans during the month of June. It comes out before Eclipse does, so fans can really learn about Bree before seeing the movie.

Two years ago when I was devouring the Twilight books, I would have about dropped dead from excitement about this news. I'm still excited, but I can tell my fervor over the books has definitely decreased a bit since then. But this book and the movie both coming out in June - makes for a fun month!