91. Read and Review 100 Books (28/100) Midnight Bayou - Nora Roberts

'Declan Fitzgerald had always been the family maverick, but even he couldn't understand his impulse to buy a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans. All he knew was that ever since he first saw Manet Hall, he'd been enchanted and obsessed with it. So when the opportunity to buy the house comes up, Declan jumps at the chance to live out a dream.

Determined to restore Manet Hall to its former splendor, Declan begins the daunting renovation room by room, relying on his own labor and skills. But the days spent in total isolation in the empty house take a toll. He is seeing visions of days from a century past, and experiencing sensations of terror and nearly unbearable grief sensations not his own, but those of a stranger. Local legend has it that the house is haunted, and with every passing day Declan's belief in the ghostly presence grows.

Only the companionship of alluring Angelina Simone can distract him from the mysterious happenings in the house, but Angelina too has her own surprising connection to Manet Hall a connection that will help Declan uncover a secret that's been buried for a hundred years.'


Occasionally its nice to read something a little bit lighter, something that you don't really need to think about and that is just entertaining and allows you to switch off at the end of a hard day... but you dont want something that is simply smutty trash (I'm really not the Mills and Boon type) Nora Roberts fits this niche to a tee... well at least for me!! Midnight Bayou was a very entertaining read however it seemed to end very abruptly - there felt like there was quite a bit of undeveloped potential.. however as said for a book that I just wanted to read and not think about at all it worked perfectly... And since we've actually been to the Antebellum Plantation that this one is based upon (Oak Alley) I had no problem at all in visualising Manet Hall and the surrounding swampy bayou!! Just what the doctor ordered at the end of a laborious day on site keeping people safe!! 

91. Read and Review 100 Books (16/100) Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris

'Even with the blood of two vampires in her system, Sookie is having trouble healing from the terrible torture she endured at the hands of her great-grandfather's enemies during the brief but deadly Fae War. Worse are the emotional wounds - especially over the loss of her own personal fairy godmother and the near death of her first love.

Sookie is hurt and she's mad. Just about the only bright spot in her life - besides the fact that she is, after all, still alive - is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman, who is under scrutiny by the new vampire king because of their relationship.

As the political implications of the shifters' coming out are beginning to be felt, Sookie's connection to one particular Were draws her into the dangerous debate. And, unknown to her, though the doors to Faery have been closed, there are still some fae on the human side - and one of them is angry at Sookie. Very, very angry.'

Do you know what I hate?? I mean really really hate... I hate waiting months and months on pins and needles for the next installment in a series that I absolutely adore only to find that when its released, its nothing more than, well, blah... Seriously Ms Harris... in my own humble opinion, there is better fanfiction out there!! Stories written but amateur authors, who better capture the passion, angst and lust between your creations, Sookie and Eric and that relationship... is the whole reason I got hooked in the first place!! 

To sum it all up without giving anything away for those of you that will read this book.. my main issues: 100 pages of 'recap' or back story in a 350 page book (yes I understand it must be accessible to new readers, but really?!?!?), too many new characters who just simply aren't developed beyond anything more than 'filler', a complete 180 in personality for our protagonist and her Viking vampire/man candy AND a thin plot that jumps from here to there and in the end leaves you thinking that this book was nothing more than set up for the next. GRR - This book just left me feeling cold and used... Yes, I'm still invested and yes, I will still purchase the next book in the series BUT I'm not as in love with Sookie and Eric as I was before this book, like I was which for me, is kinda shocking... hope you get it right next time Ms Harris, otherwise it might be time to let this series come to an end... :( 

91. Read and Review 100 Books (13/100) Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security, Christopher Cooper

'The fatal inundation of New Orleans was no natural disaster, argues this hard-hitting investigative report. Wall Street Journal reporters Cooper and Block finger two very man-made causes of the tragedy. The first was the decades-long failure of local officials and the Army Corps of Engineers to fix New Orleans' poorly designed and constructed levees and floodwalls, which collapsed under moderate hurricane conditions. The second and more spectacular was the breakdown of the Federal Emergency Management Agency after its incorporation into the Department of Homeland Security, which cut FEMA's funding and authority and reoriented it toward the national obsession with terrorism. The result, when the flood came, was a bumbling federal response hobbled by complacent planning, miscommunication, red tape (even recovery of the dead was delayed by paperwork) and an inability to deliver promised supplies and transportation. The authors' exhaustively researched account slogs through the intricacies of this bureaucratic nightmare and goes beyond the usual pillorying of FEMA head Michael Brown to criticize higher officials in the White House and, especially, DHS. Cooper and Block manage to thread a readable, coherent story through the morass of detail and acronyms, with disquieting implications about the government's ability to cope with catastrophe'


Frustrating to read, this account of what occurred during the catastrophe that was Hurricane Katrina seemed to be a reasonably bipartisan account of the US Governments response toward the Gulf Coast. The book includes background on the levy systems in New Orleans, history of FEMA, and information on the relationships between each governmental organisation involved in the disaster relief effort. I very much found myself reading the book like I was watching a movie, disseminating the players into good v evil... I find Katrina fascinating, most likely due to my current location 300 miles away from ground zero and found that this book gave me a good overall picture of what not only went wrong but also what did go right.. the book showed that to a certain degree people are just that... people... and we can only ever do our best, and even the most capable people can make mistakes in tough situations. This book doesn't lay blame but it doesn't make excuses for people either and in the end it perfectly captures the fact that the US Government dropped the ball and forgot the people of Louisiana in a spectacular fashion... 

19. Spending time in the US States!!

Last weekend Paul and I managed to complete 10% of my 19th thing to do (spending at least 24 hours in 10 different US states) by road tripping it to New Orleans for a couple of days! It was also the first official road trip for my baby Jetta who previous to this trip had never been out of her home state of Texas! (AWESOME mileage by the way.. 31 miles per gallon.. beat that Paul's Jeep!!) Within 5 miles of crossing the border into Louisiana we came across our first ever Drive Thru Daiquiri joint!! Wait a minute, having open containers of alcohol in your vehicle? Isn't that illegal I hear you say... well Chere, not in Louisiana!! As long as you dont poke that straw through the lid of your sippy cup (wink wink) you're on the right side of the law! (Google LSA 32:300 if you want more information) - Gotta LOVE those Cajuns!! Especially at happy hour when a 64 ounce (1.8L) cocktail costs only $5.50!!!! Now there's a reason to plan a trip to visit our 'poor cousins' to the East!

Louisiana is one of those places I really want to love, just ask Paul! He doesn't understand my apparent obsession with all things Louisiana!! Perhaps it has something to do with swamps, dark alleys, history and free flowing alcohol!! :D