Triple Review: Time to Do a Little Catch Up!

*Tap, tap, tap*  Hello.  Are we still up and running here?  *Clears throat*  Okay, so I've been off the radar a bit.  I've hardly had a chance to read or review as of late, so it kind of feels good to see some open space out ahead to do a few things I've been wanting to do.  In an effort to play catch up a little, I thought I'd do a bunch of min-reviews to get through some of the books I've read so far this year, but haven't yet reviewed.  Here's a few:

Open Heart by Elie Wiesel  is an interesting read about Wiesel's quadruple bipass heart surgery in 2012, but beautiful and poignant.  In this short novella, Wiesel reflects on life and death, his career, his family, and his own stamina to continue.  Throughout much of the book he considers whether he has done enough to share the message of peace, to honor the memory of all those who were killed in the Holocaust.  Although the reviews were mixed, mainly because many felt he spent too much time discussing the painful surgery, I felt moved by his words.  Maybe it is because I have faced my own life-threatening surgery that made his words feel so eloquent and familiar, but on the whole, I'm not sure that there is much that Wiesel can not put words to that can speak from one heart to another.  In short, I thought it was eloquent and beautiful and well worth a quick read.

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris is a real departure from the previous review in that Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series is a funny, drama-filled, vampire series.  As the 11th in the series, we're pulled into a new drama that surrounds Merlotte's and a possible prejudice-fueled crime against Sam and his two-natured kind.  At the same time, Eric Northman began a plot to take down his vampire master.  All of this drama, once again, pulls in Sookie whether she wants to be pulled in or not.  With the knowledge of her own faerie lineage, Sookie is in way deeper than she ever wanted to be.  Although I will finish out the Sookie series, as I've been a dedicated fan for awhile now, I do feel that this was a bit of a transition novel.  Okay, I get that there was a huge plot point tackled in this novel, but in some way, I just felt that it was setting up novels to come perhaps?  Still, it's a series that I've enjoyed and will finish with.

The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig is another long series and 9th in the Pink Carnation series.  In a series of female spies and Victorian age history and antics, The Garden Intrigue continues with secret agent Augustus Whitleby and the American Emma Morris Delagardie.  Although this is more of a male spy, the series itself still centers on the research of Eloise in the modern day, who is uncovering these stories.  Admittedly, I wasn't as into this particular Victorian story and have grown much more interested in the the modern day story of Eloise and Collin.  At this point in the story, Eloise now has to decide if she will return to the States to teach or stay--for what purpose--to continue her relationship with Collin.  As a long time reader, I want to see Eloise and Collin succeed, but it's realistic to say that the relationship is too new and too much is at stake for Eloise to just give everything up to stay in England.  Sadly, the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger with our modern couple and I'm eager to get my hands on the next book!  I really like this series and will probably be rereading these at some point.  Also, it's nice to note that these are great audio books!

Well, these three reviews scratch the surface.  I might be back to do another triple review!  Now I'm off to get some summer things done so I can go back to my reading.  What are you all up to today?