Grayrider by Bruce Skye

About the Author:

A former technical writer, detail is important to Bruce Skye. His research for the Deathsong Chronicles included medieval armor and fortresses, as well as Celtic names and magic. "If you create a world, it must be consistent. And that's what I strive for Grayrider's world to be. I've built a database of material for each of the Deathsong Chronicles. Those databases aid me in keeping the world the same from book to book.

"When I wrote Grayrider, I followed the advice of Stephen King. I did not write the book following any sort of outline. I have no more idea than my readers do when I write a novel what will happen in the midst of the story. It makes it more exciting for both the readers and myself."

You can visit his website at www.bruceskye.com.

Guest Review by Tess of Fiction to Fruition:

This is a story set in medieval times about a young prince named Gabriel. Years ago, his parents were killed in the castle that they lived in, in the country of Boadhagh. They were poisoned along with some of their friends while eating there evening meal. Gabriel remember the sword "Deathsong" and retrieved it from his father's chambers. Deathsong had magical powers and he headed downstairs with it to the dining room while the enemies were still there. Who he didn't kill with the sword he made them eat the same food his parents ate and they also died.

Now it was time for more revenge. He grabbed his gray cloak, Deathsong, and his horse Windfire and headed to see King Airell, his father's friend. There he finds out that the citizens of Ansgar are fighting their way through the countryside to take over this King's country.

Gabriel, now called Grayrider, becomes the King's number one warrior. Along with the King's daughter, Deirdre, they try to stop the armies that keep approaching.

Deirdre is a sorceress with intense magical power and the enemy they are fighting is led by the Morrigan, the woman who took Deirdre under her wing as her apprentice.

This is a very intense novel full of fantasy and magic. There is also love, loyalty, betrayal, and redemption sprinkled throughout this book. The end is equally non-predictable and sobering. If you like this genre of books you will definitely love this one.

About the Book:

Gabriel, the exiled king of Rivalin, comes before King Airell to warn him the Ansgarian army will invade his kingdom before the night is over. Airell tells him he has no one to send. Gabriel wants revenge for the murder of his family by the Ansgarians. He decides to fight the incursion without help.

As this takes place, Deirdre (Airell’s daughter), flees the kingdom of Cynyr north of Boadhagh. She knows now her mentor, Morrigan, created the Ansgarian army her father has fought for years. She goes south to warn him of her. Because Deirdre does not believe in herself, the young sorceress has difficulty in performing magic.

Once she is reunited with her father, she tells both he and Grayrider about Morrigan. Her power is growing; only Gabriel’s magical sword may yet destroy her. He must go to Cynyr to fight her. He agrees if Deirdre attends him, seeking her counsel. On that journey they fall in love and foil many efforts by Morrigan to kill Gabriel by both armies and sorcerers.

Grayrider fights Morrigan and sees his beloved slain by the sorceress before he is finally able to kill her. He returns to Rivalin brokenhearted. The ending is a complete surprise the reader will not expect at all.

The 2009 ARC Reading Challenge

This sounded like a great challenge to me and I am going to follow Teddy's version of ARC - anything sent to me by a publisher or author-as an ARC. I do know that this isn't truly what an ARC is, but this will help me keep track of the books I receive.

Here are the rules:
1. To sign up, leave a comment and a direct link to your blog post about this challenge that includes your list from rule #2.

2. List all of the ARC's that you have to read right now. Then throughout the year, you must continue updating that list as you receive more ARC's. (This is important). You should also strike out the ones that you finish.

3. a. All of us who have or will have more than 12 ARC's must read and review 12.

b. All of us who have or will have less than 12 ARC's must read all of the ARC's we have. Note, that if you have 11 ARC's and then receive a 12th one you will be bumped up to catagory a.

4. You don't have to make a list of which ARC's you plan to read, but you can if you want.

5. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed and Audio-books are allowed as long as they are ARC's.

6. Read the books and review them on your blog. If you don't have a blog, you can post your review on sites like Powells, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. Leave a comment on this post with a link to each of your reviews.

7. Please subscribe to my blog, as I will be posting updates to the challenge periodically.

8. Enjoy!

To sign up click here.

Here is my current list:

1. An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell

2. Sucks to be Me by Kimberly Pauley

3. Ruby River by Lynn Pruett

4. Modern Magic by Anne Cordwainer

5. Roads to Quoz by William Least Heat-Moon

6. Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst

7. Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn

8. Be Strong and Curvaceous by Shelley Adina

9. Drood by Dan Simmons

10. Rock Bottom by Michael Shilling

11. Run For Your Life by James Patterson

12. Houston, We Have a Problema by Gwendolyn Zepeda

13. Love and Other Natural Disasters by Holly Shumas - finished 01/02/09

14. Above the Law by Tim Green

15. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

16. Cross Country by James Patterson (audio)

17. Call Me Ted by Ted Turner (audio)

18. Along Stone's Throw by Alphie McCourt (audio)

19. No Experts Needed by Louise Lewis

20. Katie and Kimble by Linda Thieman

21. Blood Harvest by Brant Randall

22. Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell

23. Kissing Games of the World by Sandi Kahn Shelton

2009 TBR Challenge

Well, here I go with my challenges. I have them all picked out (of the current ones)...at least I think I do. The first one I joined was the 2009 TBR Challenge. This one sounded like a lot of fun, and seeing how my to be read pile seems to never stop growing I thought it was appropriate to pick this one to start.

If you are interested, here are the rules:

* the challenge is to read 12 TBR books in 12 months -- you can read those all in one month if you want, or one a month, or however you wanna do it.
* you need to have a list posted somewhere for others to see (even if it's in a comment here)
* you CANNOT change your list after January 1st, 2009!!!* you can create an Alternates list of MAXIMUM 12 books, if you want, in order to have options to choose from (you can read these in place of books on your original list).
* audiobooks and e-books ARE allowed
* re-reads are NOT allowed, as they aren't TRUE "TBRs"* you CAN overlap with other challenges
* OPTIONAL: you can join the Yahoo! Group created for participants of the TBR Challenge, if you want to have a place to keep your list, or just to share with others about how you're doing! :)

Ok so here's my list and my alternate list:

1. A Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
3. 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult
4. A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
5. Sucks to Be Me by Kimberly Pauley
6. True Evil by Greg Iles
7. Hide by Lisa Gardner
8. All the Numbers by Judy Merrill Larsen
9. I Am Legend by Richard Mattheson
10. Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi by Nanci Kincaid
11. Roads to Quoz by William Least Heat-Moon
12. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

Alternates:

1. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
2. Duma Key by Stephen King
3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Schaffer
4. House of Leaves by Mark Danielwski
5. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
6. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
9. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
10. The Little Friend by Donna Tart
11. Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
12. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (October 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446699217
ISBN-13: 978-0446699211

About the book:

When the four young Gabaldon sisters lost their mother, it was Fermina, the old Pueblo caretaker living in their house, who held them together with her love and protection. Upon her death, she promised the girls they would each receive a special gift, selected just for them. And as time passed, what she bestowed - hands that can heal, a skill for spinning stories, the ability to incite laughter, and the power to curse others - emerged, bringing both blessings and tragedy. now, twenty years later, unsure of whether the woman who had loved them so was a fairy godmother or a witch, the sisters delve into the patched and woven history of their family. Here shadowed secrets wait patiently to be released into the light...to show the gifted Gabaldon sisters not only who their guardian really was, but the truth about themselves.

I was thrilled to receive a copy of this book from Miriam Parker, as I had heard such good things about it. I was initially intrigued because I heard that there was magic involved and to me there is something about books that have magic in them that just make me want to read them. And, although there was magic it was more in the storytellying than anything else.

"The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters" is the story of four sisters: Betty, Loretta, Rita, and Sophia. These girls all suffer the loss of their mother at a young age and the family housekeeper, Fermina, becomes the closest thing to a mother they have. She tells the girls that when she passes, they will each receive a special gift from her. And, they do. But, whether each gift is positive or negative remains to be seen. And what about Fermina - who was she to be able to bestow these gifts on her wards?

This story is told from the perspective of all four sisters, and although a less gifted author might have struggled to make this easy to read I found that Lorraine Lopez truly has a remarkable gift in being able to engage her readers and keep the stories from becoming muddled and hard to decipher.

This is the first book that I have read by Lorraine Lopez and I really enjoyed it. Books that focus around family are always my favorites, and this is one that I would highly recommend!

USA Today Top Selling Books Meme

S. Krishna Books decided to turn USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books of Last 15 Years into a meme. Let's see how I do.

So here's the deal: bold what you've read, italicize what you own, star books on your TBR list!

1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
2 Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution - Robert C. Atkins
3 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
7 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
9 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
10 Who Moved My Cheese? - Spencer Johnson
11 The South Beach Diet - Arthur Agatston
12 Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom
13 Angels & Demons - Dan Brown*
14 What to Expect When You're Expecting - Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Hathaway
15 The Purpose-Driven Life - Rick Warren
16 The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom*
17 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey
18 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
19 Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray
20 The Secret - Rhonda Byrne*
21 Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter
22 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
23 Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... And It's All Small Stuff - Richard Carlson
24 The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
25 Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert*
26 Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
27 The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
28 The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
29 The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
30 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
31 A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
32 Oh, the Places You'll Go! - Dr. Seuss
33 The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz
34 Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
35 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
36 Body-for-Life - Bill Phillips, Michael D’Orso
37 New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
38 Night - Elie Wiesel, translations by Marion Wiesel and Stella Rodway
39 Chicken Soup for the Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
40 The Greatest Generation - Tom Brokaw
41 Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
42 The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
43 Wicked - Gregory Maguire*
44 Good to Great - Jim Collins
45 Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
46 Eragon - Christopher Paolini*
47 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells
48 Your Best Life Now - Joel Osteen
49 In the Kitchen With Rosie - Rosie Daley
50 Simple Abundance - Sarah Ban Breathnach
51 A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer
52 A Million Little Pieces - James Frey*
53 The Testament - John Grisham*
54 Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger
55 Deception Point - Dan Brown
56 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho*
57 Marley & Me - John Grogan*
58 Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter - Robert C. Atkins
59 Life of Pi - Yann Martel*
60 The Brethren - John Grisham
61 The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide - Arthur Agatston
62 The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town - John Grisham
63 For One More Day - Mitch Albom
64 The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg
65 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
66 The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
67 What to Expect the First Year - Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, Sandee Hathaway
68 Love You Forever - Robert Munsch, art by Sheila McGraw
69 Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss
70 A Painted House - John Grisham
71 The Rainmaiker - John Grisham
72 Skipping Christmas - John Grisham
73 Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier*
74 The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time - Mark Haddon*
75 Life Strategies - Phillip C. McGraw
76 Seabiscuit: An American Legend - Laura Hillenbrand
77 The Summons - John Grisham
78 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendtt
79 The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
80 The Runaway Jury - John Grisham
81 Goodnight Moon Board Book - Margaret Wise Brown, art by Clement Hurd
82 The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger*
83 Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson*
84 The Giver - Lois Lowry*
85 Embraced by the Light - Betty J. Eadie
86 The Chamber - John Grisham
87 You: On A Diet - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
88 The Prayer of Jabez - Bruce Wilkinson*
89 Holes - Louis Sachar*
90 Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
91 The Shack - William P. Young*
92The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger*
93 Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen*
94 A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini*
95 The Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav
96 Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff
97 The Partner - John Grisham
98 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
99 Eldest: Inheritance, Book II - Christopher Paolini
100 The Broker - John Grisham
101 The Street Lawyer - John Grisham
102 A Series of Unfortunate Events No. 1: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket*
103 The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
104 Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
105 The King of Torts - John Grisham
106 The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
107 The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans*
108 Hannibal - Thomas Harris
109 The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama
110 Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
111 The Glass Castle: A Memoir - Jeannette Walls
112 My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
113 The Last Juror - John Grisham
114 The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson*
115 Left Behind - Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins
116 America (The Book) - Jon Stewart and The Writers of The Daily Show
117 The Red Tent - Anita Diamant*
118 John Adams - David McCullough
119 The Christmas Box - Richard Paul Evans
120 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares*
121 Sugar Busters! - H. Leighton Steward, Sam S. Andrews, Morrison C. Bethea, Luis A. Balart
122 Blink - Malcolm Gladwell*
123 The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
124 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life - Don Piper, Cecil Murphey
125 The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
126 1776 - David McCullough
127 The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller*
128 Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts
129 The Ultimate Weight Solution - Phillip C. McGraw
130 Protein Power - Michael R. Eades, Mary Dan Eades
131 Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff
132 Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer*
133 Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
134 Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
135 You: The Owner's Manual - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
136 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List - Patricia Schultz*
137 Self Matters - Phillip C. McGraw
138 She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
139 1984 - George Orwell
140 The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis*
141 The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko
142 The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory*
143 The Zone - Barry Sears, Bill Lawren
144 The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve*
145 The Lost World Michael Crichton
146 Atonement - Ian McEwan*
147 He's Just Not That Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo
148 Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
149 The World Is Flat - Thomas L. Friedman
150 Cross - James Patterson

Book and Gift Card Giveaway

I love BBAW! I just ran across Traci's Book Bag and she's giving away a hardcover copy of Eoin Colfer's latest Artemis Fowl novel, The Time Paradox and a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble.

You can gain up to 15 entries to win this but hurry - contest ends on September 21st!