Bakers Dozen 2013: 5

Secrets of the Ancient Goddess by Brenda Gates Smith

If you have never heard of Brenda Gates Smith or Secrets of the Ancient Goddess well I don't blame you.  This author is pretty much an unknown,  and I think I stumbled upon her first book Secrets of the Ancient Goddess several years ago.  It was published in 1999 but I think I read it a few years later.  I was probably around 15 years-old at the time.  This book does have a sequel, Goddess of the Mountain Harvest.  But I feel that out of the two this was the better book.  In fact I really didn't like the sequel a whole lot.  Now I just found out that this author as released a third book but I don't know if it goes with this one or the sequel or if it is a stand alone.  This was definitely more historical than anything else.  I guess I could say this book is some what similar to Clan of the Cave Bear.  But not quite.  The author took time to study the historical time period to make the setting seem authentic.

The book is set in a prehistoric land which is now Turkey.  And follows two different women.  One is the mate of a high priest of the Goddess, exiled from her people for giving birth to her second deformed son.  To survive she becomes adopted by a group of people who help straighten out her sons leg which was the deformity.  But one of their own was captured by a violent and war-driven clan.  Forced to become one of the many wives for the leader of the tribe, she's subjected to a more brutal way of life which is the opposite of the peaceful life she was brought up with.  The story follows both to where the women who was kidnapped joins back with her tribe.

This was definitely one of those books where the author didn't have to write a sequel, because the sequel didn't do anything for the book.  I wonder if maybe she felt the need to since the Clan of the Cave Bear book is in a series?  But anyway, the first book, Secrets of the ancient Goddess was amazing.  I don't know if they're still printing new copies, but if you look on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com there are a lot of used copies that you can find cheap.  I definitely suggest picking up this book if you want to read a historical book that doesn't have romance.

Book Review: Charmed Thirds

Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty

Charmed Thirds is the third book in a series written by Megan McCafferty.  The first two books are Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings.  Yes I have read both books before this one.  But I did read them quite sometime ago but surprisingly I remembered a lot of important details from the first two books to know what was going on with this one.  This is one of those series where I think it would be more beneficial to read the books in chronological order first, because the novel is written like a diary/journal by the main character. This book is in the young adult genre and is based on real life topics.

The novel and series is based off the life of Jessica Darling.  It is written in a diary/journal style but also with a slight first person point of view.  The book is about her life in college and dealing with her boyfriend going to a Buddhist school in California while she is going to Columbia in New York.  The character of Jessica Darling is your typical college student who is too aware of her surroundings and curses her not so glamorous life in Pineville, New Jersey.  While the first two books in the series is about Jessica in high school.  This book covers her whole college career.  There are a lot of conflicts in this story that shape the the plot but I think the main one were when Jessica cheats on her boyfriend Marcus and her parents decide to cut her off financially.  The whole book seemed very realistic and to a certain extent I think it is very easy to relate with.  The book end with graduation and Jessica going off to try and find her next step beyond college so of course there is a sequel to this book called Fourth Comings. What I liked most about this book and the two before is that Megan McCafferty is really good at adding humor into her stories.  It's almost as if Jessica Darling was a real life person, she would be a stand up comedian.

This was a really quick read and it was kind of hard to put down.  It was very addicting and I constantly wanted to know what would happen next to the character Jessica Darling.  I love the humor and plot in the story.  While it was kind of typical drama plot I think the style of McCafferty's writing kept it fresh.  There are definitely little parts and scenes that are easy to replay in your head and make you chuckle.  While there is sex and relationships in this book, there is no detail of the acts.  You just know that it happened.

I think anyone who is in the mood for a quick read with a little bit of drama and humor this is the book for you.  While there is a little bit of course language it isn't enough to turn me off from the book.  While it is addictive and a quick read, the chapters are broken up in year/semesters/months so it is easy to find a stopping point.  Again I really enjoyed reading the books.  McCafferty has done a good job developing her lead character through out the three books into an easy transition that is realistic.

Rating:
4 out of 5

On Deck:
Retribution by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Bubbles A Broad by Sarah Strohmeyer
Grand Avenue by Joy Fielding