June Reads! The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

I like Stephenie Meyer and yes, I liked Twilight and The Host.  I picked this book up when I was sick and just wanted a fun book to take my mind off feeling bad and this book fit the bill.  The main female character (aka The Chemist) reminded me a bit of a cross between Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games and Jason Bourne.  I liked that she was smart and scrappy and able to take care of herself.  I really liked the main male character, he was very likable, maybe almost too perfect to be realistic, but very fun to read about.  I enjoyed reading about all of the things The Chemist did to stay safe.  What I didn't like reading about was all the guns.  I realize that this is a thriller and there are armed people and shooting happening, it just seemed like gun overkill, with lots and lots of guns, gun stashes, gun practice shooting that was maybe not 100% necessary.  I also would have liked a bit more interaction between the characters and a bit less of the running.

Overall, an entertaining book that I enjoyed reading.

Witch & Wizard, The Fire by Janes Patterson and Jill Dembowski

This is the third book in the Witch & Wizard series.  These books are young adult, supernatural thrillers. 

This book is pretty dark.  There is lots of horror, killing of children, mistreatment of animals, etc.  The adults are either absent, evil, or ineffective, leaving the kids to try to take back the world.  The book is full of simple symbolism with lots of children's book staple problems.  I liked the first book in the series and like each subsequent book a little less.

Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver

The back of this book states that this is "America's original courtroom thriller."  It is copyrighted 1958.  It was an engaging read.  Interesting enough that I clipped through the book fairly quickly, but not so nail biting that I wanted to put my life on hold to finish (which I hate, because I do have a life that I have to live).  I like to read books written in other times because it gives me glimpses of how life was then.  This was no different and I must say--I'm glad we are no longer living in the 1950's.  The antiquated, chauvinistic attitudes toward women in this book were shocking.  Most of the humor was mean spirited and aimed at women. 

As I said in a previous entry, I picked this book up because it was recommended in a Moon Handbook on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  There were a few descriptions of the local life and scenery that were nice.  Over all, I liked it.  If you are a fan of the T.V. series Law and Order, you will like this.