Book Review: Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K. Hamilton

Obsidian Butterfly

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Paperback: 608 pages
Publisher: Jove (September 24, 2002) 
Amazon link


Ratings:

★ ★ ★ 



My thoughts:

Obsidian Butterfly is the 9th book in the Anita Blake series. I was so excited to read this book because I miss Edward sooo much. I was so damn tired with Anita dealing with vampire and werewolf stuff that I thought seeing Anita work again as a necromancer would make me feel great. In this book, Anita had to go down to New Mexico to help Edward solve a mystery. Someone is skinning and mutilating victims and Edward believes that Anita is the only one who can solve this mystery.  Anita and Edward believe a monster is responsible for this gory thingy while others believe otherwise.

Monster = gory, gory = monster *one more time* monster = gory. You get it? Having read this book makes me want to stop reading the series, *looking at my TBR pile* I still have 4 more Anita books *sigh*.  The series started out strong but aaarrrr the gory thingy is REALLY starting to get on my nerves. I know they are monsters, but can they do "normal death" for once? Like eat them and then they die. I noticed that Ms. Hamilton's having so much fun in writing stories with a lot gory stuff. The only thing I enjoyed in this book was the "getting-to-know" part of Edward's personal life. That he actually has a love life. Imagine "Death" has a love life and he's getting married! So that was the only fun part of the book and I guess I have to disconnect with Anita's life for a while. Yes like Sookie, Anita, you need a break too! Please...  

About the book:

There are a lot of monsters in Anita Blake’s life. And some of them are human. One such individual is the man she calls Edward, a bounty hunter who specializes in the preternatural. He calls her to help him hunt down the greatest evil she has ever encountered. Something that kills and maims and vanishes into the night. Something Anita will have to face alone…

“MY NAME IS ANITA BLAKE. I’D LIKE YOU TO MEET EDWARD… ” Edward was a hit man. He specialized in monsters. Vampires, shape-shifters, anything and everything. There were people like me who did it legal, but Edward didn’t sweat the legalities or, hell, the ethics. He was an equal opportunity killer. I may be one of the few friends that Edward has, but it’s like being friends with a tame leopard. It may curl on the foot of your bed and let you pet its head, but it can still eat your throat out…


About the author:

Laurell K. Hamilton is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two series that mix mystery, fantasy, magic, horror and romance. Her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels from Berkley Books began with GUILTY PLEASURES and continues to thrive with over sixteen volumes to the series and an comic adaptation. There are now more than 6 million copies of Anita in print worldwide, in 16 languages. Hamilton's Ballantine series features Fey princess and private investigator, Merry Gentry and there are now six novels exceeding one million copies in print. She lives in St. Louis County Missouri with her husband Jonathon Green, daughter, two pug dogs and one boxer/pug dog. She invites you to visit her website and message board at www.laurellkhamilton.org or catch her on MySpace at www.myspace.com/laurellkhamilton.

Book Review: Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

Kitchen Counter Cooking School

Author: Kathleen Flinn
Hardbound: 304 pages
Publisher: Viking Adult (September 29, 2011)
Amazon Link

Note: I received this book free from the publisher, Viking Adult. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

This is not an ordinary cook book as this one could also be considered as a memoir. The author, Kathleen Flinn shares her experiences and journey after she graduated in a culinary school, the famous Le Condon Bleu in Paris. I enjoyed reading this book as I can relate to some of the stories Ms. Flinn shared. However, there were a few times in the middle where I did skim over it.   As a beginner, I was expecting to see pictures to help me understand Ms. Flinn's recipes. I am so not familiar with almost all of the ingredients here so I had to search some in order for me to understand them. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading Kithen Counter Cooking School however I don't think that this is a book to recommend for someone who has NEVER cooked before. 

About the book:

The author of The Sharper Your Knife tells the inspiring story of how she helped nine others find their inner cook. After graduating from Le Condon Bleu in Paris, writer Kathleen Flinn returned with no idea what to do next until one day at a supermarket she watched a woman loading her cart with ultraprocessed foods. Flinn's "chertenal" instinct kicked in: she persuaded the stranger to reload with fresh foods, offering her simple recipes for healthy and easy meals.

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School includes practical, healthy tips that boost readers' culinary self-confidence, and strategies to get most from their grocery dollar, and simple recipes that get readers cooking.

About the author:

Kathleen Flinn is the author of "The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry," a memoir with recipes about leaving her corporate life to study at the venerable Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and falling in love along the way. Her next book is "The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices Into Fearless Home Cooks" (Viking/Penguin 2011).

A long-time writer, her work appeared in dozens of publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, Smithsonian, Men's Fitness, the Globe & Mail (Canada) and USA Today. She serves as the chair of the Food Writers, Editors & Publishers section for the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). She is at work on two additional books and teaches both cooking and food writing Seattle.

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Now for the question of the week ;)

Q. If you could pick one character in a book, movie, or television show to swap places with, who would it be?

A. Rose Hathaway, because I would love to have Dimitri Belikov ;)