Beat the Reaper Book Review and Giveaway

WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT

Dr. Peter Brown is an intern at Manhattan’s worst hospital, with a talent for medicine, a shift from hell, and a past he’d prefer to keep hidden. Whether it’s a blocked circumflex artery or a plan to land a massive malpractice suit, he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.

Pietro “Bearclaw” Brnwna is a hitman for the mob, with a genius for violence, a well-earned fear of sharks, and an overly close relationship with the Federal Witness Relocation Program. More likely to leave a trail of dead gangsters than a molecule of evidence, he’s the last person you want to see in your hospital room.

Nicholas LoBrutto, aka Eddy Squillante, is Dr. Brown’s new patient, with three months to live and a very strange idea: that Peter Brown and Pietro Brnwa might-just might-be the same person …

Now, with the mob, the government, and death itself descending on the hospital, Peter has to buy time and do whatever it takes to keep his patients, himself, and his last shot at redemption alive. To get through the next eight hours-and somehow beat the reaper.

Spattered in adrenaline-fueled action and bone-saw-sharp dialogue, BEAT THE REAPER is a debut thriller so utterly original you won’t be able to guess what happens next, and so shockingly entertaining you won’t be able to put it down.

THEMES IN THIS BOOK

MY REVIEW

Beat the Reaper is the type of book that you will gulp down quickly so you can find out what crazy thing is going to happen next. What a ride the author Josh Bazell takes us on. That ride includes a doctor who is in the eyewitness protection program, the mob, a beautiful girl and a bad guy by the name of “Skinflick.” What else Beat the Reaper has is a lot of profanity and violence. Normally, this is the type of book that doesn’t appeal to me, but underneath all of the dark aspects is a man trying to find redemption and some peace from his past. And it is hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit. Another appealing aspect of “Beat the Reaper” are the footnotes. They are an added treat. As I was reading, I could definitely see the movie easily in my mind. The day after I finished, I read that Leonardo Dicaprio is set to star in the movie. I hope it turns out as good as the book. One more tip before you read the book, and you should read it – The last few pages are so shocking and will make you squirm, so be prepared to either skim over them or be grossed out. Once you start reading you won’t want to stop, so make sure you clear your schedule for that day.  Oh, and ignore the awful book cover.

MY GRADE A-

Beat the Reaper is available everywhere and at Amazon. You can visit the author’s website to read an excerpt and he even has a hilarious game you can play at www.beatthereaper.com

I HAPPEN TO HAVE ANOTHER COPY OF “BEAT THE REAPER” TO GIVE AWAY THANKS TO HACHETTE BOOK GROUP.  YEAH!

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YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN THE AUDIO BOOK AT READING WITH MONIE TOO!

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Knit Two Book Review

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Putnam Adult

(November 25, 2008)

BOOK SYNOPSIS
The sequel to the number-one New York Times bestseller The Friday Night Knitting Club, KNIT TWO returns to Walker and Daughter, the Manhattan knitting store founded by Georgia Walker and her young daughter, Dakota. Dakota is now an eighteen-year-old freshman at NYU, running the little yarn shop part-time with help from the members of the Friday Night Knitting Club.

Drawn together by the sense of family the club has created, the knitters rely on one another as they struggle with new challenges: for Catherine, finding love after divorce; for Darwin, the hope for a family; for Lucie, being both a single mom and a caregiver for her elderly mother; and for seventysomething Anita, a proposal of marriage from her sweetheart, Marty, that provokes the objections of her grown children.

As the club’s projects—an afghan, baby booties, a wedding coat—are pieced together, so is their understanding of the patterns underlying the stresses and joys of being mother, wife, daughter, and friend. Because it isn’t the difficulty of the garment that makes you a great knitter: it’s the care and attention you bring to the craft—as well as how you adapt to surprises.

MY REVIEW
It is difficult to live up to the first book in sequels.  And I have to say Knit Two didn’t live up to the first book, The Friday Night Knitting Club. But, I was pleasantly surprised that I did really enjoy reading it and it is a fantastic sequel.  The author, Kate Jacobs, has a talent for making you really care about the characters and their friendships.  It was fun to see how they developed from the first book, but I really did miss one character (no spoilers here).  Both books would be enjoyed by anyone who likes to delve into stories about friendship, career, women, and the bonds between them.  To test the waters, you can read the first chapter here. Kate Jacobs website is www.katejacobs.com. Knit Two is available on Amazon and at bookstores and retailers everywhere now, just in time for Christmas.  Both books would make a fabulous gift for the books lover on your list!

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