Showing posts with label goodreads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goodreads. Show all posts

Book Spotlight with Excerpt: Last Stop by John Pearce

"An exhilarating journey that will satisfy the most avid thriller reader" - Kirkus Reviews

SYNOPSIS

A full-throttle adventure through modern Europe and the Mediterranean ... that’s part thriller, part mystery, and all rollicking ride.

Pearce again accomplishes every thriller writer’s aim: creating characters that the readers can root for and a believable, fast-paced storyline. The climax and denouement bring the storylines together neatly, but fans will see that there may yet be room for another book in the series.
When readers last saw Eddie Grant in Treasure of Saint-Lazare (2012), he was hot on the trail of Nazi war loot in the company of his on-again, off-again lover, Jen. As readers return to Eddie’s shadowy world of undercover deals and thugs in the employ of crime bosses, they find a quieter, more mature Eddie, now married to Aurélie, a scholar of some note, and living in pleasant domestic bliss. Onto this romantic scene come several of Eddie’s friends, who alert him to suspicious activity within his social circle, involving a man with criminal intentions and an interest in gold. Shortly afterward, a mysterious murder implicates another character from Eddie’s past. As he looks into the matter, Aurélie soon finds herself in danger; at the same time, Jen reappears in Eddie’s life, and he’s simultaneously drawn to her and eager to avoid falling into bed with her again. Soon, he and his comrades must track down another ring of criminals and protect themselves from fatal retribution.

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 EXCERPT

Aurélie took his arm again as they stepped off the curb. The crowd had thinned, leaving them momentarily alone in the street except for a young man in a red hoodie, dancing ahead to the beat of his own private music, a figure of grace and lightness who seemed to float a few inches above the pavement.

Halfway across, Eddie paused and turned to Aurélie for a kiss. He pulled her even closer and she turned eagerly to meet him — and glimpsed a dark sedan, headlights out, as it pulled quickly from behind a parked taxi and careened around the corner toward them. At the same moment, the taxi started to pull away and its front bumper caught the left rear door of the sedan, whose driver ignored the scream of tearing metal and tried to speed up, his front tires bucking and bouncing on the pavement. Aurélie instinctively tightened her grip on Eddie’s arm to pull him out of the street.

“Go!” she cried urgently as the car bore down. Together they took one long step before it was on them. At the last instant, Eddie pushed her forward and she landed in a heap on the curb. He almost escaped untouched, but the car’s left mirror scraped heavily across his hip. He staggered and fell next to Aurélie as she shook her head, beginning to sit up.

The sedan roared away from them at high speed and ran a red light as it turned onto Quai de la Tournelle along the Seine.

The cab driver jumped out and ran to them. “Are you OK?” he asked. “Should I call an ambulance?”

Eddie rolled slowly onto his back and moaned. Aurélie moved closer and asked, “Édouard?”

“I think I’m OK, but my butt's going to hurt,” he said. He looked down and added, “These trousers have had it, but I don’t think anything is broken. Did anybody get that bastard’s license number?"


PURCHASE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Pearce is a part-time Parisian but lives quite happily most of the the year in Sarasota, FL. He worked as a journalist in Washington and Europe, where he covered economics for the International Herald Tribune and edited a business magazine. After a business career in Sarasota, he spends his days working on his future books - The new one, Last Stop: Paris, is a 2015 project. It is a sequel to Treasure of Saint-Lazare.
For several months each year, he and his wife Jan live in Paris, walk its streets, and chase down interesting settings for future books and his blog, PartTimeParisian.com. They lived earlier in Frankfurt, Germany, which gave him valuable insights for several of the scenes in Last Stop: Paris.

  
FOLLOW THE ENTIRE LAST STOP: PARIS TOUR HERE

BROUGHT TO YOU BY WORLDWIND VIRTUAL BOOK TOURS

Results for Goodread's Best Young Adult Fiction 2013

Here is the winner, and runners up, to the Goodread's Reader's Choice Award for 2013's Young Adult Fiction. I apparently have not read as much young fiction as I thought I did. I only know about half the titles, and have only laid hands on half of those. Do you agree with the picks? Do you have a young adult favorite from 2013 that you thing should be listed? Something that you think has no business being on the list?

1. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll
remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.

2. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

3. Dare You To by Katie McGarry

4. United We Spy by Ally Carter

5. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

6. Just One Day by Gayle Forman

7. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

8. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

9. Ali's Pretty Little Lies by Sara Shepard

10. Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

11. If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

12. This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

13. The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

14. Game by Barry Lyga

15. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

16. Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles

17. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

18. The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

19. Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller

20. Golden by Jessi Kirby


Results for Goodread's Best Graphic Novels & Comic Award of 2013

I love graphic novels, and read as many as I can get my hands on. Unfortunately, I still do not read as many as I would like. Here is the winner in the 2013 Goodread's Reader's Choice Award in the Best Graphic Novels & Comics category., as well as the runners up. Do you agree or have a favorite that you think has been neglected? I am glad to say that a few of the author's are internet acquaintances of mine, which gave me a squee of joy seeing their success.

1. Beautiful Creatures: The Manga by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Cassandra Jean. In crisp black and white manga pictures, Ethan Wate narrates his dreams, haunted an unreachable raven-haired beauty. When she moves into the small Southern town Blackwood mansion of her protective Uncle Macon, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her. As her 16th birthday nears, Lena must choose - or will the family curse choose for her?

2. Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search, Part 1 by Gene Luen Yang

3. The Walking Dead, Vol. 18: What Comes After by Robert Kirkman

4. Saga, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan

5. Batman, Vol. 2 The City of Owls by Scott Snyder

6. Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices: Manga, #2) by Cassandra Clare

7. Fables, Vol. 18 Cubs in Toyland by Bill Willingham

8. Hawkeye, Vol. 1 My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction

9. Calling Dr. Laura: A Graphic Memoir by Nicole J. Georges

10. Kick-Ass 2 by Mark Millar

11. Wonder Woman, Vol. 2 Guts by Brian Azzarello

12. Titan's Curse: The Graphic Novel (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Graphic Novels, #3) by Rick Riordan

13. American Vampire, Vol. 5 by Scott Snyder

14. Boxers & Saints Boxed Set by Gene Luen Yang

15. Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: In Pursuit of Flight by Kelly Sue DeConnick

16. Chew, Vol. 6: Space Cakes by John Layman

17. Sweet Tooth, Vol. 6: Wild Game by Jeff Lemire

18. Raven Girl by Audrey Niffenegger

19. Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel by Melissa de la Cruz

20. March, Book One by John Robert Lewis

Results of Goodreads Best Middle Grade and Children's Book Awards for 2013

I am glad to say that I have read a good number of these, and most of the others are already on my to be read list. Did the Goodread's members miss your favorite? What was your favorite children's or middle grade book of the year?

1. The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
If the five demigods can fight their way through the Gaea's forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors of Death and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

2. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
While picking up milk for his children's cereal, a father is abducted by aliens and finds himself on a wild adventure through time and space.

3. Dork Diaries 6 by Rachel Renée Russell

4. The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer

5. Doll Bones by Holly Black

6. The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen
7. The Sun Trail by Erin Hunter

8. Fyre by Angie Sage

9. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

10. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

11. Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

12. Chasing the Prophecy by Brandon Mull

13. Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz

14. Trust No One by Linda Sue Park

15. The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

16. The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

17. The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente

18. The Royal Ranger by John Flanagan

19. Loki's Wolves by K.L. Armstrong

20. Rump by Liesl Shurtliff