The Kari AnnAlysis

Posts Tagged ‘running dark’

When biochemist Emma Caldridge stumbles upon a group of human traffickers, “coyotes”, smuggling illegals across the Arizona border, she suddenly finds herself prisoner of the most violent and feared drug lord in Ciudad Juarez. La Valle is ruthless, and his power and influence stretches from Mexico to Chicago. But La Valle is facing a much bigger problem than one American seeing his smuggling operations – a flesh eating toxin has developed on his prized marijuana leaves, and once touched or even inhaled, it kills the victim in just nine painful days. La Valle believes that this contagion is a product of U.S. agents contaminating his leaves in an effort to stop his operations, and he swears to exact his revenge.

Determined to find a cure and to stop La Valle from attacking American cities, Emma desperately searches for clues to help stop this virulent disease. Quick-thinking and bold, Emma will not be bullied by La Valle and his lackeys. She refuses to put any more lives at risk unnecessarily until she can discover an antidote. But when she herself becomes infected, the race is on, and she must find the answer before she reaches THE NINTH DAY

Yes, I do realize this is the same summary I used when I previewed this book on my blog a few weeks ago. I really tried to come up with one of my own, but I often find myself, when a book has a lot going on, having a hard time boiling it down to a concise summary. This book fits the bill.

From page one, until the very end, Emma Caldridge is fighting a battle and fighting for her life. She is such a tough, smart, awesome character. She’s also inspiring. She’s smart and she’s a character to look up to for any women needing a strong female lead. I fell in love with her in book one, and can’t wait to get my hands on every new Freveletti book that comes out.

One of the things I really love about Freveletti is she breaks the mold for female writers. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with today’s female authors. I normally pick up the books with the pretty covers and light themes. But Freveletti just throws it all out there. If you wouldn’t know a woman is writing it, minus the fact that the leading lady is… well a lady, you would probably think a man was behind this book. Drugs, cartel, death… Freveletti weaves them all in like a wizard. I love an awesome hard hitting book every now and then that really pulls at the heart strings of the major issues going on in the world around me. Freveletti brings ligt to so many situations. And as crazy as her plots may seem, the characters that she makes and the settings for her books could all very well come to life any day now.

I continue to be amazed with Freveletti’s books and this one doesn’t disappoint. I give The Ninth Day 5 bookmarks.

Oh and I almost forgot. I have an extra copy of this book, eagerly waiting to come live with one of you. Check back Wednesday for my giveaway post for The Ninth Day!!

Other books by Frevelleti that I have reviewed:
Running from the Devil
Running Dark

ISBN: 978-0062025319
Released: September 27, 2011
Author Website
Kari got this book for review from Kaye Publicity

Books Read:
Running Dark
Missing Mabel
Manifest
Finger Lickin’ 15
No One Lives Twice
Firefly Lane
The Starlet
Scandal
Always the Baker Never the Bride
To read the reviews on these books, click here.

Pages Read: 2789

Bookmarks Given:
1 bookmark: 0
2 bookmarks: 1
3 bookmarks: 3
4 bookmarks: 2
5 bookmarks: 3

Favorite Book:
There were a few books that I really liked this month, but I would have to say my favorite was Firefly Lane. I could not get enough of it and although it was 400+ pages, I was through it in no time. It’s a fantastic read and I keep recommending it to all of my co-workers.

Least Favorite Book:
I never thought I would say that a Private book would be my least favorite in a month, but Scandal was it. The other books were just so intense, this one didn’t do it for me. I thought it was a little boring, but am looking forward to the next one, as the ending left us with a major cliffhanger.

I did stop reading Match Made on Madison this month. I didn’t really give it a lot of time. I got some other books that I had been waiting on and since I just started, I just as easily stopped. I will get back to it at some point.

Goals for September:
I am really excited for the month of September. For one, it’s my birthday month! Woo! And this year, I am getting a Nook! Woo Again! So, I will probably put some books that are on my TBR shelf aside (obviously they already are) and check out some freebies and NetGalley’s on the Nook.

I have another goal with NetGalley. I want to get better at getting the books read and reviews ready before the books come out. This past month, I wasn’t able to do that. It’s September 1 already and I have three that came out today that I haven’t even started.

I am pretty much caught up with the series I am reading, but this month, I am looking forward to finishing The Hunger Games and the rest of the books in this series that are staring at me from my bookshelf.

And finally, I hope to make some more progress on my writing WIP. I have gone back through and made some additions and changes to the first 50 some pages. I have added some twists and turns that I really like and am still really excited about it. This month, I have a shift change on Friday’s and will be getting off at 12:30 all months on those days. I plan to spend those Friday afternoons, as fall nears, writing on the porch.

This week, I have not one, but two Teaser Tuesdays! I am reading two really good books right now and want to share a tease from both.

The first comes from Running Dark by Jamie Freveletti:

Pg1: ”

The second tease comes from Missing Mabel by Nancy Mehl.

Pg10: “My mother still couldn’t understand why I’d left college to go to beauty school and ended up working on “dead people’s hair, for crying out loud.” Mom is a successful neurosurgeon who is absolutely horrified by my career choice.”

I am loving both of these books right now! What are you reading?

Emma Caldridge is a chemist on a mission when her flight from Miami to Bogota gets hijacked. She is thrown from the plane and able to escape the capturing of guerrillas, but she has a long road ahead of her. She is in the depths of the jungle, with just a small backpack and a tent, luckily she is used to running ultramarathons, 100 miles, and has the endurance needed to survive something like this.

She teams up with another American as they run from the “devil” and try to make it home alive. Unfortunately, the guerrillas aren’t the only enemy. Emma has a secret, a formula that can kill on contact and spread to others and kill within 12 hours. She has to right a wrong, before any one else gets their hands on the formula.

WOW! This book was incredible! I can’t say I’ve really read any books like this before. Normally, if I stray from the light and fluffy, I read a murder mystery to test my skills at solving crimes. I guess a bit of that comes into play here, trying to figure out which American is after Emma.

I was actually offered Freveletti’s second book, Running Dark which now I am dying to read, but hadn’t read the first in the series yet. Freveletti’s awesome publicity team sent me both books to get started.

I’m not even really sure where to get started in showing my love for this book. Emma is an amazing character, and an amazing woman. She’s a chemist, she’s a runner, she has everything she needs to be left in the jungle. I probably wouldn’t make it 2 hours, but she endures, makes alliances and survives.

The men in this book, how Gladys and I see them, are mouth watering! Every single guy, well, not the bad guys of course, are heart throbs! They are tough, they are chivalrous and they kick some major guerilla butt.

I think one of the things I liked most about this book was that although it was fiction and kept me turning the pages, I actually felt like I was learning from it. It was a survival lesson and drama all balled into one. I caught myself asking my husband a few times, “Did you know…” and neither of us did. Now if only I could remember what I learned, to ensure survival next time my plane is hijacked in the jungle. I know to keep my mouth open when explosions happen , so the waves go through me instead of knocking me around (I know, great explanation right?).

I give Running from the Devil, no surprise after my gushing review, I’m sure, 5 bookmarks!

Learn more about Jamie, check out her websiteor check her out on Twitter, @jamiefreveletti

On my bookshelf is my own little twist to In My Mailbox hosted by The Story Siren.

Take a look at what I scored this week:

Bought:
I had a coupon and $5 in Borders Bucks this past week, so I bought myself a couple of books I needed in the series’ I am reading.
Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
Scandal by Kate Brian

Publicist:
I got contacted by Jamie Freveletti’s publicist, Kaye Publicity, about her new book Running Dark. It sounded great and i have heard a lot of goof things about it from other readers, but I wanted to read the first in the series first. They were awesome enough to send me both copies.

Running from the Devil: “A chemist for a cosmetics company and an ultramarathon runner, Emma Caldridge in en route from Miami to Bogota when her plane goes down int he mountains near the Venezuelan border. Thrown unhurt from the wreckage, she watches in horror as guerrillas drag the other passengers into the jungle. Stranded and alone in a deadly environment, Emma has no choice but to follow — and stumbles across Cameron Sumner, an injured government agent who was left behind to die.

As a Washington, D.C. , task force races to the crash site in hopes of finding survivors, Emma and Cameron creep closer to a nightmare they may be powerless to prevent. But Emma is no ordinary woman — and she guards a secret both powerful and deadly that her adversaries would gleefully kill to possess.

And now she must run…”

I am getting ready to start Running from the Devil, as fast as my little fingers can get this post typed out!

Running Dark: “Emma Caldridge is on mile thirty-six of the fifty-five-mile Comrades ultramarathon in South Africa when a roadside care bomb explodes. Dazed and disoriented, she regains consciousness after the blast to find a man standing over her with a white plastic injector. She feels the prick of a needle and the rush of the medication under her skin, but before she can make a sound, the man is gone.

Shaken by the event and unsure of what substance was pumped into her, Emma calls the one person who can help her figure things out: Edward Banner of the security company in Darkview. But Banner has his hands full with another emergency: Somali pirates int he Golf of Alden have attacked a cruise ship, and Darkview has been hired to assist with the rescue.

However, according to intelligence sources, the ship is carrying cargo far more valuable than wealthy passengers — something that could be a new weapon of unknown origin. Suspecting the weapon may be chemical in nature, Banner asks Emma to infiltrate the ship and use her professional expertise to identify it.

Emma konws it’s a risky job, one that she might not survive, But when she learns that special agent Cameron Sumner — a man who has saved her life in the past — is among the hostages, nothing will stop her from getting on board, no matter what the cost.”

Librarything:
And finally, I won an ARC of Infinite Days from the Early Reviewers Program

“After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah Beaudonte, with the help of the handsome Rhode, has been able to realize the dream of all vampires — to be human again. Now, as a raven-haired, sixteen-year0ld, Lenah believes her greatest challenge is fitting in at her new school. But the challenges have only begun. The vicious coven Lenah once ruled is threatening the new found pleasures of her human life, including the one guy who makes her feel most alive, Justin. Can this ex-vamp survive in an alien time and place or will her past come back to haunt her…forever?

How fun does that sound? And I can’t wait to see what brings them back to life! Wonder if the Cullen’s would do it

What did you guys get this week?