It’s a lovely Saturday morning and I have my cup of coffee nearby. It’s the perfect time to write a book review about the latest book I read: The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver.

I was in high school when my mom had a movie playing titled the Bone Collector starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. I never knew that this movie had a book until very recently when I was browsing Goodreads. I knew I had to add this book and I finally purchased this a month ago.

The novel stars Lincoln Rhyme, a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. He is a forensic scientist and very well known in New York for his intelligence and arrogance. He is injured in an accident three years ago and he is a quadriplegic. At the beginning of the book, we see that he is losing his will to live and even seeks out a doctor to help end his life. His old partner from the police department, Lon Sellitto, comes to Lincoln with a new case. A man has been found buried but his skin had been sliced off to the point that the bone of his finger had been exposed. Lincoln, intrigued with the case, comes back to solving crimes. When working on the case, Lincoln meets Amelia Sachs. They form a unique bond that progresses along with the story.

I didn’t really have any complaints with this book at all. It was fast-paced and I didn’t see the ending coming at all. Then again, I never finished the movie so it was still a surprise for me. I rated this book four stars on Goodreads because I thought it was fantastic and I really adore Lincoln as a character. I plan to read more of this series when I have time!

My bookstore hunt around Minneapolis is complete! Throughout this exploration, I have eleven new books and five comic books in my collection. The three bookstores we traveled to include: Magers & Quinn, Book Trader, and Bone Shaker Books.

Magers & Quinn is located in the Uptown Shopping District in Minneapolis. I have been to this book store before, but it’s been a while. Upon entering the store, I immediately gravitated toward the fictional section. While shopping, I saw my Anatomy & Physiology lab professor from Winona State University! It’s refreshing having a conversation with one of my past professors especially because she still recognizes me.

I ended up buying four books because they were three or four bucks apiece! I liked this book store and I would go back.

The last place on our list was Boneshaker Books. This store is located right near the Augsburg campus in Minneapolis. The store itself is pretty tiny which I liked. My favorite part about this store is the used book section. Each book is around three-five dollars. The proceeds from the used book section go to helping to fund reading material for women in prison. The fact that the used books are cheap and go to a good cause made me want to purchase at least one book. I ended up finding two books while my roommate found four hardcover books worth around twelve dollars! I also talked with one employee who graduated from Winona State University! She and I talked about campus, past professors, and our experience. Boneshaker Books have a great atmosphere, polite employees, and interesting novels on the shelves. I definitely want to go back when I am back home over the summer.

The bookstore hunt is officially over, but this spring break has been memorable. I have so many different books to read and I am getting excited to read as I write this post. I definitely would go back to Boneshaker Books. I cannot wait for my summer to start so I can start flying through this wonderful reading material I have purchased.

Today, me and a couple friends explored some local book stores in Minneapolis. I absolutely love Barnes & Noble, but I wanted to find smaller book stores to support.

Once Upon a Crime is located in Minneapolis off of South Lyndale Ave. It’s filled completely with only mystery and crime stories. Once you walk in, you realize how small and adorable this store is. I really enjoyed that this store features local Minnesota authors. Jessie, the employee working is super knowledgeable and helpful.  She led us down to another room that contains discount mystery books. Me and my roommate spent at least an hour wandering this room and piling up hardcover books we wanted to read. I ended up purchasing three books: The Catalan Book of Secrets by Jessica Lourey, Privileged Information by Stephen White, and The Murder at the Vicarage Carriage by Agatha Christie. As we were leaving the store, Jessie gave us a free copy of her own book published!  She also gave me and my roommate an awesome tote bag that says “One More Book Won’t Hurt”.

This book store is terrific! I felt like I had a personal relationship with the store and the employee which is something you could never get at Barnes & Noble. I would easily go back to Once Upon a Crime again.

After Once Upon a Crime, we drove to Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore. As much as I love a good mystery, I also really enjoy a good science fiction & fantasy novel. I was amazed at all the Star Trek & Star Wars novels in the store. I ended up gravitating towards this book with this lovely cover called “The Court of the Air” by Stephen Hunt. The cover has an intricate air balloon on it and it definitely has more fantasy elements than science fiction. I would go back to Uncle Hugo’s. I opened up a discount membership for any future visits.

Tomorrow I start again on the book store adventure and I cannot be more excited.

Book Review Time!!!!! I love writing book reviews because books give me happiness in my life so whenever I finish a book, I get super excited to talk about it! Today I am writing about the latest book that I finished called Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige.

I found out about this book last summer. I was visiting Barnes & Noble aka. my favorite store in the entire universe and I saw that on a table they had excerpts of this book. I grabbed one because it’s free and I figured why not? I was sitting on my porch reading it and I was completely fascinated by the story. I was sad when the excerpt ended and I immediately added this book to my Goodreads list. I actually ended up buying this book when I went home with my boyfriend one weekend so it was sitting in near my desk and as soon as I finished Horns, I picked up the book.

I rated this book four stars on Goodreads. I absolutely loved the story! Our main character is Amy Gumm. She comes from a harsh life in the fact that her mother is addicted to medications and is unemployed. Amy often takes care of herself. She is sent home from school one day and a tornado whisks Amy away to Oz. She is shocked by the nature of Oz. It’s completely different from the original story. Dorothy is the ruler of Oz now and she is completely ruthless. There is a lot of violence in this book. I was definitely not expecting that from this novel. Amy is captured by Dorothy initially but escapes and ends up joining the Wicked Witches. She forms an alliance with the Wicked Witches and with their help they intend to take on Dorothy and help save Oz.

That’s the gist of the entire story. What I liked about this book is the descriptive details in the story. In each scene, I was picturing what it looked like in my head. The new Dorothy, how Oz looked destroyed, the glitter red disco balls & the constellation floor in Dorothy’s ballroom. It was told vividly where I could easily picture in my mind what Oz looked like. I also really enjoyed the characters. I like Amy a lot. I think she comes from nothing and really rises to take on Dorothy. I think her character is realistic too. Many of the choices she makes in the novel, I would definitely have done if I were in her situation.

I don’t want this review to go on forever and I certainly don’t want to spoil anything, but if you’re looking for something new to read, Dorothy Must Die should definitely be on your list. I loved the characters, the reinvented Oz and I can’t wait for the sequel! It’s called the Wicked Will Rise and it’s being released on March 31st, 2015. If you’re a fan of Oz, I think you will like this but even if you’re a newbie to the world of Oz-like myself, you will still find this book to be wildly entertaining.