Tammy's Corner
This page is devoted to opinions and tidbits of information from Tammy. Check here for book reviews, movie reviews and other little segments. Also will be nutritional information from Tammy who has a Master Degree in Nutritional Bio-Chemistry from UCD.
(Please note these are personal opinions and do not express those of the Elk Gove Brewery. Also any nutritional information given is for informational purposes only and you should always consult your doctor.)
Book Reviews
The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon *****/5
This is a series that is made of six novels, starting with The
Outlander. Be warned the books look extremely large and are very long
but the story is so fascinating that they read very quickly. The main
premise is just after world war II a nurse and her husband visit
Scotland. While there, she goes out for a walk around some stone
formations (like Stonehenge) and she falls through a tunnel to the
past, 200 years before. While there she is picked up by some Klansmen
and is taken back to their castle. She tries to get back to the stone
monument but it is seven days horseback ride away and the Klansmen
think she is an English spy so they don't let her out of their sight.
She ends up falling in love with on of the Scots, even though she
doesn't want to. She creates a life for herself in Scotland but she
knows she still has a life in the United States. Throughout the series
she goes back and forth through time before deciding where she wants to
stay; which life she enjoys most, which man she loves most. These
books are highly entertaining as well as historically interesting. Be
warned! THEY MUST BE READ IN ORDER!
Jinxed by Carol Higgins Clark ****/5
A highly entertaining who-done-it. Unlike her mother's books, Carol
Higgins Clark writes with a lighter tone and uses private investigator
Regan Reilly as her main character in all her books. Jinxed was very
entertaining and the characters are quirky and likeable. It revolves
around a winery that is run by a family who have been invited to their
elderly aunt's wedding. They discover that if they go to the wedding
the will each receive two million dollars so they hire Regan to track
down the daughter who has taken a weekend retreat to God-Knows-Where.
Of course in her search Regan discovers some other information that the
family should know as well. All in all, it was an enjoyable book.
Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson ****/5
Those readers familiar with the works of James patterson know that he
is a great writer of the thriller/mystery genre- usually involving
police and FBI. Tiffany's is a bit different as it is a fantasy type
romance similar to his previous works Suzannes Diary for Nicholas and
Sam's Letters to Jennifer. Tiffany's was a fast paced novel that
brought intrigue, tears and laughter. It was a wonderful story of a
little girl and her imaginary friend who came back to her as an adult
when she needed him. It was unlike most of his other novels but it was
well written with an incredible amount of heart.
Atonement by Ian McEwan ****/5
A wonderful story about a young girl's imagination that was strong
enough to nearly destroy the lives of two young lovers. Atonement
shows the power of imagination and the power of the written word. The
characters were not developed so well as to make the reader care for
them as much as characters in other novels, but the story was fast
moving and entertaining as well as having some historical value as most
of it was set before World War II in Europe. There is a movie based on
this novel that I have yet to see (I was sure to read the novel first)
as I prefer to do this since the books are usually better since the
characters thoughts are usually important and crucial to the story.
This is especially true of Atonement since it is mainly a love story
and the characters' thoughts are most of the story.