Review of Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan

This was a good book, but it was sadder than I thought it would be.  I like that it takes place in Connecticut, which is where I’m from, because I knew the towns and the places that the author mentions.
  The book is about the last shift at a Red Lobster that has been closed down by corporate and it takes place during a blizzard.  The manager, Manny, is the main character and he feels guilty about a lot of things.  He has a baby on the way, he still has feelings for his ex (whom he works with), and he can only take five crew members with him to the Olive Garden.  He worries through out the book about whether or not he chose the right five.  He tries to keep the staff’s spirits up and wants everyone to act like it’ll be a normal day, even though they’ve barely had any customers and the ones they did have were difficult.
  Manny pretty much walks around in a nostalgic fog.  He remembers everything about his relationship with Jacqueline (a waitress) and little things that have happened during his years at the restaurant. Things just keep getting worse for him as the night goes on, but he tries to put on a brave face for the staff.  The end doesn’t really resolve much.  Manny just goes on with his life.

Review of A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

The author gave me a free e-book copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the book was ok and I would read the second one.  It’s about a girl named Sophia who is kidnapped at the beach and brought to The Shade, a vampire island that is in permanent darkness.  She becomes the personal slave of Prince Derek Novak, who has just woken up after sleeping for 400 years.  At first he treats her like a slave, but eventually he starts treating her more like an equal and does some things to make her happy, such as letting her spend time with the other slave girls and design a room in the palace.  However, his creepy brother, Lucas, is always after Sophia because he’s the one who brought her to The Shade.

I feel like Sophia might have Stockholm Syndrome instead of actual feelings for Derek, but she’s a pretty resilient character.  I was sort of surprised when she stayed. I would’ve been like “Freedom!”  Lucas is a complete douche though.  I don’t like that he’s never punished for what he does (sexually harass and molest Sophia).  I understand why Derek didn’t kill him, but there should’ve been some kind of punishment. I like the character Corrine.  She’s a smart and sassy witch who’s her own person instead of letting the vampires own her.

My review of What You Want is in the Limo: On the Road with Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and the Who in 1973, the Year the Sixties Died and the Modern Rock Star was Born

I won this book from a First Reads giveaway on Goodreads.com.

It’s pretty interesting.  The book focuses on three tours that took place in 1973 to support the big albums by The Who, Led Zeppelin, and Alice Cooper: Quadrophenia, Houses of the Holy, and Billion Dollar Babies.  The author gives a lot of insight into how tours were ran, how important marketing was, and how brutal the press can be, especially for Led Zeppelin whom Rolling Stone magazine always insulted.  In the later parts of the book, Walker did a great job showing the perils of excess. Some members of the bands (The Who’s Keith Moon, Alice Cooper’s Glen Buxton) weren’t even able to function by the end of their tours and the bands would need fill-ins or replacements.
  I was a bit surprised that there wasn’t more about the debauchery that supposedly followed these bands, but it mentioned a little bit about some hotel rooms getting trashed.  If you’re a fan of either of the three bands, or a fan of rock music in general, it’s an interesting book.