I was pretty excited when I received an advanced copy of Stephen King's upcoming novel Finders Keepers, but I learned it was a sequel to last year's Mr. Mercedes, which I had never read yet. I received Mr. Mercedes as a Christmas Gift, so I dragged it out on Thursday morning and I finished reading the book yesterday afternoon.

While many of King's novels have a horror vibe to it, Mr. Mercedes is a crime thriller! The novel opens up in April 2009, where many people are lined up for the job fair that will open the next morning. Out of nowhere, a maniac driving a stolen Mercedes runs over the crowd, killing several innocent people. While the driver was seen wearing a clown mask, he was never caught.

Getting the right amount of protein is an essential for your body, especially if you're exercising and lifting weights on a regular basis. During your workouts, you break and tear the muscle fibers in your body. In order for these fibers to be repaired, you need to consume extra protein, especially right after your workout.

A few weeks ago, I was sent a 1 serving (29g) packet of Everlast VP (Pro Vegan Protein Mix). Yes, this is the same Everlast company that makes the Boxing and MMA gloves and equipment. Everlast now has a line of nutrition products.

The Pro Vegan Protein Mix comes in a light vanilla flavor with 22g of protein per serving. It's dairy, gluten and sugar free. It uses a professional mix of yellow pea, rice and hemp proteins. It can be purchased in a 31 servings bag.

The complete ingredients include:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Search For Splinter
Studio: Nickelodeon
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Retail: $9.98
ASIN: B00V4RH6F0
Running Time: 65 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

While it might seem like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been on television constantly since 1987, there was actually a hiatus between 1998 and 2003. The second animation series was produced by by 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios. The series debuted in February 2003. It dropped all the slapstick of the original series and focused on story-arcs, which offered a darker plot, similar in style to the comic book series.

While the series was popular with fans of all ages as well as critics, it went downhill when it was retitled "Fast Forward," when the character designs were altered and the turtles were sent to the future. The series tried to bounce back by bringing the turtles back to the past in Back to the Sewer, but it was too little, too late as the series was canceled; though the turtles would return in the TV-Movie Turtles Forever.

Nickelodeon purchased the franchise in 2009 and launched a computer-animated series in 2012, which is currently in it's third season. During it's run, the 2003 series mostly received single-disc DVD releases, featuring only three episodes. A Season 4 two-disc DVD set was later released, though the first half the season was missing. Seasons 1 & 2 were eventually released in two volumes (2-discs) sets each. Fast Forward was released in a similar format as well as Ninja Tribunal (the fifth season).

On June 9, 2015, Nickelodeon will finally be releasing the 2003 series to DVD, but with three episodes per disc. The DVD titles will be The Search For Splinter and NYC Showdown (I'll have a separate review for it posted soon). The Search For Splinter features the very first episode "Things Change" and the two-part season one finale, "The Search for Splinter Parts 1 & 2."

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning
by James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Pub. Date: March 17, 2008
ISBN: 0446194050
Pages: 264
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

If you've been following my blog this month, then you would know that I was planning on rereading the Maximum Ride series before the release of the newest installment Maximum Ride Forever on May 19th. Well, as you can tell, it's a few days past the 19th and this review is for the 4th novel, so I've gotten behind on my reviews. There's no reason to worry as I still plan on getting all the books read and reviewed on here.

After reading the first three books in there series, I was looking forward to reading the fourth adventure in March 2008, but what was released was less of an adventure and more of a political global warming push. It wouldn't have bothered me if this was an adult thriller, but this book is aimed for middle graders.

The three previous novels were action-packed thrill rides with Max and her flock on the run from The School and the Erasers. While they would love to have a normal life, it'll never happen due to the flock are all human avian hybrids. Now they are asked by a group of environmental scientists to go on an expedition in Antarctica.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth!

Why would you stop reading a book? Too long, wrong genre, bad language, not what you expected, or something totally different?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

  The only time that I have to stop reading a book is when I have to read another title for review purposes. I'm almost at the midpoint of Outlander when I had to stop reading it because I have too many titles I need to review for this blog. I have my book marker in place, so I can start reading it again, one day.

Secret Brother
The Dollanganger Family Series
by V.C. Andrews
Publisher: Pocket Books
Pub. Date: May 26th, 2015
ISBN: 978-1476792408
Pages: 384
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

In 1979, the Gothic novel Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews was published, causing a slue of backlash from libraries, schools and parents. Despite the taboo incest theme, the story about a four siblings being locked in a bedroom & attic by their mother and grandmother became a worldwide sensation. Three sequels (Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns & Seeds of Yesterday) were later published. Sadly, V.C. Andrews passed away before she could finished the prequel novel Garden of Shadows, but the publishers and Andrews' family picked Andrew Neiderman to ghostwrite the novel, as well as every V.C. Andrews title since then.

Fans thought the series had ended with Garden of Shadows until the semi-sequel Christopher's Diary: Secrets of Foxworth was released last fall and quickly followed by Christopher's Diary: Echoes of Dollanganger, in which a long-distant cousin stumbles upon the diary of Christopher Dollanganger.

Arriving on in bookstores next week is the direct sequel to Flowers in the Attic (or a side-prequel to the Christopher's Diary duo). The novel begins in late October 1960 and centers on sixteen-year-old Clara Sue Sanders, whom, along with her little brother, Willie, has been living with their Grandpa Arnold every since their parents died in a tragic accident. One afternoon, Clara Sue is startled by the commotion outside - a drunk driver had hit her brother and his nanny, Myra. While the paramedics did everything they could, Willie was gone before the ambulance arrived at the hospital.

Grief-stricken, Clara Sue must stay in the waiting room by her grandfather's side while the doctors work on Myra. This is when they learn that young boy had been dropped off at the and left at the hosptial by a stranger. The boy is undernourished and had been poisoned with arsenic. (Sounds familiar, doesn't it?)

Before funeral plans for Willie are even made, Grandpa Arnold is determined to find out whom this little boy is. Due to the arsenic, the boy has neurological damage as well as the loss of motor skills; leaving him unable to communicate and walk. Grandpa Arnold hires a detective to find out who dropped the the boy off, but he finds nothing.