Available on Paperback and Kindle!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . . 

There was a little bitty science fiction film titled Star Wars, written and directed by George Lucas. Released in 1977, the film became so popular that it spawned two sequels, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, two made-for-television Ewoks movies, two short-lived Saturday morning cartoons, and the infamous (and laughable) 1978's Star Wars Holiday Special. The entire franchise was pretty much dead until 1991 when the Bantam Books published Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Hugo Award-Winner Timothy Zahan, which is book one in a three-book cycle. Dubbed the "Thrawn Trilogy," the books introduced four new characters — Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, Gilad Pellaeon, and Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @  Caffeinated Book Reviewer!

Good Morning, Everyone!

What Am I Currently Reading?

Late last night, I finished reading Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn, so expect my review for it soon. Early this morning, I finished reading The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. My review will be posted on Tuesday. Next, I'll be reading An Easy Death and A Longer Fall, which both titles are part of the of Gunnie Rose series by Charlaine Harris.

Grab a book, any book.
Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it).
Post it.
 Add your (url) post below in the Linky at: www.fredasvoice.com
Add the post url, not your blog url.

The managers did not hesitate; without wasting time in asking how these confounded communications came to be delivered in an office which they were careful to keep locked, they seized this opportunity of laying hands, on the mysterious blackmailer.

page 56%, The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

  My Thoughts

Way back in my elementary days, I was probably the only student who was well aware of the romance author Jude Deveraux because my mother was big fan of her novels. With my passion for books, naturally I ended up reading a few of the author's titles; though, reflecting back on it now, I was probably a bit too young for the steamy love scenes. Nevertheless, that was my introduction to Jude Deveraux, and now as an adult, I have become a fan

Jude Deveraux's newest novel, Met Her Match, was published in September, and I was lucky enough to get a review copy from NetGalley. Now I didn't read the book right away because I had 13 horror novels lined up for October so I didn't begin reading it until Halloween night. To be precise, I read a few paragraphs at a time while waiting to give out candy to the trick-or-treaters. I finished reading the book the following Sunday afternoon. Why did it take me so long to write my review? Due to setting up my annual Holiday Gift Guide, as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was swamped during November and December so I put off writing the review until today.

Anyway, Met Her Match is sequel to 2016's The Girl From Summer Hill (Read my review here). It's set in the fictional small town of Summer Hill, Virginia and centers around Terri Rayburn, a woman who runs a summer resort, which is owned by her father. After taking a short trip, she returns home to find a stranger living in her house. That stranger happens to be Nate Taggert, who has spent the last 12 years working in the Middle East as a diplomat. After his fiancé takes a sudden trip to Italy for three weeks, he goes back home to Summer Hill with plans of opening up a business. His uncle sets it up so he can stay in a private house, which happens to belong to Terri!

This is a romance so you can pretty much guess what comes next — sparks fly between Nate and Terri. However, there are rumors that Terri is a heartbreaker, which leads Nate to investigate into her past.

Final Thoughts

While most human beings are celebrating the end of 2019 with their families and/or friends, I'm sitting at a desk, sipping on a coffee, and attempting to get myself in the mood to write belated reviews for three Stephen King titles — IT, The Shining, and Doctor Sleep — which I'd reread this year.

Reading IT was a long awaited personal challenge of mine. It's a whopping 1,000+ page epic with tiny lettering, so it took me most of the summer to read darn the thing!

I've owned an IT paperback for many years but I always made some sort of an excuse to avoid reading it. I have some bad memories (or more like nightmares) of watching part 1 of the 1989 miniseries when I was a little kid. Yep, Tim Curry's version of Pennywise the clown scared the crap out me. I didn't even attempt to watch the last half of the miniseries. It wasn't until I was a teenager when I finally finished watching IT!

IT is a tale of good vs. evil. The novel is set in two different time periods — 1957-1958 and 1984-1985. During the late '50s, seven Derry Maine middle graders (Bill, Stan, Eddie, Ben, Richie, Mike, and Beverly), or otherwise known as "The Losers Club," are stalked by an alien creature, Pennywise, that has taken the form of a clown. Pennywise has killed many children and residents of Derry, including Bill's younger brother Georgie. Together, the group locate the creature's hideout and attempt to kill it. Derry is pretty much a peaceful time until the mid-1980s when several murders occur. Mike is the only member of "The Losers Club" still living in Derry and takes it upon himself to reach out to his old friends as they made a blood pack when they were children that if Pennywise returned, then they would return to kill it!

Like many of King's works, IT focuses heavily on character development and with 1,138 pages there's plenty of time to get know the "The Losers Club." Warning for those who have never read IT before  — this novel is extremely graphic. And I'm not just referring to the violence. Spoiler Alert: The way "The Loser's Club" gets out of the tunnels is by having an orgy! The last thing I want to read about is minors having sex! Unfortunately, the scene is in the novel! King did have a reason for the orgy as it was the only way the children could remember what occurred inside the tunnels — a.k.a. Pennywise.

Final Thoughts

IT has been on my reading list for nearly two years and I'm glad I finally took the time to read the epic novel. It's right up there with Pet Sematary as one of the scariest books Stephen King has ever written. Pennywise the clown is the scariest "baddie" I have ever read or seen on screen. FYI: The 1989 miniseries scared me to death during my childhood.