series

A Place Called Home (A Place Called Home Series #1)
$10.99
This is a quick, light read that was enjoyable although predictable. It takes place in the 1800s and is a story of family relationships, adventure and romance. It has a very strong Christian theme throughout that is brought about through a Christian family, the Camerons. They took in Christine, the 19-year old girl who left her grandfather's home after he died because his business partner wanted her dead and was trying to have her killed.

I liked how the author let the reader know what the characters were thinking, especially Luke and Christine as they were becoming attracted to each other. That was cute and interesting to watch their relationship develop from each of their different perspectives.

--Karen Arlettaz Zemek, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

A Hunger Like No Other (The Immortals After Dark Series, Book 1)
$7.99
i loved this book it got me addicted to Kresley Cole I am hunting down all the books one by one

Invasion - The Complete Series
$59.98
I came across this series in the local library. I do not recall it being on television...probably because it lasted but one season.
There were a lot of sub-plots that were left hanging, that I was forced to wonder if they may have gone somewhere if the series had been continued beyond one season.

Basically the show is built on the idea that alien life forms have invaded the human species in the form of glowing, orange sting-rays that come down in massive shooting-star like fashion during hurricanes. These glowing sting-rays have invaded the small town of Homestead Florida, totally disrupting one dysfunctional family made up of the Sheriff (Tom), his doctor wife (Mariel), the doctor wife's x-husband/park ranger (Russ), his new wife/news reporter (Larkin), her blog-writing brother (Dave), and three children belonging to the couples (Kira, Jesse, Rose). These people seem to be the only ones aware that glowing orange sting-rays have taken over the bodies of town-members.

There are some really annoying reminders thrown in every other scene or so, as if we may have forgotten that Larkin is pregnant. Her character feels the need to blurt it out in turret's style fashion every few phrases or so, "I'm a pregnant woman!". All throughout the season there are blatant hints that the "offspring" of the EBE's (Extraterrestrial Biological Entities...which is a phrase I'm afraid will never replace the simple "E.T.s" of Speilberg's brain) are the REAL THREAT to the human race....by the way, the series ends before we ever meet the off spring of said EBE's.

Despite the little annoyances of sub-plots gone no where, the series was just beginning to take shape and start to get really interesting when it was cancelled at the end of season 1....with a huge cliff-hanger to leave those of us who are some-what twisted and occult-like in our enjoyment of the absurd, feeling betrayed and confused, when Larkin, our "I'm a pregnant woman!"-shouting supporting actress is tossed into the water for the glowing sting-rays to do with as they deem appropriate. We'll never know if she became a "hybrid" (which the show took the time to remind us in one episode, is NOT the car, but the combination of glowing sting-rays and human DNA) or if she was spit back onto land...and what happened to the baby she was carrying that had become the subject of constant reminders throughout the entire series, at least 6 times each episode? And what happened to the "litter" of offspring the hybrid women were apparently carrying....and I'm sure the series was leading toward the idea of a hybrid (Lewis) becoming sexually involved with young Kira at some point.
The main focus of the series was the offspring, yet we'll never know whether they're taking over the world as we know it or not.

My advice---watch out for glowing orange sting-rays falling out of the sky during huricanes!

Enjoy this series, though....but I wouldn't buy it. Just rent it, or like me, borrow it from your local library.

Centennial: The Complete Series
$59.98
Most entertainment material is separated into two categories...fiction and non-fiction. Either the story is basically true, or comes straight from the imagination of the mind conceiving it. However, author James Michener (whose epic novel this TV series was based on) introduced the public (or at least perfected the genre) to a new kind of entertainment: Historical fiction. In this type of story-telling, the characters themselves may not be real, but (after careful and much-absorbing research) the places, events, and stories they become involved in could very well have happened. Essentially, it is a telling of history through stories based on detailed research of a certain historical era.

Centennial focuses on the development of the American West. From fur trappers and traders Pasquinel and McQueg, to the Indian Wars fought by ruthless men like Col. Skimmerhorn, to the settling of the West (thanks to settlers like Levi Zendt, farmers like Hans "Potatoes" Broombaugh and cattlemen like R.J. Poteet and Jim Lloyd), and finally to the present-day, this TV miniseries follows the development of the American West in a way that very likely transpired. The names are all fictional, of course, but you will easily find yourself wrapped up in the stories of the types of men and women who braved the New Frontier.

To review all 20+ hours of this epic series would be a monumental task, but suffice it to say that each new "episode" brings with it a new and interesting perspective as the West chronologically moves forward. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the whole series, though, is how each part harkens back to the one before it in order to create a chain of events. It's not just one story followed by another...each tale both naturally springs forth from the one preceding it, as well as leads into the next tale. For example, even in the final part of the show set in modern-day "Centennial", the influence of such names as Pasquinel, Lloyd, and Wendell (among others) is just as strong as ever despite those characters having been dead and buried for many years.

About the only negative aspect of the series is that it loses a bit of its incredible momentum toward the later episodes. Whether that is due to the Pasquinel/McQueg story arc being probably Michener's most inspired work (so nothing can live up to that original story), or the fact that the show underwent severe production changes after the first few episodes is unknown, but even then it is still very watchable.

Thus, I highly recommend this series to any student of history (or those who want to become one!) for its ability to show with reasonable certainty what the American West once looked like. You are almost sure to become endeared to many of the show's classic characters, as they are all very well-acted and bring something a bit different to the table, each and every one. It might take you a while to get through this collection, but I assure you that it is well worth the time spent...in fact, you may even be wishing for more!