Our first book club meeting was Tuesday!!!

And if you missed it, then you missed out on a lot of fun! We had some yummy blackberry merlot, cheeses, crackers and Beef O' Brady wings. Next time though Amanda, you'll have to let me know your bringing those so I won't eat dinner and I can have some. Love me some Beef's! But umm....ladies, how did we forget about the chocolates? Some kind of universal phenomenon.

So without further adieu, this is what we discussed!

September's Book
Song of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy

Book Summary:

The best cypherteck in the galaxy, Edie can reinvent planets with little more than a thought. Trained since childhood in advanced biocyph seed technology by the all-powerful Crib empire, her mission is to terraform alien worlds while her masters bleed the outlawed Fringe populations dry. When renegade mercenaries kidnap Edie, she's not entirely sure it's a bad thing… until they leash her to a bodyguard, Finn—a former freedom fighter-turned-slave, beaten down but never broken. If Edie strays from Finn's side, he dies. If she doesn't cooperate, the pirates will kill them both.

But Edie's abilities far surpass anything her enemies imagine. And now, with Finn her only ally as the merciless Crib closes in, she'll have to prove it or die on the site of her only failure… a world called Scarabaeus.


Moi's review; (and if you read it please add your own)

This is the first sci-fi book that I've read and I really enjoyed it. I was easily drawn into it and the world building intrigued me.

Great debut novel for Sara Creasy. The story is well thought out, the plot well developed and believable, fast paced and flows nicely. There is a dash of romance, characters that are convincing, and is futuristic but has easy to understand terminology, with out being dragged down with too many explanations.

• Edie is caring, compassionate, strong willed, incredibly smart and is the best at her job. Finn is protective, capable, strong minded, but doesn't trust easily.
• You admire Edie for her caring nature even though she was brought up without any love or caring and Finn for his resilience of overcoming the hardships in his life.
• Edie is motivated by her strong sense of morals and ethics while Finn has basically given up with finding the good in people but will stand up for what he believes in.

It raises some interesting moral questions. What happens if the government takes control over the world and humans take over Nature's job and play God.
You also see the main character's growing; Edie becoming more comfortable around others, Finn learning to trust Edie and Cat trying to do the right thing.
The ending wasn't too much of a surprise but left you wanting more, more, more! It was totally left open for a sequel or a series.

4 Wine Glasses!

What we discussed;

1. Overall—how did you experience the book while reading it? Were you immediately drawn into the story—or did it take a while? Did the book intrigue, amuse, disturb, alienate, or irritate, you?
2. Does the author's use of language draw you in or put you off?
3. Do you find the characters convincing? Are they believable? Compelling? Are they fully developed as complex, emotional human beings?
4. Which characters do you admire or dislike? What are their primary characteristics?
5. What motivates a given character’s actions? Do you think those actions are justified or ethical?
6. Do any characters grow or change during the course of the novel? If so, in what way?
7. Is the plot well-developed? Did it hold your interest? Is it believable? Do you feel manipulated along the way, or do events unfold naturally?
8. Consider the ending. Did you expect it or were you surprised? Was it forced? Was it neatly wrapped up—too neatly? Or was it unresolved, ending on an ambiguous note?
9. Can you pick out a passage that strikes you as particularly profound or interesting—or perhaps
10. something that sums up the central dilemma of the book?

Please feel free to discuss your thoughts on the above topics here as well.

Despite us all enjoying this book we were split down the middle with a few things. Out of the four of us, two of us got into it right away and the other two took a few chapters. Same as understanding the terminology easily.

BUT- All of us thought there should of been more Finn and more shower love! Dear Ms. Creasy, pretty-please add some hot & steamy in your second novel for the love of Finn!

And the other things we discussed...well, they just can't be posted here. ;)

So there you have it, our very first meeting ever! After surprisingly minimal labor (well, unless you count me cleaning my house beforehand. And I do mean cleaning! Have you ever cleaned the items on top of the cabinets in your kitchen? How the heck does grease get up there I'd like to know! And don't get me started on the dog hair! How does that stuff get everywhere? Just floats on a breeze? Would it be considered animal cruelty to shave my lab bald?) my little book club baby was finally born and I look forward to it's one month mark on Oct. 8th. I just might tear up *sniff,sniff*.