Book #87 - Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts

This book was one of the best of her's I've read for quite awhile. The plot drew me right in, and I was captivated and entranced until I got to find out how it would end. Of course, the hero and heroine wound up living happily ever after, but there were several heartbreaking twists in the plot. Very interesting to weave it around the life of magicians who doubled as jewelry theives. I wonder how she thinks of all of the different plot lines that she writes about. Again, she always makes you feel a connection to the characters and a deep yearning to make sure all will end well. As always, I wanted an epilogue to assure me that all ends well....but, that's just not her thing.

Book #86 - The Sacred Cipher by Terry Brennan

As you can tell by the time that has past between entries, this book just did not do it for me. It was not particularly long, but it has taken me almost 4 weeks to read. I picked this one up based on a recommendation from Amazon, and others who had read it gave it pretty good reviews. I was disappointed. All the makings were there for a very good, fast-paced adventure, but I felt the author dropped the ball. It seemed as though he was far more concerned with using this book as a tool for evangelism to the Christian Faith rather than tell a great story. I had a hard time with the sheer number of times that the main character asked God for guidance, and then would have visions of what to do next. Perhaps the author has had interactions like that with God himself, but I cannot say that God has ever "spoken" to me in such a human way. Anyway, I think the books would have greatly benefited from a map of ancient and modern day Jerusalem. I kept getting lost as to where the characters were at any given time. In addition, a glossary of terms would have been useful as well as seen in other books of this type. I can't give my recommendation for this one...won't even pass it on to my brother.