The Reading Corner

2011-10-27T16:09:00.000+01:00

The First Wife is in part like Emily Barr's previous novels, there's an edge of suspense to it. An edge that it isn't all as it seems and there's a certain aura to the novel where you wonder when the bottom is going to drop out and it's all going to go bonkers, it's all going to implode. I thought the initial plot was excellent although it made me think of the Dorothy Koomson’s, ’The Woman He Loved Before.’ I was entranced by Lily Button, a young girl, whose life revolved around her grandparents until they died and she was suddenly thrust into the world. I found Lily's naïveté charming, rather than annoying, but what I did find annoying, was how she was smitten with Harry Summers and how their relationship raced along, I wanted to say. ’Watch out he isn’t what he seems to be.’ It was so predictable you knew something was wrong, especially as his wife was supposed to have committed suicide in Spain when they were there for Christmas on Christmas day! I must admit, I did find the suspense lacking.

Don't get me wrong, it was there, and like I said, I was waiting for it all to drop, but it was miles more sedate than ‘The Sisterhood.’ The synopsis makes a big mention of a `shocking discovery' about Harry's wife Sarah, but the action of the novel is relegated to those final 50/75 pages. Up until then, it's a fairly pedestrian novel. Very readable, but not what I expect from an Emily Barr novel. I still enjoyed it, mind, because Lily's story and how she goes from a practical hermit to being out in the world and making her own money is indeed very interesting, but not really believable. I liked the house where she lodged, I thought the family was lovely, and I liked her friendship with Al, and her burgeoning relationship with the family. I also liked the story about Jack, a New Zealander fed up with his life and wanting to break free and visit Europe. It was all done very well, it just didn't make my heart race as much as some of her other novels.

I must admit, I did find the latter stages of the book to be beyond the realms of believability. Lily takes off to Barcelona and I just felt that from what we knew of her thus far, it wouldn't be in her make-up to do that. I found it hard to believe that Lily would survive the bustle of an airport and the flight to Barcelona and the enormity of being in a city where people speak a different language. It might have been necessary to the plot, but it was entirely out of characters for me and it sort of spoiled it a little bit. You don't give us a character who in all of her 21 years has only ever left Cornwall a couple of times and then have her, on a whim (suspicious, or no) head to Barcelona. Especially as she found Sarah in a place she had never been to before. Nevertheless, the ending was very fast-paced and frantic and everything all sort of spilled out in one long shocking confession. It was all rather predictable, so it was rather anti-climatic in a sense, but still dramatic in others. Overall, although I enjoyed The First Wife, I don't personally believe it was as good as any of her other books and was like a not very good chick lit book. Some of the speech from the characters was facile and irritated me.

What irked me even more, that having promised myself I wouldn’t buy any new books this Autumn, ( I had 16 books at home to read) I saw and bought this (as she was one of my favourite authors) and at full price from W. H. Smiths!

Chris

The Woman he Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson

2011-07-23T20:29:00.000+01:00

As always with Dorothy Koomson, her books always have an element of drama about them. They always seem to radiate true emotion and I always finish one of her books feeling sad that I have to wait for another.
This particular story seems at first glance to be a straight cut story about Jack's wife Eve who died. However, things are far from straightforward and as soon as you pick up the book and start to read you are drawn into the current life of his present wife, Libby who is struggling with things, as well as Eve's past life and the secrets she holds.

The story is told cleverly and although towards the latter part of the book I thought I had it all figured out, I was shocked to realise I was wrong. Libby is a lovely character who has her own insecurities about her husband Jack and the things he hides. Although it's clear that Jack has a troubled past you can't help but warm to him as a reader. He may not be perfect but you can't help but feel that his heart truly belongs to Libby.

Dorothy Koomson has again written a book that is not only powerful but one that is quite heart wrenching. When the past of Jack and Eve begin to come out you begin to realise that things are not quite as black and white as they seem.
I loved the fact that story had two very separate threads, one in the past and one in the current, but the two stories would intertwine magically. I also loved the setting being mainly in Brighton as well as London. The main topics that are dealt with in the book are always the easiest for an author to deal with well but this book truly relays the situations in a great way. As ever Dorothy Koomson has produced an outstanding book that I literally couldn't (or wouldn't as my husband kindly pointed out) put down. I cannot recommend this book, or for that matter this author highly enough. I have yet to find fault with her writing or any of her books. An absolute joy to read and one I suggest that you put on your list to read.

As you may have guessed I love Dorothy Koomson books and this is the forth I have read by her, only three more to go!

Chris

One Moment, One Morning by Sarah Rayner

2011-04-28T06:39:00.000+01:00

The opening page of this book is the 07:44 train on the Brighton to London line.

Carriages packed with commuters. We are given a snap shot of the occupants of one section of the train. A woman applies her make-up. Another occupies her time observing the people around her. A husband and wife share an affectionate gesture. Further along, a woman flicks through a glossy magazine.
Then, abruptly, everything changes: a man has a heart attack, and can't be resuscitated; the train is stopped, an ambulance called. The passengers leave the train.

For at least three passengers on the 07:44 on that particular morning, life will never be the same again.
Lou witnesses the man's final moments. Anna and Lou share a cab when they realise the train is going nowhere fast. Anna is Karen's best friend.
And Karen? Karen's husband is the man who dies.

Telling the story of the week following that fateful train journey, One Moment, One Morning is a stunning novel about love and loss, about family and – above all – friendship. A stark reminder that, sometimes, one moment is all it takes, it also reminds us that somehow, and despite everything, life can and does go on.

A super read that held me all the way through, which I read more or less in one sitting.

Chris

Revenge of A Middle Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan

2011-01-14T08:22:00.002Z

This is a deliciously entertaining book about Rose, her adulterous husband Nathan, the other woman, the diabolical Minty (a rather fragile she devil) and Rose's oddball grown up children Poppy and Sam.

The plot centre around Nathan leaving Rose for Minty who is actually Rose’s assistant at work where Rose is the editor of the Book Section of a magazine. I thought Rose was very weak as she didn’t make any sort of fuss when Nathan says he is leaving her. And then to cap it all she loses her job to the other woman Minty and then to add insult to injury Nathan says he wants the home she had made, for his new paramour Minty. But through the book Rose realises her strengths and is more resilient to the situation than she thought she could be. I liked this book and as it was my Book Group’s choice for January, it was interesting to hear what other members of the group thought, especially as one member is male who left his wife for a young woman, he admitted!! LOL

Add to this a cast of quirky characters like Rose's eccentric mother, Ianthe, an ancient cat called Parsley, Richard, the man Poppy marries suddenly in Thailand, a suicidal ex-girlfriend of Sam's and Hal the man Rose might have taken up with if she hadn't chosen Nathan and you have a novel to make you laugh and cry in the same breath.

Funny, heart rending and totally absorbing, "Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman" is a book for those people who can honestly go with the old Spanish proverb, "Living well is the best revenge..."

Chris
PS. In 2010 I read 47 books and of them all I still love Emily Barr, who needs to write another book fast as I have read everything she has written and loved them all!

The Life you Want by Emily Barr

2010-10-28T16:03:00.000+01:00

‘The Life You Want,’ is Emily Barr's eighth novel and the sequel to her first novel Backpack. We pick up with Tansy a decade after Backpack and find out she's married to Max and has two children, Toby and Joe. In her opening sentence she tells us she thinks she's having a breakdown. Not only that but she drinks a lot, forgets to pick up her children and contemplates an affair with her son's teacher. But then out of the blue she has an email from a friend, Elly. who she met while backpacking. Elly asks her to go to India to help out in an orphanage. It seems, it’s the escape Tansy needs but Elly isn't all she seemed....

Even though I found Tansy an incredibly irritating character, I loved the book. It wasn't as good as The Sisterhood which was fabulous but it was a really enjoyable read. I loved the descriptions of Indian towns and what it's like to travel in India and, I admit, it sounded nothing like I expected it to sound. Like Tansy when I imagine India I think of poor people begging on the streets the whole time. Emily didn't describe it like that at all. Now I want to go to Pondicherry it sounded wonderful.

The book is written in first-person which was enjoyable because we got all of Tansy's thoughts. While I say I found her irritating, at least she admitted she was a rubbish mother and wasn't cut out to live in London forever with a steady job. It still didn't stop me thinking she was selfish though for leaving her husband and children to go off to India. She kept saying she wasn't like her alcoholic mother but she was. I alternated between liking Tansy and wanting to slap her. She was selfish to leave her kids but I liked her honesty. She's definitely an anti-heroine and is like Marmite - you'll either love her or hate her.

As well as Tansy's point-of-view we regularly read blog posts from a woman in the US called Alexia who is adopting a child from India named Sasika. We follow her on her journey, through her blog posts, all the way - even when everything goes topsy-turvy. I would have liked a few more blog posts from Alexia because it was a great part of the story and helped,also, with the main plot of the story. The ending seemed slightly rushed. Apart from that, I really enjoyed the book. I didn't find it as much of a page-turner as The Sisterhood but it was another great read from Emily and I look forward to her next. She is one of my favourite authors.

Chris

The Kite Runner

2010-08-11T23:09:00.001+01:00

When this book first came out for some reason I didn’t fancy reading it but, as it was my reading groups choice this last month I read it and loved it and wondered why I hadn’t read it before.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini explores the nature of friendship, of forgiveness and of redemption, set against the turbulent background of his native Afghanistan.

The son of a rich and popular merchant, Amir leads a privileged life, wanting only to please his beloved but demanding father, Baba, and to play with Hassan, the child of Ali, Baba’s lifelong servant. Both Amir and Hassan are motherless. They spend almost all their time together, playing games and sharing stories in their favourite pomegranate tree. An encounter with Assef, the local bully, in which Hassan springs to Amir’s defence has appalling consequences, destroying their friendship and driving Amir to desperate measures to rid himself of Hassan, measures which result in a puzzling reaction from his father. When Ali and Hassan decide to leave of their own accord, Amir’s relief is short lived; he knows that his cowardice has been detected.

Baba and Amir are soon in flight themselves when the Russians invade. They flee first to Pakistan, then to America where Baba’s old life of influence and power is at an end. They make a new life for themselves, embracing the San Francisco Afghan community, one of whom Amir eventually marries. But Amir remains haunted by his failure to protect Hassan, unable to enjoy his success as a novelist and his marriage to Soraya, convinced that their inability to have a child and his father’s death are punishments visited upon him.

Amir is rescued by a phone call from Baba’s old friend, Rahim Khan, who offers him the chance of redemption. Once in Peshawar, where Rahim is dying, Amir learns that he is to find Hassan’s lost son. In so doing, he must summon his courage and face not only his old enemy, but also the destruction that has been wrought upon his homeland. In return, he is rewarded with the truth about his relationship with Hassan and a greater understanding of his beloved Baba.

This is well worth a read, an excellent book, as I said I loved it!

Chris

Brightness Falls From The Air - James Tiptree Jr

2010-04-06T17:53:00.000+01:00

Awesome auroral displays and a strangely heady time-flurry were all that were generated when the two outer novas expanded and passed over the tiny remote planet of Damiem. There was little danger, in fact no more than a stunning light show whose radiance shimmered seductively and majestically, sending benign tremors through the bosies of the excited onlookers.

Now the last - the core nova - was ready to burst from the very heart of the shell that had once been a star. Only from Damiem could it be seen, but none of the witnesses who had eagerly gathered to watch the spectacle would ever forget the events of that night. Because when the time came to recount what they'd seen, there would be so few left to remember....

A reasonable sci-fi read that I got through in a few days, as it kept me interested enough to want to find out how it all panned out fairly quickly. The concept, characters and world were interesting but some of the plot was a little predictable.... didn't spoil it though. :0)

Registered with Book Crossing and available if anyone wants it. :0)

Karan

The Last Wife of Henry VIII - Carolly Erickson

2010-03-30T18:07:00.001+01:00

In this powerful historical novel, Carolly Erickson vividly brings to life Catherine Parr, an alluring young woman and the cleverest of Henry VIII's wives. Catherine attracts the lust of the dangerous and mercurial king and finds herself thrown into the intrigue-filled snakepit of the royal court, all the while hiding her feeling for her true love, Thomas Seymour.

While all around, victim's of the king's wrath suffer torture and execution, the witty and resourceful Catherine survives. But even after Henry's death, her struggle continues when she has to fight for the affection of her beloved - a contest that will cost her dearly.

If you want a story that rigidly sticks to the known historical facts then you won't find it here.... what you get, instead, is a reasonably entertaining story built around the main historical characters that loosely follows the facts. Purists would probably be irritated by this.
It was a slightly different take to the many Tudor based novels I've already read - an easy read that suited being picked up in the odd few spare minutes, then being put down again.

Registered with Book Crossing and avaialble if anyone wants it. :0)

Karan

'Every Light in the House Burnin' by Andrea Levy

2010-02-25T10:14:00.001Z

Every Light in the House Burnin' was Andrea Levy’s first novel, and is semi-autobiographical written in 1994. The story is of a Jamaican family living in London in the 1960s . They arrived from Jamaica in 1948 for a ‘better opportunity’ the Dad, Mr Jacob in the story’s own words and in all probability her own Dad’s words too as this mirrored her own life.
Six months after her mother followed him and they set up home in a council flat in Highbury, London. The story is told by the youngest child, Angela.

Twenty years and four children later Mr Jacob has become seriously ill and starts to move unsteadily through the care of the National Health Service and the chapters swing between that time and Angela’s memories of her childhood life. I loved this book and was sad when I got to the end; the innocence of the parents in a very prejudicial England, their outlook was to keep low and not make a fuss made me feel sympathetic towards their plight. When the Dad was very ill they were typical of that time that they didn’t want to trouble the Drs. It was Angela then in her early twenties, who tries to help her mother through this ordeal. Delightful little insights to girls growing up in the sixties was just as I remembered this time.. I am that old!
Well worth reading, perhaps you saw her ‘Small Island’ televised in two parts on two Sunday evenings just before Christmas?

Chris

Blackberry Wine - Joanne Harris

2009-12-06T14:36:00.004Z

Jay Mackintosh is trapped by memory in the old familiar landscape of his childhood, more enticing than the present, and to which he longs to return. A bottle of home-brewed wine left to him by a long-vanished friend seems to provide both the key to an old mystery and a doorway into another world. As the unusual properties of the strange brew takes effect, Jay escapes to a derelict farmhouse in the French village of Lansquenet, where a ghost from the past waits to confront him, and the reclusive Marise - haunted, lovely and dangerous - hides a terrible secret behind her closed shutters. Between them, a mysterious chemistry. Or could it be magic?

After enjoying her book Chocolat so very much I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this one and wondered if I would end up being disappointed by it. Not at all. :0)

Although based in the same area, having several characters who appear in both books and a few slightly similar aspects (young mother with young daughter with a mysterious past as outcast), the storyline is quite separate. It has likeable characters and an interesting storyline that pulls you in just the same as Chocolat. I didn't enjoy it as much as..... but it was a very close second. :0)

Am registering this with Book Crossing - it's available if anyone wants it. :0)

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

2009-11-22T16:37:00.002Z

The Book Thief is set in Germany before and during World War II. The story is told from the point of view of Death, who narrates the story and gives a whole new image to the "death" image we see. "Death" finds the story of the book thief, Liesel Meminger. Liesel's story begins when she and her brother are sent to a foster home by their Communist mother when she is interned in Dachau Concentration Camp. On the way to the foster home, Liesel's brother Werner dies. As the gravediggers are burying her brother, Liesel takes a book which she finds lying on the ground, The Gravedigger's Handbook, despite her inability to read. She later arrives at the home of foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, near Munich. They treat her well, although Rosa swears fiercely. Liesel then meets Rudy Steiner, a neighbour of her own age who later becomes her best friend. Rudy is well known in the neighbourhood for his romp around the Hubert Oval as Jesse Owens. Max, a 24 year old Jewish man that the Hubermann family helps to hide, composes his experiences with Liesel in a series of sketches, as well as two homemade books.

This book was borrowed from the library after a recommendation by a friend. A nice book, but a sad story of a young girls life at that time.

The Sixth Wife - Suzannah Dunn

2009-11-14T22:28:00.003Z

Clever and compassionate Katerine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth and final wife, survived their four turbulent years of marriage. But when the ambitious and handsome Thomas Seymour won her heart, mere months after the old king's death, their hasty union undid a lifetime of caution.

.............................................................................

Catherine, Duchess of Suffolk, her best friend, is the unwilling witness to the dowager queen's late-blossoming love. But as she harbours nagging suspicions of kate's new husband, it gradually becomes clear that she has her own dark tale to tell. For if Thomas might betray hiw wife for power, then cool, calculating Cathy might betray her for passion.

In times when the least discretion could mean arrest and death, Katerhine Parr's tragedy plays itself out amonsgt those who loved - and deceived - her most. As events reach their inevitable climax, it becomes clear that Cathy and Kate will risk all in a world where love is a luxury even royalty cannot always afford...

I love reading books set in Tudor times and have read many over the years, so this one was a must read for me but I couldn't understand why I initially struggled to get into this one...... until I realised that I wasn't that keen on the main character, Catherine of Suffolk. Odd, until I read the bumpf at the back of the book and realised that the writer hadn't particularly liked her character either, and it becomes obvious: the way she felt about the character has coloured the way she has written about and presented her and you can tell.

Despite this I still thought the whole a good read. There were enough of the known historical facts in there to keep it believable and the writer's twist to the story is different enough from the many others written about this time period to keep it interesting.

Am registering this with Book Crossing - available to anyone who wants it. :0)

The Lost Book of Salem - Katherine Howe

2009-11-06T18:16:00.004Z

I watched today as Giles Corey was presst to death between the stones. He had lain so for two days mute. With each stone, they told him he must plead, lest more stones be added. But he only whispered, More weight. Standing in the crowde, I found Goodwyfe Dane, who, as the last stone lower'd, went white, grippt my hand, and wept. Salem Towne, 16 September, 1692

While clearing out her grandmother's cottage for sale, Connie Goodwin finds a parchment inscribed with the name Deliverance Dane. And so she steps into a mystery that dates from 1692 in Salem.... and the infamous witchcraft trials.

Nothing is entirely as it seems, and when Connie unearths the existence of Deliverance's spell book, The Physick Book, the situation takes on a menacing edge as interested parties reveal their desperation to find this precious artifact at any cost.

What secret does the Physick Book contain? What magic is scrawled across its parchment pages? Connie must race to answer these questions - and reveal the truth about Salem's women - before an ancient family curse fulfils its dark and devastating prophecy.

As it was leading up to Samhain I thought this would be a good book to delve in to. LOL It gives a slightly different take on the whole Salem story as it flows between Deliverance's story (and some of her descendants) and the current day Connie. The to'ing and fro'ing was easy to follow and keep track of what happened to which character and when - always important for the flow of the whole and the enjoyment of the tale.

A few interesting twists but I was still managed to suss several important "reveals" before they were duly revealed...... though it didn't spoil things. The book did, however leave one gaping hole: was the curse broken by Connie's extreme measure towards the end.... or not?

An enjoyable and entertaining read.... you just need to suspend belief a little. :0)

Registered with Book Crossing - available if anyone wants it. :0)

The Last Gospel - David Gibbins

2009-10-27T12:28:00.004Z

WHAT IF - one of the Ancient World's greatest libraries was buried in volcanic ash and the rediscovered two thousand years later?

WHAT IF - what was found there was a document that could shatter the very foundations of the western world?

WHAT IF - you were the one who discovered this secret? And were then forced to confront terrifying enemies determined to destroy you to ensure it goes no further?

David Gibbins' electrifying new novel is the story of one last gospel, left behind in the age of the New Testament, and of its extraordinary secret, one that has lain concealed for years. Follow Jack Howard, man of action and the greatest archaeologist of his day, as he unearths the mystery - and must prevent others from doing the same...

After reading his first book (Atlantis) I was glad to get my hands on what has turned out to be the third novel in his series of books about Jack Howard. I thought I'd be OK to read them out of sequence - wrong! These need to be read in order, as there are vital plot themes that unfold in one book that lead on to subsequent details in the next book....... so I urgently need to read Crusader Gold to grasp some of the references in this book.

Otherwise it was an interesting action read that's based on some historical facts and characters. Definitely gets you thinking along that WHAT IF line. Though I couldn't help being slightly disappointed - this one didn't grab me and keep me as totally interested as his first book........ nevertheless, I'd still go out of my way to read the next one.

Registering this with Book Crossing and it's up for grabs if anyone wants it...... along with Atlantis too. :0)

Marshmallows for breakfast-Dorothy Koomson

2009-10-12T01:31:00.003+01:00

When Kendra Tamale returns to England from Australia she rents a room from Kyle, a divorced father of two, and begins a new job. She's looking forward to a fresh start and simple life.
Kyle's five-year-old twins, Summer and Jaxon, have other ideas and quickly adopt Kendra as their new mother - mainly because she lets them eat marshmallows for breakfast. Kendra eventually becomes a part of their lives, even though she's hiding a painful secret that makes her keep everyone - especially children - at arm's length.
Then Kendra bumps into the man who shares her awful secret, and things fall apart: she can't sleep, she can't eat, she's suspended from work, and the kids are taken away by their mother. The only way to fix things is to confess to the terrible mistake she made all those years ago. But that's something she swore never to do . . .
Marshmallows For Breakfast is a tale of redemption, hope and finding love in unexpected places.

Another good storyline, takes you on an other emotional journey , you find yourself drawn to the twins and want the best for them, as with all chick-lits there's a happy ending

My Best Friend's Girl- Dorothy Koomson

2009-10-12T01:18:00.003+01:00

What would you do for the friend who broke your heart? Best friends Kamryn Matika and Adele Brannon thought nothing could come between them - until Adele did the unthinkable and slept with Kamryn's fiance, Nate. Worse still, she got pregnant and had his child. When Kamryn discovered the truth about their betrayal she vowed never to see any of them again. Two years later, Kamryn receives a letter from Adele asking her to visit her in hospital. Adele is dying and begs Kamryn to adopt her daughter, Tegan. With a great job and a hectic social life, the last thing Kamryn needs is a five year old to disrupt things. Especially not one who reminds her of Nate. But with no one else to take care of Tegan and Adele fading fast, does she have any other choice? So begins a difficult journey that leads Kamryn towards forgiveness, love, responsibility and, ultimately, a better understanding of herself.

Okay first and foremost this is a chick-lit book, but don't let it put you of reading it. It also deals with sadness, betrayal, love, racism and friendships, an easy read but one with am emotional ride

I heard that song before- Mary Higgins Clark

2009-10-12T01:08:00.003+01:00

When Kay Lansing marries wealthy widower Peter Carrington, she is well aware of the rumours surrounding the mysterious death of Peter's first wife Grace, who was found floating in the family pool ten years ago, pregnant at the time. Kay also discovers that Peter is a chronic sleepwalker who suffers from periodic nightmares. When the police arrive at her doorstep with a warrant for Peter's arrest in connection with another murder - that of a woman Peter had escorted to a high school senior prom twenty-two years ago - Kay begins to fear that she has married a sleepwalking murderer, and she resolves to find out the truth behind the puzzling deaths. But are the two deaths linked? And why does a melody that Kay cannot identify keep playing in her head every time she approaches the family chapel?

Another good one from MHC, kept me wondering who the murderer was right until it was revealed at the end!

The Little House ~ Philippa Gregory

2009-10-11T20:15:00.000+01:00

It was easy for Elizabeth. She married the man she loved. It was harder for Ruth. She married Elizabeth's son and then found that, somehow, she could never quite measure up. This thriller examines what women want and what they fear, as Ruth confronts the shifting borders of her own sanity.

Even though i enjoyed this book, sometimes it made me feel very disappointed/angry with the main character. (Rachael you wont like this one, its another of those female weak characters LOL) Her MIL was very domineering and controlling and you wanted to shout at the book and tell her to grow a backbone!

If you would like this one, please let me know

Julie x

Stonehenge - Bernard Cornwell

2009-10-04T22:05:00.001+01:00

What is it? So many people visit Stonehenge and come away asking just that question. Was it built by the ancient Greeks? By little green men visiting Wiltshire in UFO's? Was it a Druid temple? (No, no and no). But it was a temple, and it was built by the folk who lived on what is now Salisbury Plain four or five thousand years ago. Very often history can't give us the answers to our questions - we simply do not know who built Stonehenge, or why, or what religion was practised there. We will probably never know because there were no written records, so we can only make what we hope are intelligent guesses, and historical novelists are as well placed to do that as historians. So this book is Bernard Cornwells guess, and a story of love, rivalry, treachery and a great mysterious temple.

A good read, made the brain think!

This ones has found a new home.

Julie x

Twilight Series By Stephenie Meyer

2009-09-12T12:45:00.003+01:00

Twilight

Bella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear.

New Moon

Bella celebrates her birthday with her boyfriend Edward and his family, a unique clan of vampires that has sworn off human blood. But the celebration abruptly ends when the teen accidentally cuts her arm on broken glass. The sight and smell of her blood trickling away forces the Cullen family to retreat lest they be tempted to make a meal of her. After all is mended, Edward, realizing the danger that he and his family create for Bella, sees no option for her safety but to leave. Mourning his departure, she slips into a downward spiral of depression that penetrates and lingers over her every step. Vampire fans will appreciate the subsequently dour mood that permeates the novel, and it's not until Bella befriends Jacob, a sophomore from her school with a penchant for motorcycles, that both the pace and her disposition begin to take off. Their adventures are wild, dare-devilish, and teeter on the brink of romance, but memories of Edward pervade Bella's emotions, and soon their fun quickly morphs into danger, especially when she uncovers the true identities of Jacob and his pack of friends.

Eclipse

Jake, the werewolf met in New Moon, pursues Bella with renewed vigilance. However, when repercussions from an episode in Twilight place Bella in the mortal danger that series fans have come to expect, Jake and Edward forge an uneasy alliance. The plot patterns have begun to show here, but Meyer's other strengths remain intact. The supernatural elements accentuate the ordinary human dramas of growing up. Jake and Edward's competition for Bella feels particularly authentic, especially in their apparent desire to best each other as much as to win Bella.

Breaking Dawn

In Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final installment in the series, Bella’s story plays out in some unexpected ways. The ongoing conflicts that made this series so compelling--a human girl in love with a vampire, a werewolf in love with a human girl, the generations-long feud between werewolves and vampires--resolve pretty quickly, apparently so that Meyer could focus on Bella’s latest opportunity for self-sacrifice: giving her life for someone she loves even more than Edward. How close she comes to actually making that sacrifice is questionable, which is a big shift from the earlier books. Even though you knew Bella would make it through somehow, the threats to her life, and to her relationship with Edward, had previously always felt real. It’s as if Meyer was afraid of hurting her characters too much, which is unfortunate, because the pain Bella suffered at losing Edward in New Moon, and the pain Jacob suffered at losing Bella again and again, are the fire and the heart that drive the whole series.

I have read these four books over the last week or so and I have been totally drawn into these books and the nice warm feeling I get when reading them, strange considering they are about Vampires and Werewolves! These books are aimed at young adults, maybe I just never grew up.

I totally recommend them! There is another book the fifth, in the making called Midnight Sun, the first chapter can be read here. It mirrors Twilight from Edward Cullen's point of view!

Eleven Hours by Paulina Simons

2009-09-05T08:57:00.001+01:00

This book had me afraid for the Didi the main character and reading it before the story really unfolded had me feeling uneasy! I knew the worse was to come.

She is nine months pregnant and goes off in the noonday heat of Dallas to do some last minute shopping. She is approached while in the cool of the shopping mall by a pleasant young man, who asked could he help her with her bags; although he looks quite innocuous, she has a feeling of unease about him and says no. But because she thinks he is following her she phones her husband to meet early for lunch, of course like all hubbys when you need them their phones are on message.
Back out in the scorching heat of the day in the parking lot, she hears a voice behind her and the nightmare begins.

The book is written with each alternate chapter about Didi and her abductor and then her husband Rich and the FBI man who informs Rich in situations like this only 20% of victims are found alive.
This is a real page-turner and I stayed up till the early hours to finish it!
I am certainly going to look out the other two books written by this author in my library, in fact I am off this morning as we are away next week.
A thrilling frightening read!!

Chris

2009-09-04T22:34:00.002+01:00

Coastliners by Joanne Harris

On the tiny Breton island of Le Devin, life has remained almost unchanged for over a hundred years. For generations, two rival communities, the wealthy La Houssiniere and the impoverished village of Les Salants, have fought for control of the island's only beach.

When Mado, a spirited local girl, returns to Les Salants after a ten-year absence, she finds her home threatened, both by the tides and a machinations of a local entrepreneur. Worse, the sommunity is suffering from an incurable loss of hope.

Mado is not so easily discouraged. Dogged by prejudice from superstitious villagers, she is forced to enlist the help of Flynn, an attractive drifter. But Mado's attempts to transform the dying community have unforseen consequences. As Les Salants returns slowly to life, so do past tragedies, including thew terrible secret that still haunts Mado's father. And is Flynn really who he says he is?

I loved this book, but then Joanne is my favourite author (she wrote Chocolat). I could not put the book down and I felt like I'd lost something when I'd finished.I need to read Five Quarters of an Orange next,then I have read all her books.

Lesley Pearse - Trust Me

2009-08-20T21:15:00.003+01:00

'Trust me!' she spat. 'As soon as someone says trust me, you can be sure they're going to let you down or hurt you.'

All her life, people have told little Dulcie Taylor they'll look after her. And every time, she and her sister May have been hurt. Their parents. Their teacher. The convent. Then the two girls are offered the chance of a fresh start in Australia.

But the new life that they hope for in an exciting, vibrant country goes horribly wrong. Will Dulcie break away from her sad past and build a bright new future for herself?

This book was based on facts about the orphans that were sent over to Australia and how the nuns/brothers mistreated them and consequences that happened in their lives. You probably remember the stories that were in the news a while back and this was no exception, very sad in some parts but a very interesting read.

Barb sent this so me, so its now looking for a new home, if anyone would like it, please let me know.

Julie x

Husbands and Lies-Susy McPhee

2009-08-12T20:30:00.003+01:00

there are some people you would do anything for... For Fran that list would include her Daughter, her Husband and her best friend, Alison. Only Alison is now desperately ill and she needs Fran's help. She wants to find her husband a new wife, and leave her young child with a new mother. Fran finds the whole idea deeply uncomfortable, but it's hard to refuse your closest friend at the best of times, let alone ignore her dying wishes..

So Fran reluctantly logs on to an internet dating site, where she stumbles across an all to familiar profile. 'Footloose' describes himself as divorced, but his photo looks exactly like Fran's husband Max. What's a wife to do when she suspects her husband's cheating, and can't bear to confront him outright?
Posing as 'Sassy' Fran sends a reply to 'footloose' and sets out to date her own husband. But this increasingly crazy plan leads Max to start to have doubts of his own.
Torn between suspicion and love, life for Fran just got very complicated- can her marriage survive?

I really enjoyed this book, it takes you through several emotions. Although a really easy read, it's perfect for bedtime reading. I liked Susy's style of writing
I think i'll look out for Susy's next book due out in Sept.

Nineteen minutes-Jodi Picoult

2009-08-06T19:07:00.004+01:00

In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five.... In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it.

In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge.

Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens -- until the day its complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town's residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy. For them, the lines between truth and fiction, right and wrong, insider and outsider have been obscured forever. Josie Cormier, the teenage daughter of the judge sitting on the case, could be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened in front of her own eyes. And as the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show, destroying the closest of friendships and families.

Nineteen Minutes is New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult's most raw, honest, and important novel yet. Told with the straightforward style for which she has become known, it asks simple questions that have no easy answers: Can your own child become a mystery to you? What does it mean to be different in our society? Is it ever okay for a victim to strike back? And who -- if anyone -- has the right to judge someone else?

Really enjoyed this one, and I never guessed the twist at the end.

Skellig - David Almond

2009-08-02T12:36:00.002+01:00

There's something or someone strange in the tumbledown garage at the bottom of Michael's new garden. Shrouded in dusty cobwebs, dead bluebottles strung in his hair and crooked wings growing out through rips in his shirt, Skellig is the last thing Michael thinks he needs. But with his baby sister lying dangerously ill at the hospital, Michael and his new friend Mina begin to suspect that Skellig and the baby's fates may be connected. Perhaps as Skellig's strength returns and his beautiful wings unfurl, the baby's heartbeat will get stronger...

This is a children's book for ages 9 - 12. I have read it as we are using it in school . It's a very moving story, easy to read but full of meaning. Recommended for any youngster especially htose young at heart.

It's the Little Things- Erica James

2009-07-28T22:51:00.002+01:00

Dan and Sally Oliver and their friend Chloe Hennessey are lucky to be alive. Three years on, after surviving one of the world's biggest natural disasters - the Boxing Day tsunami - their lives have changed dramatically. Dan and Sally are now parents. Dan is enjoying being a stay-at-home father taking care of their young son, and Sally is the bread winner and loves her job as a partner in a Manchester law firm. The arrangement has so far worked well, but when Dan starts to question whether Sally has got her priorities right, the cracks in their marriage begin to appear. Dan and Sally have everything Chloe wishes for in life - a happy marriage and a beautiful child. Dumped by her long term boyfriend just weeks after the tsunami, she's been on a mission ever since to find the perfect father for the child she craves. When she meets Seth Hawthorne, she thinks she may have hit the jackpot. But is Seth the man she thinks he is? A life can change in a heartbeat but IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS is not simply about the moments when everything changes, but also a moving, compelling and inspiring story of how we lead our lives in the days and years that follow.

I really enjoyed this book, it's a good, easy summer read, likeable characters who I felt were quite believable. I have another 5 books on my shelf by this author so hopefully they will be as good as this one

The Interpretation of Murder - Jed Rubenfeld

2009-07-25T23:21:00.005+01:00

You can see Julie's synopsis here.

It took a little while to get used to the style the book is written in: occasionally first person (as if from the view of Stratham Younger) and then to a general narrative style. Other than that it was an interesting storyline with several unexpected twists that kept my interest right to the end: it often left me wondering what on earth was happening and not once did I manage to guess what had really happened.

If you like book that makes you think, not just about how the story will unfold, but about the motivations and reasonings of the characters, and about your own thought processes and reasonings, then this is well worth a read. :0)

Thanks again for sending me this Julie........ so good I didn't even make it last the whole fortnight! LOL

This has been registered with Book Crossing and has now been wild released in Cumbria. :0)

The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson

2009-07-22T13:33:00.001+01:00

The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
Story Over view
Two brothers, Arthur and Jake Dunn, are the sons of a farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, dutiful and set to inherit the farm and his father’s character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous to know – the family misfit. When a beautiful young woman comes into the community, the fragile balance of sibling rivalry tips over the edge.

Then there is Ian, the family’s next generation, and far too sure he knows the difference between right and wrong. By now it is the fifties, and the world has changed – a little, but not enough.

These two generations in the small town of Struan, Ontario, are tragically interlocked, linked by fate and community but separated by a war which devours its young men – its unimaginable horror reaching right into the heart of this remote corner of an empire. With her astonishing ability to turn the ratchet of tension slowly and delicately, Lawson builds their story to a shocking climax. Taut with apprehension, surprising us with moments of tenderness and humour, The Other Side of the Bridge is a compelling, humane and vividly evoked novel with an irresistible emotional undertow.
This is one of the best novels I have ever read, I absolutely loved it and am in awe of the writing, the storytelling.
I couldn’t wait to read each night The characterisation was wonderful and such believable relationships, the hardship and romance, pain of life and love is told in superb and stunning prose. I love how the story is told, how the setting in rural Northern Canada is evoked so strongly that the reader can close their eyes and see Arthur farming his land and Ian helping him. I wanted to be there.
I have read her first novel Crow Lake which was wonderful too, why is it the authors I like only write two or three books and once you've read them that's it!!
Chris

2009-07-21T00:13:00.004+01:00

A desperate childhood. An uncertain past. One chance at happiness ...Born into poverty and living under the roof of her violent and abusive brother-in-law, young Kitty Cox dreams of working in a women's dress shop in the West End - a million miles away from the reality of her life as a mud-lark, scavenging on the banks of the Thames. Fate soon intervenes and Kitty finds herself working as a skivvy for Sir Desmond and Lady Arabella Mableton in Mayfair. Bullied by the kitchen maids, Kitty is soon taken under Lady Arabella's wing and for the first time in her life Kitty dares to hope. But Lady 'Bella' has a secret and unable to live with her domineering husband she decides to leave, fighting for custody of their daughter, Leonie. Kitty will do anything for her mistress but her loyalty is severely tested as all their lives are thrown into turmoil and Kitty faces a life of poverty and hardship in the slums of the East End once more ...

Your heart will really go out to Kitty, as if life in the slums of London is not bad enough, she is also raped by her brother in law. Kitty is a determined, hard working young woman who has a dream. With a little bit of luck and plenty of determination, she too finds some happiness in her life. The book is filled with vivid descriptions of Victorian London, you can feel how hard it must have been for the people living there at the time.
Another great book from Dilly Court, if anyone fancies a read please let me know and I'll pass it on

A Mother's Courage - Dilly Court

2009-07-20T23:59:00.003+01:00

When Eloise Cribb receives the news that her husband's ship has been lost at sea she wonders how she is ever going to manage. With two young children, the rent overdue and left with almost nothing to live on, she has no alternative but to turn to his estranged family for help.
She sets off on the long and arduous journey to Yorkshire, but is met with hostility and soon realises she has little choice but to return to London. Virtually destitute and desperate, Eloise is faced with her worst nightmare: she must either go to the workhouse, or abandon her children at the Foundling Hospital. But she is determined to keep them under her protective wing at all costs...

this was the 1st book I've read of Dilly Court's, and I really enjoyed it. It's a heart warming story showing the courage of a young widowed mother, who will go to any lengths to protect her children, even though it breaks her heart. She falls on some really hard times, but keeps on fighting for the sake of her babies. A beautiful story, with believable characters.

House of Echose ~ Barbara Erskine

2009-07-20T14:31:00.003+01:00

A woman unexpectedly inherits a beautiful English manor from the mother she never knew--a place where her two young brothers died many years ago. The locals whisper of a dire curse on both the house and her family, as eerie, inexplicable occurrences begin to threaten her own two sons. Now she is completely on her own with her young family to face a centuries-old malevolence with the lives of those she holds dear hanging in the balance!

Thanks Rachael for sending me this one.

Another Barbara Erskine thriller, a really spooky read, sometimes it made me want to hide behind the sofa, especially on the days that we had thunderstorms!!!

If anyone would like it let me know otherwise i'll give it into the community centre library when they re-open 29th July

The Interpretation of Murder ~ Jed Rubenfeld

2009-07-06T12:41:00.002+01:00

In this ingenious, suspenseful historical thriller, Sigmund Freud is drawn into the mind of a sadistic killer who is savagely attacking Manhattan's wealthiest heiresses
Inspired by Sigmund Freud's only visit to America, The Interpretation of Murder is an intricate tale of murder and the mind's most dangerous mysteries. It unfurls on a sweltering August evening in 1909 as Freud disembarks from the steamship George Washington, accompanied by Carl Jung, his rival and protege. Across town, in an opulent apartment high above the city, a stunning young woman is found dangling from a chandelier—whipped, mutilated, and strangled. The next day, a second beauty—a rebellious heiress who scorns both high society and her less adventurous parents—barely escapes the killer. Yet Nora Acton, suffering from hysteria, can recall nothing of her attack. Asked to help her, Dr. Stratham Younger, America's most committed Freudian analyst, calls in his idol, the Master himself, to guide him through the challenges of analyzing this high-spirited young woman whose family past has been as complicated as his own. The Interpretation of Murder leads readers from the salons of Gramercy Park, through secret passages, to Chinatown—even far below the currents of the East River where laborers are building the Manhattan Bridge. As Freud fends off a mysterious conspiracy to destroy him, Younger is drawn into an equally thrilling adventure that takes him deep into the subterfuges of the human mind.

A novel based on fact, a really interesting read

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

2009-07-03T18:49:00.004+01:00

This is a rare and utterly engaging story. It tells the extraordinary tale of a geisha - summoning up a quarter century, from 1929 to the post-war years of Japan's dramatic history, and opening a window onto a half-hidden world of eroticism and enchantment, exploitation and degradation.

After hearing a lot of hype about this book, and now the film, I finally got nosey enough to want to find out what it was all about....... and I'm so glad I did.

The book is written as if the central character is an old woman, telling the tale of her life to a biographer - from childhood to present day. That tale is fascinating enough but the insights it gives into certain aspects of Japanese culture and the mentality of the time, plus the strong characters and wonderful way words are used to evoke just the right kind of mental imagery, gives the book several levels of interest and added depths of enjoyment.

It was a definite page-turner that kept me reading through the day and into the wee small hours, desperate to know what happened next, and it's certainly one that has left a lasting impression on me. Now I would like to see the film, in the hopes that it has managed to capture some of this at least.

Registering this with Book Crossing and adding it to my Swap List - let me know if you'd like it. :0)

Princess of Egypt - Vince Cross

2009-06-27T22:34:00.002+01:00

It's 1490 BC and Asha, daughter of King Thutmose, lives a carefree life at the royal court in Thebes. But when a prophecy foretells that 'a young woman will prove to be the best man in the Two Kingdoms', she's caught up in a world of plots and danger....

This is a children's fiction book from the "My Story" range by Vince Cross.... but with this theme I just couldn't resist getting it when I spotted it on the shelf in the Hospice Bookshop. The children's fiction range of books has definitely improved since my childhood (Janet and John were a boring pair! LOL). Asha is Hatshepsut, so the story is based on actual historical characters.... but with a couple of liberties taken.

Quite an interesting way of presenting a little history to children without them realising they are actually learning. ;0) Whilst there isn't enough "meat on the bones" in the story to satisfy adults (not a complaint: it did give me a couple of evenings of light, enjoyable reading) it is written in a style that most kids could relate to and enjoy.

I'll be offering this to my friend Alex for her schools' library. :0)

An Angel saved my life - Jacky Newcomb

2009-06-26T17:18:00.001+01:00

An Angel saved my life is an inspiring collection of true stories from the other side, revealing how our guardian angels intervene in our lives, often in our darkest hour of need.

Discover the incredible truth behind:

The 'angel airbag' that saved a man from death in a car accident

The woman who glimpsed the afterlife and was sent back from heaven

The family who were 'lifted' to safety when a tornado devastated their house

The psychic power of children who talk to spirits

The animals that came back from death to protect their owners.

The book has a little of the authors own story but is mostly a collection taken from ordinary people from around the world - a mix that, as well as having some Angel contact stories, also contains ones of loved ones or pets visiting from the Otherworld.

I found this an uplifting and comforting read that shows that little miracles can occur at any time and in any place and to ordinary people...... sometimes just for the asking....... and that those loved ones who have crossed over are still around us and don't stop caring for us. :0)

This one is going into my collection but I'll be happy to loan it to anyone who is interested. :0)

Peacocks Dancing ~ Sharon Maas

2009-06-25T21:53:00.002+01:00

In the suburbs of Georgetown, a small willful girl is growing up; a daughter of an easygoing man of Indian descent, and a mother she barely remembers. While she is still small, she must face the motherless world, into which a new entrant comes, an alien being, a horror of a new mother, and to tell the truth, nothing is as it used to be, for the stepmother is one great catastrophee, as Rita notes in her first diary. In time the small girl learns how to avoid the meddling substitute for a mother; that is not so easy, but neither is it too hard, given that the latter is not mean, but merely has a weird set of whimsical demands that are not a bother to comply with, merely a nuisance, or are easily worked around. As years pass, the situation stabilizes, and the abandoned girl grows into a wild child who is soon to become an equally wild woman. A permanent misfit, but despite that fact she is growing and developing as any other child with a normal family. Rita is charismatic, always has been. Initially, it is the queue of children who look up to her, knowing that no day is wasted when wild Rita Maraj is going to lead them to one adventure or another, devise a prank or two, or tell them stories.

The author says ......
"When I started writing this story I did not plan to enter Bombay's notorious Red Light District. I certainly did not plan to write a book ‘about’ child prostitution. I intensely dislike political manifestos disguised as novels; fiction, for me, is character driven, and the moment a novel becomes a platform for the author to rant about this or that social issue it loses its life. And yet this darkness exists, and that's where my cast of characters found themselves, and that's where I, their creator, had to follow them. But I refuse to wallow in sorrow and darkness forever, and I'll never to let my characters do so. I believe intensely in the transformation of pain into its opposite through spiritual growth, and for this reason, and this reason alone, I allowed my Peacocks Dancing characters to walk through that dark valley."

On the back cover of this one it has a recommendation from Barbara Erskine that says she was kept captivated with this book from the start, that is the reason i picked up this one from the table in the Community Centre library, i wanted to see what type of books she likes to read. I really enjoyed this one even though it was not a subject i would normally have chosen to read about. You can read about some of her other books and Sharon herself here

The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffeneger

2009-06-25T16:01:00.003+01:00

This is the extraordinary love story of Clare and Henry who met when Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry was thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. In the face of this force they can neither prevent nor control Henry and Clare's struggle to lead normal lives is both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

Whilst I generally tend to enjoy most books I read (with the occasional exception) this one certainly stands in a class of its own. I would love to ask the author how she came up with this concept..... and how on earth she kept track of all the comings and goings!

Yes, it can take a bit of keeping up with as to "when" Henry is, and also as to how something that happens at one point in time affects how his and Clare's story unfolds, but it is so worth the effort to do so. It's the most unusual love story I've ever read and has to be one of the most fascinating concepts ever. Be warned though: have a tissue ready when the story nears its end.

Book was registered with Book Crossing and has now been posted to Lisa. :0)

Fatal Attraction- Carol Smith

2009-06-14T19:27:00.003+01:00

When Rose sees Joe in an Oxford bar, for her it is instant infatuation. He is everything she could ever want: gifted musician, wit and high achiever. In her mind, at least, they are ideally matched and a burning desire for him takes hold. Fate, however, has other plans and Joe has no intention of settling down. All Rose will ever be to him is part of his student past. Instead he embarks on a dazzling career which takes him abroad for a number of years, leaving Rose alone with shattered dreams. She knows what true happiness can be like. Her parents have always been very well married, and the late arrival of her kid sister, Lily, helped make the family complete. But when Joe returns and falls for Lily, unaware that Rose still has feelings for him, a dangerous rivalry ensues ...one that can only lead to murder.

although this isn't my favourite book that I've read lately, i still wanted to read it to the end. The plot was a little over the place, and I found it hard to believe that Rose get's away with all the terrible things that she does, but I still might try another of Carol Smith's books as some of them have quite good reviews

If anyone would like this book, just email me

The sooner the bettter- Lynda Page

2009-06-14T19:16:00.002+01:00

Isobel Jenkins has spent the last fifteen years caring for Lawrence Clayton’s cantankerous mother, in the knowledge that once the old lady passes away, Lawrence will be free to marry her. However, Izzie is mortified to discover that Lawrence has been deceiving her, and when he flaunts his new bride, she decides enough is enough. But how can she start afresh? Izzie could never have predicted that helping an elderly lady find her way back to her residential home would provide the answer. The owner of the home, Mrs Johnson, instantly recognises Izzie’s worth and, in need of an extra pair of hands, offers her a job. Izzie soon attracts the admiration of one of the young doctors - if only she could forget her past experience. But not everyone is what they seem and there are those in the establishment who are using the atmosphere of openness and trust to their own advantage…

Another good one from Lynda, I read this one in two days. I'm sorry if you're getting fed up of me posting these

A Mother's Sin- Lynda Page

2009-06-09T21:54:00.004+01:00

Things have never been easy for Dee Kirby. With her looks and personality she never wants for admirers, but as soon as people discover her mother is a prostitute, Dee is treated with disgust and cruelty. And when Dee’s mother dies owing a huge amount of money to a local gang, a grieving Dee finds herself face to face with ruthless criminals…
Meanwhile, Calum Jackson, convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, has just been released from prison and is determined to get a decent job and make a new life for himself. It’s not long before Dee crosses his path and he is instantly smitten. But will he be able to protect her, and give her the happiness she deserves?

This was another page turner from Lynda Page, although it was a little more serious/darker than the others I've read, it still was a fantastic story with believable characters
I have another one of Lynda's from the library, I think I've found another author to add to my list of favourites

The Last Templar - Michael Jecks

2009-06-08T15:53:00.006+01:00

1314: Paris. Pope Clement has destroyed the Order of the Knights Templar, wrongly persuaded of their corruption. Watching through a veil of tears as his friends die at the stake, a surviving knight swears vengeance on their accusers.

1316: Devon. The newly appointed bailiff of Lydford Castle, Simon Puttock, is called to a village where a charred bosy has been found in a burned-out cottage. Unaccustomed to violence in this peaceful area, Simon assumes it's accidental death - but Sir Baldwin Furnshill, recetly returned from abroad, quickly convinces him that the victim had been killed before the fire began.

As Simon and the astute yet strangely reticent knight piece together the evidence, word comes of another murder, more horrible by far, for in this case the victim was undoubtedly burned alive. Are the two incidents connected.... and will the killers strike again?

I basically got this book to find out what happened after giving up on the poor quality audio-book version I had from the library some time ago. I think it was only just worth the curiosity satisfaction, as it didn't particularly grip me and I'd guessed what some of the outcome would be long before the end. That's not how a good whodunnit should unfold!

Reckon I'd class this as a sitting-on-the-beach or by-the-pool read - something to keep you lightly occupied whilst getting down to some serious ray catching. If you want something a bit more gripping then I reckon Ellis Peters probably does it better.

Adding to Book Crossing and my Swap List - shout if you want it. :0)

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

2009-06-08T15:16:00.002+01:00

I have now read this book twice but only because it was my Reading Group’s choice for this month. I hadn’t remembered it in detail nor the ending, so I quite enjoyed reading it again and it is well worth a read.
It had me gripped from the first page to the last. It starts with a young couple, Dr David Henry and his wife Norah who are very excited about the imminent arrival of their new baby. When Norah goes into labour it's in the midst of a blizzard, David and Norah can only make it as far as David's own surgery where David delivers his perfect son. Then David delivers an unexpected twin but immediately recognizes the signs.....his daughter has Downs Syndrome. In 1964 children with Downs weren't expected to have any kind of life so David makes a decision and hands his daughter over to his nurse (Caroline Gill) and tells her to take the child to an institution where she can be looked after. Norah is under the influence of the gas and air and doesn’t know she has had a live child. David tells her that their daughter died at childbirth. When Caroline sees the place where she is to leave Phoebe she makes a decision that will change her life. She disappears with Phoebe and decides to bring her up as her own daughter. Is a decision that changes so many lives.
David lives with the lies and continues with the deceit even after he receives a note and a photograph of little Phoebe. His hobby is photography and he takes photos of everything and everyone around and earns high acclaim for his talent; hence the title, photographs being a way to keep a memory.
Norah’s grief of a lost child and his lies slowly tears the family apart and you are drawn deeper into the entangled lives of two families.
I loved the story and although it moves slowly I liked that about it. The descriptions of Phoebe as a grown young woman with Downs Syndrome were very poignant and I really felt for her and her need to be allowed to live her life as normal young woman. And although David’s decision was wrong, he thought he was protecting his wife from the anguish of having a child with Downs, and I liked him
A good read in my view.

Force of Nature- Sue Cook

2009-06-05T00:49:00.003+01:00

After three failed attempts at IVF, Jenny and Mark Elfick are overjoyed when their fourth attempt is a success. The arrival of their beautiful daughter, Chloe, marks the beginning of a new chapter in their lives and as they watch Chloe grow their happiness seems complete. When Chloe is two years old, however, Mark suddenly starts behaving very strangely and Jenny fears he is having an affair. But nothing can prepare her for the shattering truth as to why Mark is being so secretive. It is a revelation that threatens to destroy someone else's family as well as their own.

This is Sue Cook's (former radio and tv broadcaster) 2nd novel, and I really was hooked from the start. A heartfelt story, as two families lives are changed for ever, when a secret is let loose. A great read!

Orphans of the storm- Katie Flynn

2009-06-04T23:51:00.003+01:00

Jess and Nancy, girls from very different backgrounds, are nursing in France during the Great War. They have much in common for both have lost their lovers in the trenches, so when the war is over and they return to nurse in Liverpool, their future seems bleak.

Very soon, however, their paths diverge. Nancy marries an Australian stockman and goes to live on a cattle station in the Outback, while Jess marries a Liverpudlian. Both have children; Nancy's eldest is Pete, and Jess has a daughter, Debbie, yet their lives couldn't be more different.

When the second world war is declared, Pete joins the Royal Air Force and comes to England, promising his mother that he will visit her old friend. In the thick of the May blitz, with half of Liverpool demolished and thousands dead, Pete arrives in the city to find Jess's home destroyed and her daughter missing. Pete decides that whatever the cost, he must find her...

From the rigours of the Australian Outback to war-ravaged Liverpool, Debbie and Pete are drawn together... and torn apart...

this book has lay on my bookshelf collecting dust for a couple years, something just made me want to pick it up and read it over the weekend. I'm so glad I did, very likeable characters and a great discription of what Liverpool would have been like during the war. It might be a little slow paced at the begining for some, but I'm sure once you get into the story you'll want to read to the end

The Light in the Window ~ June Goulding

2009-06-02T20:07:00.003+01:00

When i took Serpent in the Garden back to the library at the Community Centre last week, i saw this book had been left on the table. Being a nosey parker i had to have a look and see what had made someone leave it out. When i read the back i just knew i would have to read this one ....

"I promised that I would one day write a book and tell the world about the home for unmarried mothers. I have at last kept my promise." In Ireland, 1951, the young June Goulding took up a position as midwife in a home for unmarried mothers run by the Sacred Heart nuns. What she witnessed there was to haunt her for the next fifty years. It was a place of secrets, lies and cruelty. A place where women picked grass by hand and tarred roads whilst heavily pregnant. Where they were denied any contact with the outside world; denied basic medical treatment and abused for their 'sins'; where, after the birth, they were forced into hard labour in the convent for three years. But worst of all was that the young women were expected to raise their babies during these three years so that they could then be sold - given up for adoption in exchange for a donation to the nuns. Shocked by the nuns' inhumane treatment of the frightened young women, June risked her job to bring some light into their dark lives. June's memoir tells the story of twelve women's experiences in this home and of the hardships they endured, but also the kindness she offered them, and the hope she was able to bring.

This truly was an insight into what not only young girls but ladies in their 30's and 40's had to endure when they became pregnant out of wedlock and were sent to the convent to be 'cared for' in Ireland and what a humiliating and sad time they had. It was a very moving read. I do admire June Goulding for telling this true story and bringing the facts out into the open for all.

I will return this to the library tomorrow.

The Cradle will fall- Mary Higgins Clark

2009-05-29T12:11:00.002+01:00

County prosecutor Katie DeMaio lands in hospital after a minor car accident. During the night, she sleepily watches through the window as a man loads a woman's body into the boot of a car. Is it just a medicated nightmare, or is the scene horrifyingly real? Back at work, a suspicious suicide investigation leads Katie into acquaintance with Dr Richard Carroll, a medical examiner whose concerns about brilliant fertility specialist Dr Edgar Highley begin to entwine with her own findings. Dr Highley's pioneering work 'curing' infertile women is controversial and potentially dangerous - and Dr Carroll is determined to prove it. But Katie's treatment for the car crash has already begun, and to Dr Carroll's horror he finds she is under the care of the man he is investigating. Soon enough, as his own discoveries and the scene she witnessed cross paths, Katie's life is placed in terrible danger...

This book has a lot of short chapters, but you can't help yourself from reading on and on. This is my favourite of MHC books that I've read so far. A thrilling read

No Way Out- Lynda Page

2009-05-29T11:56:00.004+01:00

Stephanie Mortimer feels trapped. Her alcoholic mother and domineering father have never loved each other, let alone their only child, and her upbringing has been one of violence, repression and neglect. In an attempt to escape, Steph agrees to marry a man she doesnt even love but a tragic accident means their marriage never takes place. Then her father dies and the terms of his will reveal that he still has a hold on Steph even beyond the grave. Reeling from the news, the last person Steph expects to meet is the man of her dreams. Jason Connor could change her life for ever, but will their whirlwind romance be the answer to Stephs prayers or the beginning of a nightmare?

This book had me gripped from the begining, you immediately feel so sorry for Steph, and feel angry towards her parents for treating her the way they did. When she marries she hopes that her life will change for the better but unfortunately it's only the start of another nightmare. There's a twist at the end that I never guessed.
I have really liked the 2 books that I've read of Lynda's, so I have requested another couple from the Library, I really like the easy reading of her stories.
Thanks for introducing a great Author to me Julie

Time for a change- Lynda Page

2009-05-29T11:49:00.004+01:00

Alexandra Morton has a reputation round the close-knit Leicester backstreets where she lives for being a bit of a matchmaker, as there’s nothing she enjoys more than offering useful advice to courting couples. But when her beloved husband Gil is sacked from work, having been wrongly accused of molesting a female member of staff, her whole world is suddenly turned upside down. For the first time in twenty-five years, Lex needs to get a job in order to make ends meet, so she goes to work in a marriage bureau and puts her skill to good use.

I really enjoyed this book, the main characters are so likeable you feel you've knew them for ages, you see how one wrong accusation can make a whole family's world turn upside down. At least in the end thing's change for the better

The Serpent in the Garden ~ Janet Gleeson

2009-05-27T12:21:00.002+01:00

Summer, 1765. The renowned portrait painter Joshua Pope is eager to escape London and his unhappy past and accepts a commission to paint a wedding portrait for Herbert Bentnick and his bride-to-be, Sabine Mercier. Joshua learns that the couple are avid horticulturalists. Bentnick's country house, Astley, in Richmond, is famous for its verdant gardens, designed by the master landscape artist Capability Brown. Sabine Mercier, who has lived most of her life in the Indies, is an expert in growing pineapples, the fruit of choice at the grandest dinner parties and an inspiration to artists and craftsmen. But soon after Sabine begins to cultivate pineapples in the vast conservatory at Astley, she discovers a body among her plants. Why, wonders Joshua Pope, is so little attention paid to this bizarre death? Why do Bentnick's children regard their future stepmother with suspicion and fear? And what connection does Sabine's daughter Violet have with the dead man? Outraged that any life can be valued so lightly, Joshua begins to investigate the death. But then Sabine's valuable emerald necklace disappears, and he is implicated. His need to discover what has happened at Astley.

A very enjoyable book, there are lots of twists and turns and i didn't guess who the culprit was. Janet Gleeson was recommended to me and this is the first book i have read by her after spotting it in the library. She also wrote The Thief Taker and The Grenadillo box which you might have read and which i will be looking out for.

Happy reading

The Warrior's Princess - Barbara Erskine

2009-05-27T11:30:00.003+01:00

You can read Julie's synopsis and comments here.

Well, Julie thought I'd enjoy this one and she was right....... though the way it started did make me wonder, at first, if I would as I can't abide anything like those attacks.

BE does seem to have a propensity for making her main characters into victims of one kind or another and this definitely started out with taking it to an extreme with the attacks. The current day character occasionally became one of her irritatingly irrational wimp types...... though she did redeem herself as the story progressed and it wasn't ever annoying enough to make me wonder why I was reading it. However I liked and felt much more sympathy for the historical character of Eigon. It also gladdened my heart to see that the depiction of the tarot, crystals and Druidry aspects, in the main, were positive and used to the good (yes, the storyline in Hiding from the Light still niggles! LOL). The culminations to the storylines were good with only the one slight disappointment: the final meeting between Eigon and Titus..... it was a bit of a damp squib after the build up to it - I felt it deserved something a little more spectacular, though that's probably just me. :0)

The stories of the current and historical characters interwove nicely through the book and were never confusing, as some can become. It also had that page turning "I want to know what happens next" thrill that has you reaching for the book in any spare moment or keeps you reading into the early hours - BE at her best. :0)

Will be registering this with Book Crossing and then posting it on to Rachael, as promised. :0)

When will there be good news? - Kate Atkinson

2009-05-26T16:09:00.007+01:00

On a hot summer day, Joanna Mason's family slowly wanders home along a country lane. A moment later, Joanna's life is changed forever... On a dark night thirty years later, ex-detective Jackson Brodie finds himself on a train that is both crowded and late. Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly hears a shocking sound... At the end of a long day, 16-year-old Reggie is looking forward to watching a little TV. Then a terrifying noise shatters her peaceful evening. Luckily, Reggie makes it a point to be prepared for an emergency...

This is the third in Kate Atkinson's series of books (but the first I have read) featuring the former private detective Jackson Brodie, among an array of unusual characters. It is crime fiction, but of a very inventive sort.
Although there are quite a few coincidences that bring the main players together, it nevertheless manages to avoid being ridiculous.
I did enjoy reading this book as it had a satisfying plot, mainly believable characters and plenty of reflections on mortality thrown in for good measure. There were a few places where I did think that the title was just what I was thinking at that time, but despite that, a good read!

A Step in the Dark - Judith Lennox

2009-05-26T15:52:00.003+01:00

It’s 1915 when young Bess Ravenhart, recently widowed, leaves her baby son Frazer with her mother-in-law, Cora, while she sails from India to Britain to set up a home. But Cora has no intention of returning Frazer to his mother's care. Though Bess makes a new life in Edinburgh and knows the joy – and pain – of motherhood with further children, her heart always aches for the little boy she left behind. When Frazer travels to Scotland twenty years later, it seems Bess's dreams of a reconciliation will come true. But Frazer trails danger in his wake, and it's possible that not only he but also Bess and her whole family will live to rue the day of his return…

The novel is very much in the family saga style of Barbara Taylor Bradford/Catherine Cookson but notwithstanding this was a relatively easy read. Whilst I was not that enamoured with the "heroine" - I thought that she could have shown a bit more fight! - I thought that the book was thoroughly enjoyable and I did not anticipate all of the twists.

The Outcast - Sadie Parker

2009-05-26T15:42:00.003+01:00

Set in post WWII suburban London, this superb debut novel charts the downward spiral and tortured redemption of a young man shattered by loss. The war is over and Lewis Aldridge is getting used to having his father, Gilbert, back in the house. Things hum along splendidly until Lewis’s mother drowns, casting the 10-year-old into deep isolation. It is an everyday tale of drunkenness, violence and a fair amount of sex, set amongst the well-brought-up professional classes. It is also a love story.

Whilst the subject was very dark, it was handled in a moving way and I could not help but feel sorry for Lewis. You could see the story unfolding and the mistakes that were being made and yet you understood why this was happening.

I really enjoyed this book and believed in all of the characters, but this is not really a book for reading by the pool

Where are the children? - Mary Higgins Clark

2009-05-25T23:27:00.007+01:00

Nancy Harmon has a new home, a loving husband and two beautiful children. The thing is, she's had all this before ...Seven years ago she escaped from a volatile marriage and the devastating deaths of her first two children. Now, she's trying to start afresh. The accusations. The newspaper stories. The blame. That's all behind her. Or so she thinks. For someone has not forgotten. Somebody who is determined to bring the terror and the pain hurtling back. One cold morning, Nancy leaves her children to play outside - but when she returns, they have disappeared. With growing terror, she realises it has begun again ...

Nancy was the prime suspect when her first 2 children died years ago, so when her other 2 children also go missing, Nancy is first to be accused. The story centres on trying to trace what has happened to the kids, and to prove her innocence in both cases. It was a thrilling read, I couldn't put it down. This was my 4th MHC book that I've read and it won't be my last

Any Body Out There

2009-05-25T14:39:00.003+01:00

How do people choose books? Is it the cover, the blurb, recommendation or a literary review? I have in the past used one or more of those reasons but I chose Marian Keyes ‘Anybody Out There’ because when on holiday I saw so many women reading one of hers and what struck me was that they were thick ! The books I mean not the women!
This book isn’t my usual choice of books but I really did enjoy it once I got into the way it was written.
It starts with Anna in Ireland, far away from her wonderful life in New York, her perfect husband seems to have disappeared and she has been horribly scarred. As to why she is scarred or how she has ended up back in her home in Ireland is a mystery which is revealed slowly and intriguingly throughout the book. As Anna recuperates in Ireland we are introduced to the Walsh family,. Readers get to know Helen, the youngest of the Walsh Clan, she is a private detective and spends most of her time hiding in bushes trying to catch cheating spouses with her long range camera lens. Also Mother Walsh, whose concern for all her daughters is sometimes only fuelled by what other people may think of them. A typical Irish mother!
When Anna returns to New York, in search of her missing husband and against her mother's wishes, we meet a whole host of other characters, including Nicholas, a conspiracy theory nut, who believes everything from Alien Abductions to the fact that Elvis is alive and working in Taco Bell! All of these characters bring the book alive and help you to laugh through what is at times a heart breaking story.
`Anybody Out There?' is a good read, with elements of humour, tragedy and indeed mystery. It has a few short comings, when the great mystery is revealed to the reader it seems to lose pace and any story about young single women set in New York might be compared to Sex and the City. And when doing a straight comparison `Anybody Out there?' falls a little bit short. As a light summer read it is perfect, definitely a must if you need to read something while sitting beside the pool, sipping a glass of wine in Spain.
I would advise anyone who likes this sort of fiction to certainly read it. I would not say it has converted me to become a fan of `Chick Lit' fiction but it certainly has made me consider, after I have read few more juicy murder stories, to try another one of these types of stories.

Chris

Delicious - Nicky Pellegrino

2009-05-18T17:49:00.003+01:00

Italy, 1964. Maria is the eldest daughter inthe Carrozza family from the tiny southern village of San Giulio. At sixteen, her life is limited to the confines of her mother's kitchen (where she bakes bread every morning, the way the Carrozza women always have), and the Caffe Angeli, a place of friendship and strong espresso.Her parents have high hopes for their beautiful firstborn, but she has other plans.

Many years later, a young woman is drawn to San Giulio. But she soon discovers that the peaceful Italian life she seeks is not as simple as it seems - particularly where the past is concerned.

Written with all the warmth of a Carrozza family recipe, Delicious is about three very different generations of women, and the old Italian kitchen which unites them.

"Full-bodies as a rich Italian red, it's a page-turner combining the missed chances of Captain Corelli's Mandolin withthe foodie pleasures of Chocolat" Eve

I saw this book in the charity shop in Tywyn and because it is in some ways simillar to Chocolat I thought I'd give it a go. It's fab - I just couldn't put it down, so much so that today I carried on ready after lunch into my prep time at school - naughty.

No nasty surprises just an adorable love story that unfolds over the years within the family and with outsiders. I'll keep a look out for any others by this author as I really didi enjoy it.

Holy Fools - Joanne Harris

2009-05-18T11:30:00.002+01:00

It is set in France, at the beginning of the 17th century, a time of political and social upheaval following the murder of the king, Henri IV. It is the story of Juliette, a onetime acrobat and rope-dancer, now retired and living under an assumed identity as a nun (of all things), with her daughter, Fleur, in a tiny island convent off the Brittany coast.

Juliette - or Soeur Auguste, as she is now known - has had a troubled and eventful life. Raised by gypsies, persecuted by the Church, separated from her adopted family, driven to begging and prostitution to make ends meet, she manages to find a kind of stability as a performer in a dance troupe led by Guy LeMerle, known as The Blackbird; an actor, playwright and petty criminal with whom the young Juliette becomes infatuated.

After some years on the road and some popular success, the troupe is scattered, following a disastrous brush with the law. Juliette, now pregnant and thoroughly disillusioned with the itinerant life, finds refuge in the abbey of Sainte Marie-de-la-mer, under the protection of the kindly Abbess. However, the death of the Abbess, a few months after the murder of the king in Paris, plunges the convent into disarray. The old regime is at an end; a new Abbess has been appointed (for political reasons), a young woman of noble birth who intends to introduce reform on a grand scale. Juliette's dismay is compounded when the new Abbess reveals herself to be a child of only eleven years of age, raised in Paris and quite unable to appreciate the needs and feelings of a group of country nuns. Worse still, she has brought her confessor with her, and Juliette recognizes him at once.

Now masquerading as a priest, Guy LeMerle, Juliette's old associate, clearly intends mischief. Unable to unmask him without betraying herself and putting her daughter in jeopardy, Juliette is drawn unwillingly into his plans. But as LeMerle leads the nuns gradually into confusion, hysteria and finally, chaos, Juliette realizes that he has more than simple extortion in mind. And as the story builds up to a confrontation from which only one of them can escape with their life, Juliette is cruelly torn between her loyalty to her convent friends, her instinct as a mother and her enduring love for a man who has betrayed her once before, and who will not hesitate to do so again…

Having read Chocolate and Five Quarters of the Orange when i saw this one on the library shelf in our Community Centre i thought i was in for another great read. I have to say i was disappointed, and when i took a friend to the hospital on Friday and sat in the waiting room reading and 2 different nurses asked what i was reading and both commented on it being 'not a patch on her others' and 'not one i would read again' i have to say i totally agree with them.

Has anyone else read this? did you enjoy it?

Mistress Peachum's Pleasure - Lisa Hilton

2009-05-16T15:15:00.005+01:00

Mistress Peachum was Lavinia Fenton, an eighteenth-century actress who was the original Polly Peachum in John Gay's smash-hit play The Beggar's Opera and became the Duchess of Bolton.

Raised in a Charing Cross coffee house, Lavinia nearly fell victim to the ambition of her mother, who plotted the sale of her virginity to an elderly gentleman for £200, but Lavinia was determined to live her life on her own terms. She became an actress, and though she was a newcomer to the stage when she was chosen to star as Polly, her combination of a sweet voice, a pretty face and a knowledge of the seamier side of London life made the role her own.

Both Lavinia and the play were overnight sensations, but she enjoyed only a few months of fame before she caught the eye of the Duke of Bolton, a married, indolent and childless aristocrat. The Duke was determined to make her his mistress, and she agreed to elope with him, exchanging the rackety glamour of life as London's most celebrated actress for twenty years of retirement. Lavinia gave the Duke three sons, but when she was left a widow she chose her own way once more, and scandalously threw away their fortunes on her younger lover.

Lisa Hilton's ebullient portrait of Lavinia Fenton's aspirational life is also a scintillating depiction of the age. With a cast of politicians and pickpockets, highwaymen and whores, it illuminates the relationship between the theatre and the social and political climate of eighteenth-century London.

I was expecting to read mostly about the famed Lavinia but, as the author points out, there is actually very little that is known acknowledged fact about Lavinia herself so what little is known about her was bulked out with the history of the times she lived in. Thus, the book was a disappointment when it came to what I expected but it made up for it in the interesting accounts of the times she lived in and the characters who abounded in London at that time.

It was also interesting to make comparisons between then and now: how attitudes to acting have changed completely, so what was once considered on the same level as prostitution is now something that many aspire to; today's politicians expenses revelations are nothing new and actually it's just following on a long tradition of corruption and sleeze within Parliament; today's binge drinkers are nothing new when compared to the gin-swilling population back then etc etc etc It certainly brings home the cyclical nature of Life, and all it encompasses, and how successive generations seem drawn to repeat the same-old-same-old by following in the footsteps of the ancestors. Makes me wonder: will we ever learn and thus develop our full potential?

Normally I would add the book to my personal collection but Life seems to be giving me lessons to encourage me to "let go" at the moment, so it's been registered with Book Crossing and is up for re-homing instead........ just shout if you'd like it. :0)

Where are you now- Mary Higgins Clark

2009-05-13T23:51:00.004+01:00

How far would you go to keep a secret? It has been ten years since 21-year-old Mack went missing. A Columbia University senior, he walked out of his room and has not been seen since. Every year he calls his mother on her birthday, on his birthday, and on Mother's Day. He assures her he is fine, refuses to answer her frenzied questions, then hangs up. Even the death of his father on 9/11 does not bring him home. Mack's sister, Caroline, has now endured two family tragedies. Determined to solve the mystery surrounding her brother's disappearance, she sets out to discover the truth. But with it comes a secret that someone will do anything to protect, leading her to a deadly confrontation with an unexpected enemy...

I have been getting through a good few of Mary Higgins Clark books this month, and I really enjoyed this one, they're not books that last you for a while, 1 or 2 nights it will take you to get through it as it makes you want to read on. If anyone fancies a read of it let me know, i have a few others of M.H.C's too.

The Girls- Lori Lansens

2009-05-13T23:34:00.005+01:00

I have never looked into my sister's eyes. I have never bathed alone. I have never stood in the grass at night and raised my arms to a beguiling moon. I've never used an aeroplane bathroom. Or worn a hat. Or been kissed like that...So many things I've never done, but oh, how I've been loved. And, if such things were to be, I'd live a thousand times as me, to be loved so exponentially' The girls, Rose and Ruby Darlen, were both joined at the head (craniopagus twins) in a rural farming community in 1974 Abandoned by their frightened teenage mother, they are adopted by the eccentric nurse who attended their birth, and her husband, a gentle immigrant butcher. The sisters attempt to lead a normal life, but can't help being extraordinary. Now almost thirty, Rose and Ruby are on the verge of becoming the oldest living craniopagus twins in history. Rose has a passion for writing, and The Girls is her version of life as a conjoined twin. Rose and Ruby are attached at the head, but their struggles and triumphs remind us that connection is central to us all

I borrowed this book from the library, it's written by Rose who is trying to write her biography before her life ends, Ruby adds her thoughts and memories to it. it was an interesting read, I enjoyed how the girls adapted there disability into everyday life. a few pages of the book was a little slow, but I did enjoy it

Keep Me Close - Clare Francis

2009-05-12T16:58:00.002+01:00

A terrific suspense novel from an author who can tantalize the reader with tension. This is a story of greed, manipulation, deception and blackmail.

Catherine, a talented garden-designer, is surrounded by men all of whom appear devoted to her but none of whom she can entirely trust. After a series of silent phone calls she is attacked in her home and left confined to a wheelchair.
But who was the brutal assailant? Could any of the three men - all so close and apparently committed to her welfare - have planned her near murder? A slow, enticing build-up leads to an increasingly gripping and dexterous climax.

I have always admired Clare Francis - I remember her being on the news when I was younger after completing her round the world sailing. Part of me is drawn to her because my name is also Clare Frances - with our Clares being spelt the same.

Her books are always intriguing and this is no exception - a few times I thought I had guessed the answer but then something happened to change my mind and I was still wrong at the end LOL

This will be one of my giveaway books - details are on my blog.

Wives and Lovers

2009-05-09T22:02:00.002+01:00

Wives and Lovers: synopsis

Victoria Stratford's birthday party for her husband David is a resounding success. It shows off their beautiful Wimbledon house, their wonderful children, their perfect lives, and it conceals the tensions and ambitions that infest their marriage. Victoria graciously welcomes her guests, and the only person missing is David himself.

Victoria's sister, Clara, and her husband, Tom, are there. Unworldly and idealistic, Tom scorns David's quest for wealth. While Clara is content with her job as a university lecturer, she is yearning for something more and Tom cannot see the growing need for happiness that may take Clara away from him.

In the garden the youngest sister, Annie, talks to her husband Hugo. They are ideally suited and very content with each other. The only blight on their lives is Hugo's mother, Barbara, whose jealousy and possessiveness have turned into a poisonous hatred of Annie. Then one evening begins a train of events that will lead each sister down a different path - towards love, sex, grief, betrayal and happiness.

Each of them will learn what it is to be a sister, a wife and a lover.

Jane Varley

The Keys to the Garden - Susan Sallis

2009-05-04T22:38:00.002+01:00

Widowed Martha Moreton was a devoted mother to her only child, Lucy, and when Lucy married Len on a golden July day, Martha tried hard to make the best of things. Len was a good man who would make Lucy happy. They wouldn't be living too far away. And when the arrival of grandchildren was something she anticipated eagerly.

Unexpectedly, Len's job took the newly married couple overseas, where their first child was born. But sorrow, not joy, came with Dominic's birth. On their return, Lucy's best friend, Jennifer, as flighty as Lucy was conventional, was anxious to provide her own kind of consolidation ...

Martha, who was experiencing unlooked-for and at first unwelcomed changes in her own life, clung too fast to the material-bond that meant so much to herself and Lucy. Everything she had come to depend on was overturned, however, before Martha was able to find her own kind of happiness in a very different existence.

I enjoyed reading this although it was quite involved and I did have to keep checking who was who. It wove quite a web between the characters, something I am not sure would actually happen so intently in real life but seemed realistic in the novel.

A light read which was perfect for a weekend away.

The Warriors Princess - Barbara Erskine

2009-05-04T10:38:00.002+01:00

The fate of a young woman becomes entwined with the extraordinary history of a Celtic princess. Jess, a young teacher in London, is attacked by someone she fears knows her well. Fleeing to her sister's house in the Welsh borders to recuperate, she is disturbed by the cries of a mysterious child. Two thousand years before, the same valley is the site of a great battle between Caratacus, king of the mighty Catuvellauni tribe, and the invading Romans. The proud king is captured and taken as a prisoner to Rome with his wife and daughter, the princess Eigon. Jess is inexorably drawn to investigate Eigon's story, and as the Welsh cottage is no longer a peaceful sanctuary she determines to visit Rome. There lie the connections that will reveal Eigon's astonishing life - and which threaten to reawaken Jess's own tormentor. Barbara Erskine's ability to weave together the past and the present, shedding light on a real but little-known figure, makes this a tremendous novel of Roman and Celtic history, passion and intrigue.

Yet another brilliant BE book that grabs the interest. Although i think maybe i should have read Daughters of Fire first as i understand the characters from that book follow on in this one. A great read for those who are interested in the ways of the spirit world, tarot and crystal reading as that side of things plays a big part in this one.

Digital Fortress - Dan Brown

2009-04-30T11:48:00.004+01:00

When the National Security Agency's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break the agency calls in its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant, beautiful mathmatician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corrisors of power. The NSA is being held hostage - not by guns or bombs, but by a code so complex that if released would cripple US intelligence.

Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides, she finds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life and, in the end, for the life of the man she loves....

Well it certainly made a change to have a female in the main role...... and one with brains, as well as beauty. ;0)

As with all of DB's books the start is initially slow, as he introduces the characters and sets the scene........ but then the story sets off at a smart trot, gradually gathering speed until it's rushing towards the ending at an exciting breakneck speed, with a few twists and turns along the way to keep you guessing.

Although a couple of parts (such as "prime" - need to read the book to know what I mean. LOL) had me wondering if the characters were being deliberately thick, am glad to say that others did keep me guessing until the reveal, which is always the sign of a good, well written read to me. :0)
Thanks for sending the book Lynn - thoroughly enjoyed it. :0)

Am registering this with Book Crossing and adding it to my Swap List - shout if you'd like it.

Sands of Time - Barbara Erskine

2009-04-23T13:45:00.005+01:00

It was good to find out what happened to the characters from Whispers in the Sand but I have to agree with Julie on preferring to have those two short stories added to the main book to round that story off better.

It's a good "by the bed" book for when you're tired - one story is easily read before you nod off - but I much prefer her full-length novels to really get into a story. Just as a side note: I found that one thing that is very noticeable through the stories is the recurring theme of damaged and/or broken relationships...... which made me realise it also recurs in some of her main books too. Just makes me wonder.....

Book is registered with Book Crossing and will be going to a new home shortly. :0)

Rush Home Road

2009-04-20T20:34:00.001+01:00

This is a beautifully written book. Rush Home Road centres around the world of a woman called Addy Shadd who at the age of seventy is left to look after a boisterous mouthy five year old, Sharla Cody, after she is abandoned into her care by her mother. The books storyline is split between the trailer park where the two currently reside, and the seventy years of Addy's tumultuous life, both sentimental and powerful. Growing up as a black female in the U.S in the thirties and forties and then into the fifties, the book deals with issues such as racism, rape and murder and their devastating consequences but also shows that some people do triumph in the face of adversity. It's a tale of the survival of a woman who had to fight through no fault of her own, and the way in which the oddest most unlikely relationships can grow. It is ultimately a book full of hope, wonderfully thought out, thoroughly touching, and thought provoking and also terribly heartbreaking. Be prepared with a box of tissues because you will cry more than once; although not just with sadness but with joy, laughter, sympathy and recognition.
As you can see I loved this book and on finishing it felt bereft that I had finished; I wanted it to go on and on for ever!

The Other Queen - Philippa Gregory

2009-04-19T16:28:00.007+01:00

Two women fighting for one man; two queens competing for dominance.

Mary Queen of Scots is in flight from rebels in Scotland, and puts her trust in her cousin Elizabeth. But she finds herself imprisoned as the enforced quest of George Talbot and his determined new wife, Bess of Hardwick. The couple welcome the doomed queen, certain that this will bring them nothing but advantage in the competitive world of Tudor England. To their horror they find that their home becomes the epicentre of intrigue against Elizabeth. Even their own loyalty comes under suspicion, as George's hopeless admiration for the beautiful Mary is impossible to hide.

The conspiracies come together in the greatest threat that Elizabeth has ever faced. She has no choice but to instruct her spy-master, Cecil, to set the trap to catch her cousin. But even he is caught by the spell of this remarkable young woman, who is prepared to die rather than deny her need for freedom.

I read this book in about three days - I just could not put it down. Each chapter is written from either Mary, Bess or George's point of view. The intrigue is seen from all sides, as is the conspiracy. It becomes very involved with other character who cross each of the three's path with different affect. The story line moves at as fast a pace as the change of location as the trio move around England at the request and sometimes whim of Elizabeth, or is it Cecil that makes these decisions?

This is the first Philippa Gregory book I have read and I am now hooked. I bought this one because it is on offer in Waterstones (spend over £10 and the book is half price) but it is also on offer on Amazon.

A really entriging and absorbing read.

The Embers of Heaven

2009-04-14T22:16:00.003+01:00

A rich, magical saga, set in eighteenth-century China, which will appeal to fans of Joanne Harris and Amy Tan. In The Secrets of Jin-Shei, eight women pledge themselves as sisters in the name of jin-shei, the unbreakable bond, the promise that lasts a lifetime. This sisterhood shapes their lives, their country and their world. "The Embers of Heaven" begins four hundred years later. In eighteenth-century Syai, and its capital city of Linh-an, things have changed beyond recognition. On the face of it, women are more equal than they have ever been. But the men run the machines, the factories, and the technology. Women have lost the ability to weave their fates and influence the course of events. The foundation of an empire once rested on jin-shei and its customs. It connected women from every walk of life and formed a bond that empowered every woman who swore the oath. The advancement of printing, the developments of technology and the changes in society have seemed to improve the daily lives of the underclass, but women have been stripped of this sacred pact. Amais is heir to her poet-ancestress's manuscripts and journals.The journals are all in jin-ashu, the women's tongue, taught sketchily to Amais by her mother. Amais has the clear vision of an outsider looking in. Combined with her deep and instinctive bond to her ancestors and her culture, she determines to reinvent the Women's Country and bring the jin-shei back. But just as her crusade begins, she and her family are caught up in the storm of history: the whirlwind of the Golden Rising - a people's revolution that is fated to destroy much that was once valuable, gracious and beautiful. "The Embers of Heaven" is a magical epic, with delightful characters, an intriguing scenario and a real feeling of place and history. It has a wonderful combination of character, romantic lives, and spiritual quest, set against a credible historical background.

Although the book was an ok read I won't be rushing to buy anymore

In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

2009-04-14T13:53:00.003+01:00

The sinking of the Nantucket whaleship Essex by an enraged spermwhale far out in the Pacific in November 1820 set in train one of the most dramatic sea stories of all time. Accounts of the unprecedented whale attack inspired Herman Melville's mighty novel Moby Dick, but In the Heart of the Sea goes beyond these events to describe what happened when the twenty mixed-race crewmen took to three small boats and what, three months later, the whaleship Dauphin, cruising off the coast of South America, discovered when it spotted a tiny boat sailing erratically across the open ocean.

To be honest I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I first started reading this book. I've read a fair bit of non-fiction over the years on a wide variety of subjects, some of which turn out to be those dry, fact and date ridden books that eventually overwhelms your brain so you can't remember what happened when or to whom. In the Heart of the Sea wasn't in that category - though there were still plenty of dates and facts in there, the whole is presented in such an easily readable style it was more like dipping into a good, well written novel.

It isn't always an overly comfortable read though: it deals with the hard facts and realism of the whaling industry in the 1800's and what happens when the crew find themselves stuck in three small boats in the open ocean with limited supplies. Though it shows what depths human beings can plumb when forced into extreme conditions what mostly shines through is how strong the will to survive can be and how resilient, and courageous, some people can be when faced with such extremes and the hard decisions that have to be made. What I liked was that the book didn't end at the point of rescue but went on to recount what subsequently happened to the few survivors.

All told, I feel the author skillfully manages to tell a factual story in an intelligent and readable way, without glorifying the crew members or being overly sensationalistic with the awful events that unfolded. I would definitely like to read more by this author.

This is a Book Crossing book sent to me by a fellow Book Crosser - I would like to pass it on for someone else to read and journal on and who will then pass it on to someone else who will be willing to do the same, to keep this book travelling. Shout if you would like it. :0)

The Boleyn Inheritance By Philippa Gregory

2009-04-12T22:12:00.003+01:00

This is a wonderfully atmospheric evocation of the court of Henry VIII, and the one woman who destroyed two of his queens. The year is 1539 and the court of Henry VIII is increasingly fearful at the moods of the ageing sick king. With only a baby in the cradle for an heir, Henry has to take another wife and the dangerous prize of the crown of England is won by Anne of Cleves. She has her own good reasons for agreeing to marry a man old enough to be her father, in a country where to her both language and habits are foreign. Although fascinated by the glamour of her new surroundings, she senses a trap closing around her. Katherine is confident that she can follow in the steps of her cousin Anne Boleyn to dazzle her way to the throne but her kinswoman Jane Boleyn, haunted by the past, knows that Anne's path led to Tower Green and to an adulterer's death. The story of these three young women, trying to make their own way through the most volatile court in Europe at a time of religious upheaval and political uncertainty,

I have devoured this book from beginning to end, It took me less than 24 hrs to read it, I was captivated once again by the Tudor era!
This book is told through each of the three women, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Jane Boleyn. And how one brings down the other two!
If you liked the The Other Boleyn Girl this is a must as well!

This book is from the library so cannot pass it on!

Sands of Time - Barbara Erskine

2009-04-12T20:18:00.003+01:00

This one is a collection of over 20 stories. It was nice to see what happened to the characters from Whispers in the Sand and a conclusion to Louisa, Anna, Carstairs and Toby as they were left hanging in that book. I would have much preferred the 50 pages in the front of this book and the 50 pages in the concluding chapter to have been added to Whispers in the Sand although i did enjoy the 'little stories' inbetween.

I know Karan and Rachael have this one and Karen has read it, so i am taking it to the stitching club with me to give to one of the ladies there as i think she will like to try it.

House of Echoes By Barbara Erskine

2009-04-11T17:40:00.003+01:00

I really enjoyed this book, but part of it being quite disturbing really!

Although the Female heroine lacks backbone once again, as do most of Barbara Erskine main leading ladies in the books I have read, something I detest I must admit, (yes I really want to shake these characters if they were real)I would love just once for one of them to not be a total walkover, or maybe only we the readers can see what total doormats these women are! But I did enjoy the story!!

Sorry! just had to have a little rant over my pet hate!!

Julie I will get this out to you next week if you still want it

Angels and Demons - Dan Brown

2009-04-02T19:45:00.006+01:00

When a world renowned scientist is found brutally murdered, a Harvard professor, Robert Langdon, is summoned to identify the mysterious symbol seared onto the dead man's chest. His conclusion: it is the work of the Illuminati, a secret brotherhood presumed extinct for nearly four hundred years - now reborn to continue their bitter vendetta against their sworn enemy, the Catholic church.

In Rome, the college of cardinals assembles to elect a new Pope. Yet somewhere within the walls of the Vatican an unstoppable bomb of terrifying power relentlessly counts down to oblivion. While the minutes tick away Langdon joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to decipher the labyrinthine trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome to the long-forgotten Illuminati lair - a secret refuge wherein lies the only hope for the Vatican.

But with each revelation comes another twist, another turn in the plot, which leaves Langdon and Vetra reeling and at the mercy of a seemingly invincible enemy.....

The book initially seemed to be a little on the slow side and I wondered if I was going to get into it......... then everything seemed to pull together and along came an exciting read that became distinctly unputdownable as it raced towards the final few chapters and the conclusion.

There are a few minor similarities with The Da Vinci Code, with the symbology, secret brotherhood, clues and a trail to follow angle, but despite this it's a distinctly different read and, IMO, more thrilling. Despite the fact that I had suspicions about the Illuminati leaders identity some time before it was finally revealed it didn't spoil the story or the ultimate revelations.

All told I would class it as the better book of the two and will now be on the look-out for more of Dan Brown's books.

Am registering this with the Book Crossing site and adding it to my Swap List - shout if you'd like it. :0)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. By Mark Haddon

2009-04-01T13:35:00.003+01:00

Christopher is 15 and lives in Swindon with his father. He has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. He is obsessed with maths, science and Sherlock Holmes but finds it hard to understand other people. When he discovers a dead dog on a neighbour's lawn he decides to solve the mystery and write a detective thriller about it. As in all good detective stories, however, the more he unearths, the deeper the mystery gets - for both Christopher and the rest of his family.

From the Back Cover
Fifteen-year-old Christopher has a photographic memory. He understands maths. He understands science. What he can't understand are other human beings. When he finds his neighbour's dog lying dead on the lawn, he decides to track down the killer and write a murder mystery about it. But what other mysteries will he end up uncovering?

Well this one I read after my son Reece, got it out of the school library. It was recommended because of the main character having Aspergers Syndrome, and it certainly helped me understand a little better what my son goes through, even though his Aspergers is not the same. But I think it is a book that everyone should read, then maybe they wouldn't be so critical of parents and their children who have a form of autism.
This book made me cry, laugh and well, nod my head in understanding. My son liked this book because of the mystery! lol

No Way Out ~ Lynda Page

2009-03-26T19:30:00.003Z

Stephanie Mortimer feels trapped. Her alcoholic mother and domineering father have never loved each other, let alone their only child, and her upbringing has been one of violence, repression and neglect. In an attempt to escape, Steph agrees to marry a man she doesnt even love but a tragic accident means their marriage never takes place. Then her father dies and the terms of his will reveal that he still has a hold on Steph even beyond the grave. Reeling from the news, the last person Steph expects to meet is the man of her dreams. Jason Connor could change her life for ever, but will their whirlwind romance be the answer to Stephs prayers or the beginning of a nightmare?

Lynda Page is a local author to me and i always love to read her books, she writes about the City i live in so when you are reading you know where she is talking about and it makes it that bit more real and exciting to me ... i really enjoyed this one and it kept me captivated till the end when a secret is revealed. I only got this book on Mothers Day, DS said he wont buy me anymore if i read them to fast LOL

I'm sorry ladies but this one will join my collection of her books, i have them all and a lot of them are signed by Lynda too.

Whispers in the Sand, Barbara Erksine

2009-03-23T19:33:00.003Z

The gripping suspense story is set in richly mysterious Egypt, where past and present elide. Recently divorced, Anna Coburn decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey her great-grandmother, Louisa, a renowned artist, made in the mid-nineteenth century -- a Nile cruise from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings.
Anna carries with her two of Louisa's possessions -- an ancient Egyptian scent bottle, and an illustrated diary of the original cruise that has lain unread for a hundred years. As she follows in Louisa's footsteps, Anna discovers in the diary a wonderful love story from the Victorian past, and the chilling, more distant secret of the little glass bottle.
Meanwhile, two men from the tour party are showing a disturbing interest in these mementos, and developing an unfriendly rivalry for Anna's attention. And, most frightening of all, Anna finds herself the victim of a haunting, a spectral presence that grows in strength and threat as the dramatic stories from three different eras intertwine in a terrifying climax.

I found this book a joy to read, although I did find it hard when it kept switching between Louisa and Anna. I do hope that there is a sequel as it was left too open for my liking!

If anyone would like this, let me know!

Kate Morton - The Forgotten Garden

2009-03-22T18:57:00.002Z

A lost child: On the eve of the First World War, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her - but has disappeared without a trace. A terrible secret: On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell Andrews learns a secret that will change her life forever. Decades later, she embarks upon a search for the truth that leads her to the windswept Cornish coast and the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor, once owned by the aristocratic Mountrachet family.A mysterious inheritance: On Nell's death, her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into an unexpected inheritance. Cliff Cottage and its forgotten garden are notorious amongst the Cornish locals for the secrets they hold - secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family and their ward Eliza Makepeace, a writer of dark Victorian fairytales. It is here that Cassandra will finally uncover the truth about the family, and solve the century-old mystery of a little girl lost.

This is the second book written by Kate Morton and it was as exciting as the first. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this, she is a very good author. i hope its not long till she releases her third novel.

Thank you Barb for passing this one on to me, its now ready to travel to its new home if anyone would like it.

2009-03-11T06:22:00.002Z

The Birthing House
When Conrad Harrison impulse-buys a big old house in Wisconsin, his wife Jo doesn't share his enthusiasm, reluctant at the idea of leaving their LA life - so Conrad is left to set up their new home as she ties up loose ends at work. But Conrad's new purchase is not all that it seems. Soon Conrad is hearing the ghostly wailing of a baby in the night, seeing blood on the floor and being haunted by a woman who looks exactly like Jo. With his wife away, Conrad becomes obsessed by the pregnant girl next door, Nadia, who claims to be a victim of the evil in the house. The crying leads him to a bricked-up body, and the mystery of the Birthing House unravels, pulling in Jo, Nadia and leading Conrad to a nightmarish conclusion...

I bought this book on the strength of its cover.

It purports to be a 'horror/ghost' story, but its major failing in my opinion, is that it is not at all scary - in fact the first half of the book is more about some sort of mid-life crisis revolving around the central character - Conrad.

I though the ending was terrible - really rushed and badly executed.

The idea behind the book is sound but just wasted in poor execution. The initial characterisation is OK - but Conrad's & Jo's descent into 'madness' is too abrupt and not at all convincing. Take The Shining as a benchmark and this falls far short.

All in all, not a book I enjoyed, but will keep it for a week if anyone would like to borrow it.

Whispers in the Sand - Barbara Erskine

2009-03-10T17:55:00.004Z

Recently divorced, Anna Fox decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey her great grandmother, Louisa, made in the mid-nineteenth century - a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan. Anna carries with her two of Louisa's possessions - an ancient Egyptian scent bottle and an illustrated diary of the original cruise that has lain unread for over a hundred years.

As she follows in Louisa's footsteps, Anna discovers in the diary a wonderful love story from the Victorian past - and the chilling, more distant secret of the little glass bottle. Meanwhile two men from the tour party are developing an unfriendly rivalry for her attention. And why are they showing such a disturbing interest in Louisa's mementoes? Most frightening of all, Anna finds herself the victim of a spectral presence that grows in strength and threat as the dramatic stories from three different eras intertwine in a terrifying climax...

It's mostly based in Egypt so it's a given that I would love this book for the mental imagery of the ancient sites it conjures up alone. :0) It was also good to see how the three separate stories were interwoven through the book in such a way that I didn't once lose any of the plots (makes a nice change, as I often feel I lost the plot a long time ago! LOL)

There were a couple of things in the book that made me think of Lady of Hay - anyone else pick up any similarities with certain character traits in both books? (Such as: a bullying guy, inconsistent heroine who takes her time to stand up to him, alcohol regularly consumed - though there was a little more fruit juice and water thrown in this time LOL). The twist for one of the characters was unexpected (I even felt sorry for him, even though he was a right royal pain in the derriere for much of the book), as was the somewhat open ending which has me hoping for a sequel........ but that's me, always wanting every lose end tied up.

All told, it was a good read that kept my interest throughout the book, containing all the spooky elements I've come to expect from the author. Although, for me, for a real spooky/scarey story none of her other books I've read (so far) have yet beaten Midnight is a Lonely Place! :0)

Now registered with Book Crossing and released. :0)

Atlantis - David Gibbins

2009-03-04T18:57:00.003Z

ATLANTIS: The fabled island which disappeared beneath the waves at the dawn of history; One of archaeology's most enduring mysteries; Fact or myth? No one has ever known - until now.....

One day, on a dive in the Mediterranean, marine arcaeologist Jack Howard gets lucky. Very lucky. He and his team uncover what could be the key to the location of the lost island.

Jack is on the verge of making an astounding breakthrough, but someone else knows about Atlantis's location. And Jack and those closest to him are suddenly locked in a life or death game with consequences that could destroy thousands of lives. For what Jack discovers is beyond his wildest dreams - but it comes at a terrifying price.

You can read more about the author and his other books here.

I was really looking forward to this book, as it is based on various things that interest me, and it started out well and did have me hooked initially but that soon dwindled some. Whilst there was plenty of action and a reasonably strong story/plot line it did start to feel more like a tutorial/lecture after a while, with all the different historical, archaeological and geological facts it contained - and the book certainly had those in plentiful supply. By the end of the book it felt as if all the extra information had distracted me from the storyline and made the characters seem somewhat stilted at times.

All told, it's obvious the author knows his stuff and I did learn a few things along the way......... but that's not why I chose to read this and it's definitely not what I expected from a fictional book. If I want to learn something I opt to read non-fiction books!

Registered with Book Crossing and added to my swap list - shout if you're interested in it. :0)

The Other Side of the Stars

2009-02-25T06:54:00.003Z

An unforgettable story of a young woman striving to find herself amidst the glitz and glamour of the film world.

Actress Lara Latner is enjoying a golden summer - her new play is the toast of London's West End, and she and her boyfriend Alex are setting up their first home together. But when her agent calls with an extraordinary opportunity - her potential break into Hollywood - she is plunged into turmoil. For the part, the lead in an American remake of a classic French film, is the role that made her mother, tragic actress Eve Lacloche, a legend. Lara does not know what to do. How can she bear to leave Alex, and their precious home for the months of the shoot? How can she ever hope to measure up to Eve's luminous performance? But perhaps it is only by stepping into her mother's shadow that Lara can hope to truly understand her, and to lay the past to rest.

About the Author
Clemency Burton-Hill is an actress, journalist and broadcaster. She is a contributing editor for the Spectator, has written for many UK publications including the Observer, Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mail and New Statesman, and appears regularly on arts and current affairs programmes including Question Time, Andrew Marr, and BBC Radios 3, 4 and 5. She was a presenter at the BBC Proms and on the series Visionaries, and her recent acting credits include leading roles in Poirot, The Palace, and Party Animals. The Other Side of the Stars is her first novel.

A book about relationships, this was an easy read, mainly because the characters were all likeable, Lara in particular! Good storyline with paths leading to a number of assumptions that are all cleared up at the end. However, it does make true the adage that one should never assume as to assume makes an ass of u and me!

I will keep this book for a week if anyone would like to borrow it.

The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett

2009-02-22T18:49:00.003Z

Miss Perspicacia Tick, a witch of some renown, is worried about a ripple in the walls of the universe--probably another world making contact. Which is not good. This errant activity is centred on some chalk country--where traditionally good witches simply do not grow well. Fortunately, Miss Tiffany Aching of Home Farm on The Chalk, nine years old, misunderstood and yearning for excitement, wants to be a witch and has just proved herself to be of great potential by whacking a big Green Monster from the river with a huge frying pan while using her annoying younger brother as bait. Miss Tick is impressed. So, after travelling to the chalky downs at once and dispensing some stop gap advice to Tiffany about holding the fort until she gets back with more help, Miss Tick is off.
Any hesitation Tiffany may have had about the seriousness of the situation expires when the Queen of the fairies kidnaps her younger brother. With the help of a talking frog, loaned by Miss Tick, and an army of thieving, warmongering, nippy, boozy wee free men called the Nac Mac Feegle (who used to work for the Queen but rebelled), Tiffany sets off rescue her kin.
There's humour at every turn, and the situations that follow are both wonderfully dramatic and preposterously unreal. Pratchett really is the master of his genre and it's difficult to imagine a more entertaining read.

I loved this one, (I got my son to borrow it from the school library)

I don't think there is a Pratchett book I did't enjoy, maybe that is the child in me! LOL

The Nac mac Feegle are just a superb group of Pictsies!!

If you fancy some light fun reading then this is for you!

Whispers in the Sand - Barbara Erskine

2009-02-22T17:46:00.003Z

The gripping suspense story is set in richly mysterious Egypt, where past and present elide. Recently divorced, Anna Coburn decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey her great-grandmother, Louisa, a renowned artist, made in the mid-nineteenth century -- a Nile cruise from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings. Anna carries with her two of Louisa's possessions -- an ancient Egyptian scent bottle, and an illustrated diary of the original cruise that has lain unread for a hundred years. As she follows in Louisa's footsteps, Anna discovers in the diary a wonderful love story from the Victorian past, and the chilling, more distant secret of the little glass bottle. Meanwhile, two men from the tour party are showing a disturbing interest in these mementos, and developing an unfriendly rivalry for Anna's attention. And, most frightening of all, Anna finds herself the victim of a haunting, a spectral presence that grows in strength and threat as the dramatic stories from three different eras intertwine in a terrifying climax.

I only need one word to describe this book ... AMAZING, i think it's the best one i have read by her. It is so exciting and really grabs the attention. I was sad that it ended. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I know you have this one Karan, but if anyone else would like it please let me know, otherwise i'll drop it off in the charity shop in the village next week.

Happy reading!

Camelot's Shadow - Sarah Zettel

2009-02-19T18:38:00.004Z

When Nineteen-year old Lady Rhian discovers her father promised her at birth to a sorcerer in return for her mother's life, she runs away to join a convent. Determined to exact his payment, the sorcerer waylays her on the road, but is thwarted by a valiant knight. Sir Gawain gallantly offers to escort Rhian to Camelot, and Queen Gunevere's protection.

Gawain has taken a great risk in stopping to help Rhian - he must warn his uncle, King Arthur, of impending war. But when they are attacked by a band of Saxons, Rhian proves that her skills include more than tapestry and gossip - and Gawain will be captivated as much by her bravery as by her beauty....

Forget the Victorian romantic versions of the story of Camelot, with knights in shining armour and the chivalric code of much later years: this book tries to be more in keeping with the real history of the time when King Arthur etc could have lived. Rather than being based on Arthur and Guinevere and Merlin, whose stories have been told and re-told in varying versions over many years, it weaves it's story around the other characters in the Camelot legend.

If you want a truly historical tale then you need to be looking at Non-Fiction....... but if you want a little escapism in the form of an entertaining read with a little true romance then this is definitely the right book for you. :0)

Registering it with Book Crossing and it has been added to my Swap List - shout if you'd like it. :0)

Hiding from the Light - Barbara Erskine

2009-02-11T19:27:00.003Z

Across the peninsula the mist rolled in, its icy fingers curling up the cliffs. Inside their houses people stirred in their sleep and children cried in the dark.

The parish of Manningtree and Mistley has a dark history. In 1644 Cromwell's Witchfinder General tortured scores of women there, including Liza, the herbalist, whose cottage still stands, and Sarah, daughter of the manor. And the spirits of his victims still haunt the old shop in the High Street, they say.

Emma Dickson gave up her high-flying career to live in Liza's cottage but now, as Helloween approaches, she is being driven half-mad by visions of the terrible past. In despair, Emma turns to the young rector for help but he, too, is in the grip of something inexplicable and dangerous.....

Unfortunately, as a Pagan, I took exception to her presentation of Wicca and making the local witch the baddie as it buys into all the old stereotypical clap-trap about linking Paganism and Wicca with Satanism and Black Magic. Yes it's only a story but this kind of thing continually reinforces all the negative imagery that was perpetuated by the church to stamp out the old religion and which, unfortunately, still persists today in some quarters and is spouted whenever modern Paganism and Wicca are referred to.

What the author seems to have completely ignored is that we (Pagans and Wiccans - and other earth-based belief systems) don't believe in Satan - he's a Christian concept - and that no decent self-respecting Pagan or Wiccan would ever violate the Rede, as was persistently done by the Wiccan in the book. I guess sticking to the real facts would have got in the way of the story *sigh*.

Apart from that exception it was another gripping read from the author, keeping me turning the pages into the early hours and picking it up during the day to find out how it ended.

Book will be registered with Book Crossing and is now available to anyone who would like it. :0)

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

2009-02-07T15:50:00.003Z

Detective Jimmy Perez is the first investigator on the scene. He grew up on the neighbouring Fair Isle and is familiar with the locals and the way of life. Determined to get a head start before the Senior officer and his team arrive from Aberdeen on the mainland, Jimmy begins to question the locals. Luckily for Jimmy his senior officer, the driven energizer-bunny Inspector Taylor, is wise enough to recognize that Jimmy's local knowledge is an asset and allows him to have his head. Together they try to unravel the inter-connecting relationships and secrets to discover who killed Catherine.

RAVEN BLACK works well on a number of levels. First off it's a first-class whodunit. All the clues are there if you can figure it out (I didn't). On top of that, the author gives the reader a glimpse of life in a small isolated community. A fascinating layer-cake of things determine attitudes; an unacknowledged hierarchy revolving around how long a given family has lived on the island and their prosperity or otherwise; open secrets that aren't spoken about; the difficulties recent arrivals have in being accepted and a whole host of other things. I could give you examples but that would spoil half the intrigue of the book.

Karan sent me this one, it was a lovely book to read, although like Karan i did want to know what happened to the main characters in the book as it seemed to come to a bit of an abrupt end. There are 3 more books set on the island so maybe there is news of them in the others. I have to keep an eye out for these when i visit the charity shops failing that take a trip to the library if i run out of stuff to read!!

Thank you Karan for recommending this one, it was a nice one to read in the middle of the night nursing a sick kitty cat!

I'll hang onto this for a week if anyone wants it let me know, otherwise i'll release it into the wild.

Area 7 - Matthew Reilly

2009-02-04T14:16:00.004Z

It is America's most secret base, hidden deep in the Utah desert, an Air Force installation known only as Area 7. And today it has a special visitor: the President of the United States.
He has come to inspect Area 7, to examine its secrets for himself. But he's going to get more than he bargained for on this trip. Because hostile forces are waiting for him inside....

Among the President's helicopter crew, however, is a young marine. He is quiet, enigmatic, and he hides his eyes behind a pair of silver sunglasses.

His name is Schofield. Call sign: SCARECROW. Rumour has it, he's a good man in a storm. Judging by what the President has just walked into, he'd better be....

The book is actually meant as a sequel to Ice Station but you don't have to have read that before reading this one - it works well as a stand-alone. More about the author and his other books can be found here.

After reading and thoroughly enjoying Riverton I opted for a complete change of pace....... and got it! The book started out a little slow and had me wondering if I was going to get into it..... then the action started......... and kept right on going. Phew - it certainly is as action-packed, pacy and full of non-stop thrills as the blurb claims it to be and is definitely not one I'd recommend as quiet bed-time reading. LOL Neither would I recommend it if you're at all squeamish as it does tend to be a tad on the gorey side at times. Yes, I'm realistic enough to know that similar situations IRL would turn very gorey indeed but it does feel, occasionally, that the author writes these sections with a bit too much relish. Now and again the amount of action had me wondering if the main character is actually a Superhero in disguise. Just the kind of thing that Hollywood loves, so am now waiting to see if they turn this into a movie. ;0)

Registered this with Book Crossing and have done a controlled release: handed over to my DBro to read then wild release. :0)

Folly ~ Alan Titchmarsh

2009-01-24T16:37:00.002Z

Jamie Ballantyne and Artemis King were never meant to fall in love. The feud between their families has run for three generations. But whatever Jamie's head might tell him, his heart will always belong to Artemis. After fifty years, perhaps it's time for the Kings and the Ballantynes to bury the hatchet. Then Jamie and Artemis start to uncover their shared past. What they find will rock the foundations of both their families, as a web of deceit and intrigue is ruinously exposed !

This one was a Christmas pressie to DH and I from DD, she knows her dads love of Alan as a gardener and my love of him as an author (i've read all his novels) she put an inscription inside that was very appropriate to us both so unfortunately we will be keeping this copy ... dad still needs to read it LOL

I did enjoy this book but its one of those that jumps from one era to another and back again every other chapter and it took me till about 1/3 of the way through to get my head round who belonged to which grandchild. Once i'd established that it was much better and i really enjoyed it. It's a love story and the ending was predictable but you thought it wouldn't happen right till the last couple of pages when a major secret is revealed. The write up states its his best novel yet, but to be honest i've read better from him, but thats just my opinion. If you dont mind reading all about Munnings the equestrian painter and auction sale rooms and art galleries its a nice read.

The Other Boleyn Girl By Phillipa Gregory

2009-01-23T09:16:00.005Z

Everyone knows the fate of Anne Boleyn, but not many know the story of her rise to majesty and the part played by her rival and sister, Mary, who was Henry's mistress and mother to two of his bastard children before the dazzling older Boleyn girl even caught his eye.

Philippa Gregory, whose own role as the Queen of historical romance grows more secure with each new novel, has surpassed her self with this epic tale of lust, jealousy and betrayal. The Other Boleyn Girl charts the lives of both Boleyns--each in their turn "the other Boleyn
Girl"--and their fiercely ambitious, conniving family who used the girls as pawns to advance their own positions at the court of Henry VIII. At 13, Mary is little more than a child when she is presented to Henry, ordered by her scheming family to serve her King and country by opening her legs whenever commanded, or doing anything else the great monarch desires.

And while his loins are satisfied, life at court is sweet for the unofficial Queen and her pushy coterie. Inevitably though, the King's eyes soon begin to wander and Mary is overlooked, helpless to do anything but aid her family's plot to advance their fortunes, replace her with Anne and give Henry the greatest gift of all: a son and heir.

Well I certainly enjoyed this book,I was totally hooked to find out the ending even though we all knew what happened to Anne, but it amazes me that this sort of thing went on in those days and that I am so glad I wasn't born in those times, But I wanted to story to continue and find out more about Jane Seymour and how they managed to get their claws in etc. Will have to look into other books by Phillipa certainly!! I would certainly recommend reading this book, now I have to see the film.

The House at Riverton - Kate Morton

2009-01-22T15:38:00.005Z

After reading Julie's recommendation for this book (synopsis is on that page too) I managed to get hold of a copy from my local hospice book shop. I finished reading it this morning.

Some books that are set in the present and then go back into a characters past can occasionally get a bit confusing with the to-ing and fro-ing, making it a struggle to remember what happened when..... but not this one. It's one of those books that just seems to grab you from the first page and keeps you absorbed in the story and characters throughout, no matter how many times you put it down and pick it up again.

The only thing I guessed correctly fairly early on, before having it confirmed in the story, was the identity of Grace's father. The ultimate secret came right at the end and I definitely didn't guess it...... or expect it. The way the revelation was done was quite clever too, I thought.

So glad you recommended it Julie, as it was an excellent read. :0)

Book will be registered with Book Crossing. It has also been offered to someone already - waiting for a reply. :0)

The Soul Slayer - Paul Doherty

2009-01-17T00:39:00.008Z

Soul Slayer: from medieval lore and legend, if a magician can take out the heart of his victim before death, and the victim does not die in a state of grace, the warlock can call upon that soul to do his bidding.

Eighteen-year-old Rebecca Lennox, the daughter of a former priest, is mneglected and feared by the villagers of Dunmow in Essex. They regard her as cursed, by both her hare lip and her gift of second sight. Rebecca finds solace in the statue of St Michael the Archangel, to whom she prays devotedly within the sanctity of her old parish church. But when a young Catholic priest arrives in the village it seems that she has finally found a mortal confidant. Michael is not repelled by her infirmity and his charm and gentleness remind her of her beloved statue.

Then in the late summer changes come to Dunmow. A new parson is appointed - more interested in the black arts than the teachings of religion. Foe Henry Frogmore holy orders are merely a convenient cover for his nefarious activities, but in Rebecca and Michael he finds powerful opponents. And in the ensuing struggle the price for each of them is all too heavy.

Well, I must admit I'd put off reading this book for a while due to the bumpf claiming this was a really scarey book - normally I don't go much for scarey. It took a couple of chapters before I settled into the story and the wait for a really scarey bit was a long one...... as in: I'm still waiting, long after finishing the book. I won't be so quick to believe in the publisher's hype in future. LOL

Despite the mild disappointment with that it was still a fairly entertaining read that had me caught up in the plot enough to actually make me cry at a sad part and again at the bittersweet ending - not many books do that to me.

Book is being re-homed with Barb. Just remember to have a tissue handy when you get near the end! ;0)

Midnight is a Lonely Place - Barbara Erskine

2009-01-03T23:07:00.004Z

After a broken love affair, Kate Kennedy, a succesful biographer, retires to a remote cottage on the wild Essex coast to work on her new book. When Alison, her landlord's daughter, uncovers a Roman site nearby, long-buried passions are unleashed....

In her lonely cottage, Kate is terrorized by mysterious forces. What do these ghosts want? That the truth about the violent events of long ago be exposed or remain concealed? Kate, Alison and her elder brother Greg must struggle for their lives against earthbound spirits and ancient curses as hate, jealousy, revenge and passionate love do battle across the centuries.....

Julie very kindly sent me this book a while ago and I made it my festive season read. Wow! I reckon this is much better - and scarier - than Lady of Hay and I could hardly put it down. No irritation with any of the characters or niggles with the plot, just a really gripping read that actually had me looking over my shoulder a couple of times! LOL

The only thing that was a little disappointing was the ending: I want to know how they explained the dead body and if the two lovers stay together..... for themselves or because of the ghosts. That's typical me though...... always wanting to know what happens next and have things explained to the final Nth degree. ;0)

Book is going to Rachael. :0)

Astraea - Jane Stevenson

2008-12-28T21:02:00.003Z

The Netherlands, the 1640's. Two royal exiles meet - Elizabeth of Bohemia, daughter of James I of England, and Omolojou/Pelagius, once heir to the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo but now a freed slave with shamanic powers. They fall in love and clandestinely marry. Secretly, Eizabeth gives birth to a son, Balthasar Stuart, whom both of them see as a new hope for the future.

At the start I found the book confusing, as initially it was difficult to decide whether it was meant to be read as factual or fiction based on actual historical characters (which it is). It was a relief when the whole tale seemed to settle into a more natural "story telling mode", as it started to flow more smoothly from then and drew me in. A reasonably interesting read for those who like historically based books...... although be prepared for an ending that is not only not particularly happy but is also a little disappointing. I would have liked to have known the ultimate fate of both main characters but instead all was left "hanging", rather than following things through to a more natural conclusion. I guess that's a way of ensuring you go on to read the following two books in the trilogy.

This is now registered with Book Crossing and has also been added to my Swap List on the Swap Blog - shout if you want it. :0)

Rosie - Alan Titchmarsh

2008-12-18T12:36:00.008Z

Nick Robertson thought he'd got used to his grandmother Rosie's dotty behaviour. At 87-years-old she is determined that before life passes her by she will live a little. Or, preferably, a lot.

It wouldn't be so bad if Nick had nothing else to do. But with a living to make on the Isle of Wight, two warring parents on the mainland to cope with and a love life in terminal decline, he would prefer his grandmother to get on with things a little more quietly.

But there is no time like the present, Rosie insists. Life is to be enjoyed to the full and to hell with the consequences. She will help Nick find the soul mate he clearly lacks, and he can help her find out more about her past. It seems a simple task, but it turns out to involve rather more skulduggery than Nick had anticipated.....

A nice, fun book and a real wind down, easy read - definitely got a high feel-good factor to lift you out of the doom and gloom mood prevalent at the moment. Very likeable characters and, as with most Alan Titchmarsh books, turns of humour that often made me laugh out loud.

The character of Rosie is a perfect role model to follow for those who realise that growing older doesn't necessarily mean you have to lead a staid life, watching TV or going to Bingo. I so wanna be like her! LMAO :0)

Book was registered with Book Crossing and was a controlled release: given to my DSis to read, when finished she will wild release it in the Thornton's Cafe at The Outlet, Doncaster. :0)

Lady of Hay - Barbara Erskine

2008-12-17T16:00:00.004Z

Jo Clifford, a successful journalist, is all set to debunk the idea of past-life regression in her next magazine series. But when she herself submits to a simple hypnotic session, she suddenly finds herself reliving the experiences of Matilda, Lady of Hay, the wife of a baron at the time of King John.

As she learns of Matilda's unhappy marriage, her love for the handsome Richard de Clare and the brutal threats of death at the hands of King John, it becomes clear that Jo's past and present are hopelessly entwined and that, eight hundred years on, history is about to repeat itself.

You can read another synopsis here.

Dealing with things like past life regression and reincarnation it's a given that I would enjoy the storyline but I couldn't help having a couple of niggles with the characters. If you don't trust someone's motives why let them hypnotise you? If someone keeps phoning and you don't want to speak to them why not hang up as soon as you realise who it is? Better still: ever hear of call filtering?

Tot up all the booze they consume between them and they're definitely exceeding their recommended daily allowances - they could float a flippin' cruise liner on it! LOL

Jo is supposed to be a modern, go-getting career woman, an incisive journalist, yet she occasionally dithers so badly it gets annoying. She's kicked Nick out of her flat yet lets him keep a key..... when he keeps letting himself in, assaults her and generally behaves like a psychotic stalker she still lets him keep the key, doesn't always bolt the door when she's in, doesn't change the locks, doesn't report him to the police or take out an injunction against him. Yes, I know it's only a book, a work of fiction....... but it rather spoilt that modern woman image the main character was supposed to have.

Putting those niggles aside I did enjoy the bulk of the book. The karmic payback for one character was satisfying and there was a happier ending........ though it did leave a bit of a question mark that left me wondering if it would stay happy or if history would end up repeating itself.

The book is registered with Book Crossing and has now been released into the wild at the Earth Energies Clinic on my local High Street. :0)

Tell No One by Harlan Coben

2008-12-04T18:45:00.003Z

Written by an american author, a friend at the stitching club passed this on. It was what i call an easy read. Only a small book, but it grabbed my interest from the start. I finished it in record time for me, although i did spend 2 whole nights when up with the cat reading it LOL

TELL NO ONE is a story of loss and redemption. It begins innocently enough. Dr. David Beck and his beloved wife, Elizabeth, are celebrating the anniversary of their first kiss in the quiet of Lake Charmaine. They grew up together, first kissed at age twelve, and now, twenty-five years old and married less than a year, they return for an idyllic weekend away.

Tragedy shatters their solitude. Elizabeth is abducted and murdered, her body found in a ditch. Her killer is caught and brought to justice. But for David Beck, there can be no closure. Eight years pass. He never gets over Elizabeth's murder. He loses himself in his work as an inner city pediatrician.

But everything changes on the eighth anniversary of Elizabeth's death. Two unidentified bodies are found at Lake Charmaine, unearthed years after their deaths. But even more disturbing, Beck gets a bizarre email that mentions a specific phrase - a phrase known only to him and Elizabeth. The email also tells him to click a hyperlink the next day at a specific hour - “kiss time” - 6:15PM.

It's back on my bookshelf looking for a new home, or it will find its way into the community centre library next week.

Picture Maker - Penina Spinka

2008-12-03T17:14:00.004Z

Picture Maker is the daughter of a powerful warrior, named for her ability to foretell the future in her drawings. Taken as a trophy prisoner by the rival Algonquin tribe, she kills her brutal captor and escapes north, alone and pregnant, but determined to find the people and places prophesied for her. As she grows beyond her once narrow confines, Picture Maker becomes an amazing and very human survivor.

You can read more here.

The book is described as similar in tone to Jean M Auel's books - whilst this is a good read I feel it doesn't come anywhere near her books for depth of characters and thorough descriptions of customs, scenery, hunting techniques etc etc. Jean M Auel is in a class all her own, IMO.
Having said that, what is described is interesting and gives a fascinating insight into some of the the customs and outlooks of early Ganeogaono (Mohawk), Algonquin and Inuit tribes, as well as Greenlander history.

I felt the book started off a little stilted but soon developed a smoother style which had me turning pages long after I should have gone to sleep.

The ending was left open, as the story continues in the next book, Dream Maker: I'll be keeping my eyes open for that and hope it's as good a read as this one.

Book is now registered at Book Crossing and has been added to my Swap List. :0)

Chocolat - Joanne Harris

2008-11-28T14:16:00.004Z

When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud identifies her as a serious danger to his flock - especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. War is declared as the priest denounces the newcomer's wares as the ultimate sin.

Suddenly Vianne's shop-come-cafe means that there is somewhere for secrets to be whispered, grievances to be aired, dreams to be tested. But Vianne's plans for an Easter Chocolate Festival divide the whole community in a conflict that escalates into a "Church not Chocolate" battle. As mouths water in anticipation, can the solemnity of the Church compare with the pagan passion of a chocolate eclair?

You can also read more about the book here. It also has an interesting piece from the author about how she came to write the book, the inspirations behind it and the motivations behind the main two characters.

Just as I'm told to lose 2 stone in weight I choose this book to read, which has descriptions of foods and tastes so good it sets your mouth watering. Perverse or what? LOL
There's a strongly Pagan theme that runs throughout the book which appealed strongly to me (naturally enough) but there's also so much more in there: a mother's love for her daughter; hypocrisy; love of and enjoyment in life; magic; friendship; facing your demons; human nature at it's worst.... and best and much more - all mixed together with a wonderful descriptive style that helps you to visualise the people and the area and which also helps to lighten some of the slightly dark aspects in the book.

A fascinating read and now I've read the book I'd like to see the film, to see how faithfully they've stuck to the original concepts and if they've done it justice... or not. :0)

This is registered with Book Crossing and has now been released into the wild. :0)