Twilight Series By Stephenie Meyer

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!

Camelot's Shadow - Sarah Zettel

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)

Rosie - Alan Titchmarsh

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)

The Champion - Elizabeth Chadwick

Karen very kindly passed this one on to me after she'd finished reading it and you can find the synopsis for it here. :0)

After one of those deja vu feelings I realised I'd actually read this one some time ago and remembered that I got a bit fed-up with it then, feeling things could have been moved along a little faster than they were, and admit to giving in to speed reading some parts. This time around I read it through properly - there were still a couple of bits that I felt could have been hurried along a little but have to say that, on the whole, I did enjoy the read much more.

The historical details are especially well researched and give a good idea of what life in general would have been like during that period of history - worth a read for that alone.

I shall be registering this book with Book Crossing and offering it on the Swap Site. :0)