Broken by Kelley Armstrong

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I like Elena. She's a stroppy woman but not just for the sake of being stroppy. You have to be that way around the kind of men she's grown up with, otherwise they would just walk right over you.

This is new territory for both Elena and the author. Elena is pregnant, and unsure. The author also seemed to be uncertain how to make a very pregnant werewolf also be an active fighting participant. So we have a lot of filler - the characters going round and round in circles, and the story also not really going anywhere.





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Breathing in Colour by Clare Jay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“These are the stars we catch before I go to sleep,” Mia had announced, her eyes ablaze with pride as she pointed at the sequins. “When the pink ones sparkle, they fizz in my mouth like sherbet.”

This is a really lovely story. The themes are not so lovely - a teenage daughter gone missing in India, divorce, abandonment, estrangement, and yet the author has done a really stellar job of addressing all these topics without being heavy and depressing but still serious and sincere.

The main characters behaviour while not always likeable is believable. They are normal people with normal reactions.

Mia has a condition which means that you experience emotions etc as colours as feelings. It adds a lovely poetical tone to the story.



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Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Hmmm. What I liked best about this story was the ending because Stephen King so often sucks at endings. I actually struggled a little to get through this. It didn't grab me like the others.

However, this one the characters are almost normal. I din't really see the point in Pere's story i.e. why we had to have his whole life story that way. I think it ruined the pace for me.



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The Second Mrs. Darcy by Elizabeth Aston

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is not one of those stories that you just can't put down. It just kind of meanders along, and stuff happens but nothing super interesting. So, it's interesting that regardless, it was good enough to read to the end.

Didn't love it, didn't hate it.



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Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict- Laurie Viera Rigler

A closet Jane Austen addict, Courteney Stone delves into J.A's novels whenever she needs solace, comfort, or anything really.So it seems inevitable that one day she wakes up and she seems to actually be living the life of someone who could certainly have been one of Austen's characters. Is she dreaming?delusional?drunk? Read it for yourself and find out.

Romanitas - Sophia McDougall

'This is the first of three books set in a Roman Empire which never fell but spread to take in half the world.'

The story begins with Marcus age 16, who's parents have both just been killed and whose coffins are making a slow procession throughout the city. Now Rome is left with the question of who will be the next Emperor. Marcus? One of his uncles? A cousin?

Meanwhile, a young man is waiting to be crucified and a young malnourished girl is making her slow and painful way through the city. For what purpose?

I didn't realise that this was the first of 3 books so I was taken by surprise when the story ended long before I was ready for it. Not that I felt that the story was unfinished, but because I still wanted to know more about the characters.

It took me a few pages to get into the story, but I'm glad that I persevered. Plus it took me a little while to get my head around a futuristic Rome.

Dragon Blood (The Hurog Duology, Book 2)- Patricia Briggs

Sequel to Dragon Bones. Ward has been Hurogmeten for a few years now. He is slowly rebuilding his keep. And the land is also recovering from the curse of the Dragon Bones. So all should be well. Except that Jakoven still reigns and he is as power hungry and vengeful as ever.

It's a good sequel. I still enjoyed the first story more but not by much more.
recommended reading - teen fiction
anyone who likes fantasy

Motor Mouth - Janet Evanovich

Alexandra Barnaby is back.

Alex has a passion for cars and an engineering degree. She works for Sam Hooker who is a NASCAR driver and also used to be her boyfriend until he was caught cheating on her.

Part of Alex's job description is working as a spotter doing a race. When she is asked to do a fellow spotter a favour, little does she know just how complicated this one little favour is going to make her life.

It's a fun story, with good characters.
Recommended reading for all Evanovich fans and romance readers.

Sandry's Book (Circle of Magic, Book 1) by Tamora Pierce

Sandry is one of 4 young people who is found to have a different type of magic which is appropriate considering that Sandry herself is also a little different from children of her own age.

Although this book is called Sandry's Book, the story concentrates equally on Sandry, Tris, Daja and Briar.

It's a good story about friendship,diversity and conflict with magic, adventure and mystery thrown in for good measure. It has good general appeal unless you really don't like stories about magic.
genre=teen fiction
recommended= general appeal

last chance saloon by Marian Keyes

Not about one of the sisters in her other series.

It's about a group of friends who each have their own set of weaknesses or nutjob headcases.

Tara has a fear of being alone and would rather have a jerk who mistreats and takes huge advantage of her, than be without a boyfriend. Katherine would rather be alone than risk her heart and Fintan is gay and actually his life is not too shabby.

Everything changes when Fintan becomes ill and with the thought of only 6 months left to live, everyones perspective on their lives, changes.

Not a great read, the characters are too wussy but not a terrible read. Put it in the "meh" pile.

My Sister's Keeper: A Novel by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult tackles the ethics of having another child basically in order to have a ready made donor for their other chronically ill daughter.

But Anna throws a spanner in the works when she turns 13 and hires a lawyer to defend her right to decide for herself what happens to her body.

It's worth a read but it would be better if Jodi didn't keep including a "twist" at the end. Sometimes it feels like the twist is really just added for the sensation factor. I feel that the story doesn't really benefit much from it.
Genre-Drama

Motor Mouth - Janet Evanovich

Alexandra Barnaby is back.
Alex has a passion for cars and an engineering degree. She works for Sam Hooker who is a NASCAR driver and also used to be her boyfriend until he was caught cheating on her.

Part of Alex's job description is working as a spotter doing a race. When she is asked to do a fellow spotter a favour, little does she know just how complicated this one little favour is going to make her life.

It's a fun story, with good characters.
Recommended reading for all Evanovich fans and romance readers.

Aairman - Eion Colfer

Conor Broekhart was born to fly. According to legend it was fate really. After all he was born in the air.

Conor and his family live on a little island just off the coast of Ireland. They are very good friends with the King and his daughter. The King is keen to keep the Island independant and so together with Conor and his friend Victor, they immerse themselves in science and the pursuit of flight.

All seems to be going well but what of these whispers about a traitor and a conspiracy?

I enjoyed this story. I think it has more general appeal than some of Eion Colfer's other novels. Recommended reading also as teen fiction.

The Harlequin - Laurell K. Hamilton

Anita Blake's life finally seems to working, despite all the men in her life, and the complications not just they but also the metaphysical crap that comes with them.

Then, Anita is given a white mask and suddenly there are a whole lot of new questions to be asked which no one , even Jean-Claude seems to be able to answer.

I really enjoyed this one. There's not so much sex and what there is can easily be skipped over without affecting the story at all. Lots of action.

The Minister's Daughter - Julie Hearn

It's the story of a little town, who are believers in the old ways, piskies and faeries, who find themselves with a new intolerant zealously religious minister.

One young girl, Nell, being trained in the ways;herb gathering, mid/wifery, spells and healing who gets caught in the lies of the minister's daughter. Trouble comes.

Feast of Souls-Celia Friedman

The King's son is dying from an incurable disease known as 'the Wasting'. The king's Magister, Ramirus, knows full well what the Wasting really is and what is it's cause but this knowledge must be kept from the 'Morati'(the non-magisters), and most especially from the King.

In an effort to somehow prevent this knowledge from getting out, Ramirus calls on other Magister's for aid as this is something that could harm all Magisters. Thus begins part 1 of a trilogy.

I quite enjoyed the story. It has all the elements of a good story- a good bad enemy, heroes and heroines, magic, intrigue and battle. Some phrases are a little repetitive but apart from that I look forward to reading the other 2 books.

genre-Fantasy

The Hard Way-Lee Child

Jack Reacher is just sitting in a cafe having a good cup of coffee. It was so good in fact that he he did something he doesn't normally do- he went back the next night. What seemed like a guy just getting in his car and driving away, turns out to be the opening moves of a kidnapping.

It wasn't bad. It wasn't any better or worse than the other Jack Reacher novels.

The Chemistry of Death-Simon Beckett

The Boleyn Inheritance-Phillipa Gregory

Accessory to Murder-Barbara Jaye Wilson

A Brenda Midnight Mystery. Brenda Midnight gets dragged into her latest madcap escapade by her friends the N's. By trying to be helpful, she inadvertently gets Lemmy Crenshaw into trouble and the trouble just keeps on coming. All this whilst trying to come up with a Spring line for her hats.

I liked it. If you want a really meaty mystery then I wouldn't recommend this novel. It's a good easy read and a little fun.