A few reviews as promised …

The Event by David Goleman

I was suffering from a James Rollins withdrawal and sought out authors of the same genre; thriller/suspense with a healthy dose of adventure.
The first name I came across was David Goleman. I tracked down The Event and began reading…
I was hooked from the first page. The cast is vast and I had a to do a mental backtrack a few times but all in all I found it to be a good read, and I think it will appeal to fans of TV Sci-fi series etc.
I look forward to reading the next 4 books too!

 The Son by Jo Nesbo

I loved this stand alone novel from the creator of the Harry Hole series! Sonny Lofthus a model prisoner for twelve years, has been incarcerated for crimes he did not commit, but which he confesses to in return for a supply of drugs.  He has always believed his father committed suicide after admitting to being a corrupt cop. One day a prisoner makes a confession about his father’s death that changes Sonny’s future forever.  Now Sonny, who has never lived on the outside, an addict and a scapegoat, is out for vengeance for his father’s murder. I couldn’t help cheering on the hero who was actually an anti – hero! The story starts off slow and builds with mounting suspense which does not dissapoint!

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown

Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself -- sans swimsuit -- to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits "send."

I found the subject matter (sexting & its consequences) thought provoking; it is a book I think all teens should read! It is an education about, modern technology coupled with teen emotion and how wrong it can go. I did find Ashleigh not compelling enough as a character and the depth of the relationship rift caused with her parents not fully explored. Peripheral characters could have been brought into the story with more to do.  A book with a similar message but better writing is Susan Vaught’s Going Underground.
However all said and done, I am a fan of Jennifer Brown’s The Hate List. Read it!

KD

E-Readers...the ups & downs.

I have gotten stuck into some really awesome reads recently and have completely forgotten I have a blog to post.

These awesome books have actually been e-books. I shall blog about them in my next post but for now I'm going to tell you the pros & cons of reading off a tablet.

I was put off by the back light etc. but reading on an actual e-reader has been fantastic.

I highly recommend it for fiction. All your books can be stored on a lightweight device as opposed to lugging around a huge book bag (which I have been known to do)!

It’s great for reading at night; you can change the font size & colour (I don’t have to wear my glasses-BONUS).

I can read anywhere, everywhere, even while pretending to be working ;-)

Those maybe the many virtues of the e-reader but I do have a few downers...

You can't really read a business or textbook on it especially if you want to quickly refer to something you've read previously!

The battery lasts me seven hours and if I'm travelling and not near a charger or laptop, I'm left stranded without something to read...

And...I can't read in the tub  L

I can live with the cons but I also refuse to give up actual books. I get high at the euphoria of all of my senses being engaged!

LONG LIVE BOOKS!

Keep an eye out for my next post with a few reviews from my current reading list. J

Till Next Time,
KD

Teen Memoir - MUST READ!

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen

Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular? The real-life results are painful, funny, and include a wonderful and unexpected surprise—meeting and befriending Betty Cornell herself. Told with humor and grace, Maya’s journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence.
 

When I first received this proof copy, I was expecting a diary of a depressed teen – don’t ask me why, I don’t know! lol

I was pleasantly surprised as I read through and couldn’t help cheering this girl on! Sometimes laughing out loud but mostly cringing at her bravery in the attempt to be popular. She dons girdles, gloves and pearls at the advice of a 1950’s model.
It was truly inspiring and as I read I wish I had the maturity and confidence to do what Maya did. At the end of her experiment she had realized that “popularity” is a just a mindset and kindness is the key to friendship.
Both teens and adults could benefit from the lessons learned! 5¶ read!

KD

A YA gem!

I can sometimes be a complete snob! I will turn my nose at anything resembling 50 Shades or Twilight and I would be completely justified. I felt pretty much the same about pretentious YA novels.

So when someone gave me The DUFF by Kody Keplinger 2 years ago, I looked at the cover, read the blurb and actually groaned out aloud. It sounded predictable and awful. But I gave myself a challenge (as I usually do...) that if I hit page 10 and wanted to slit my wrists I would give it up.

Wow! To my utter amazement, I kept going till the end. It was pretty formulaic but I enjoyed it anyway. I liked the character AND the writing. So that is how my relationship with YA novels had been rekindled. I have read a few since and enjoyed some of them.

Yesterday I came across another Kody Keplinger, A Midsummer's Nightmare. I got home, had dinner, watched my current tv addiction #ChicagoFire all the while knowing I had the Keplinger in my bag.

I dug it out at about 10pm and was done dusted with it by 2am this morning :-D

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorcé dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancée and her kids. The fiancée's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great.

Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

Filled with authenticity and raw emotion, Whitley is Kody Keplinger's most compelling character to date: a cynical Holden Caulfield-esque girl you will wholly care about.

I thoroughly enjoyed this - more The DUFF! Kody seemed to keep to the same formula & predictability. What impressed me was the journey to the predictable end. It was poignant. A great read for teens, single parents and working parents. It is complex, emotional & deep. It’s also hard to believe that she can write this well without any of the similar angst her characters feel - she pays homage to her loving family in her acknowledgments.

A quick, easy read, which packs an emotional punch and will leave you rooting for the damaged Whitley!

That’s all folks! ;-)

KD

Treasures at the local library!

I changed my library this week. I went back to the library I used to use way back when (which is about 5 years ago-lol).
Going to a new library is one of the greatest experiences in life! Truly!
And the real treat is that I can take out 7 books at a time, I am now in possesion of both my parent's library cards for next time- woohoo!

After the epic series, The Banned & Banished, I had a bit of a book hangover - as one does - so I went on a movie binge, of old and new.
Fire with Fire, Robocop, Ender's Game, Riddick, Gravity, Epic and so many more I can't remember now but after watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, I wanted to read an adventure!

Who better than the great Clive Cussler?

 

 

I have just started Polar Shift and I hurtled staright into the action!

I have also taken out a Linda Howard, 2 Robin Hobbs, a Karen Rose, a Dean Koontz and Moby Dick.

So many books, so little time!

 

Aren't Libraries wonderful?

 

KD



 

 



 

5 Feb 2014 ...'cos I couldn't think of a heading ;-)

Hey,

The last two weeks have been slightly chaotic...slightly!
We have moved shop, so taking everything besides the kitchen sink has been an education in logistics!

However I did manage to find the time to read :-D !!!
I am now on book 5, Wit'ch Star of The Banned & the Banished series!

James Clemen's does a fine job in wrapping up the series. I'm almost putting off reading the rest of it 'cos I know I'm going to suffer the worst book hangover after, but not for long...Keegan my trusty sidekick (he would prefer being the superhero) has gotten me Dan Brown's Inferno, James Rollins' Amazonia & The Devil Colony. keep an eye out for those reviews.

The sidekick and I are off to a Pan Macmillan presentation at The Square tomorrow to hear about this year's releases...exciting stuff! Looking forward to a great venue, great hosts & great books!

I aim to finish Wit'ch Star by the week's end and then I'm off for a 'fun in the sun' weekend with my galpals, where I plan to relax and unwind at the poolside! Hopefully they'll allow me to carry some poolside reading...

Chat soon...

KD
 

Epic Fantasy Series

As a youngster, whenever the school holidays rolled around my brother and I would spend them with my grandparents along with the rest of my cousins.
It was a standing rule that I was not allowed to take along ANY books or my library card! That was torture for me.

One summer holiday- in desperation - I went digging in my uncle's old book case. After reading several manuals on engineering and a few spiritual books, I came across, a tatty paperback with the front cover missing and half the back cover burnt, yes I said burnt, off!

I snuck away to the balcony and there, at age 13, was the best reading experience of my life. I had found a copy of The Lord of the Rings! It is safe to say that my life was forever changed by that literary GENIUS, Tolkien!

I have re-read it twice over the years and it still is the most amazing book.

I am always searching for the next epic series and by George, I've found not one but two!
Julia Gray's The Guardian Cycle and James Clemen's The Banned and the Banished.

After reading The Guardian Cycle, I couldn't find anything interesting enough as I was suffering a major book hangover! It is a well written, story where good eventually triumphs over evil (which I always like).
It unfolds over five glorious books:

1. The Dark Moon
2. The Jasper Forest
3. The Crystal Desert
4. The Red Glacier
5. Alyssa's Ring

A couple of months a ago, a local school was getting rid of old stock and kindly asked if we could find an underprivileged high school to donate them to.

After some searching, my colleagues and I found a school which desperately needed some books. We realised that some of these books were above their reading age and decided that we'd pick a few for ourselves and pass on the rest to whomever wanted them.

I found a complete set of The Banned and the Banished and put it aside without giving them a thought until last weekend when I didn't have a thing to read! I picked up Witch Fire (book one), devoured it and I'm now on Witch War (book three). I'm LOVING it!
I will post more as soon as I'm done with this fab series...

I then did some digging and too my utter delight James Clemens is the Nom de Plume of James Rollins, who happens to be one of my favourite mainstream authors! His books move along the speed of a great action flick and one can almost pick out a Hollywood cast for his characters. My only problem is that he doesn't quite right fast enough for me ... which is a bittersweet experience when I do get any of his latest releases. Lol.

I do hope that you will pick up these great fantasy series!

That's my bit for today...

KD

My first review :-)

I have just read Banished book one in The Blackhart Trilogy by Liz De Jager. This is a teen/YA crossover.

This is Liz's debut novel (her previous debut novel, which she wrote at age 9, has never been published).

What a ride!
Young Kit Blackhart didn't expect life after the death of her dearest grandmother to be quite so adventurous. She has been taken in by her previously unknown family (whom she's grown to love), into a world of fantasy & fairytale. Her life is now made up of magic, enemy fae and seriously awesome weapons training.
Just as she's getting used to it all, her life and those of her family and friends has been turned upside down the moment she steps in to save the life of fae Prince, Thorn. Fighting evil has never been this scary! She battles trolls, chimeras, fae foot soldiers and worse. She faces off with big-time villains with the fate of the world depending on her...and this is just the beginning.

I am a huge fan of Amanda Hocking's Trylle Trilogy and this reminded me of her style of writing. Easy reading and entertaining to the max! Funnily enough, they have the same publisher.

Boy's don't be put off, but it does have a smidge of romance. And romance, my dears, is good for the soul :-)
I won't be surprised if it's a runaway success. If you get it, you will not be dissapointed!

KD.

Hi World!

Hi World,

I'm not sure what i've just done... Is blogging for me?
Well, i don't know the rules. Are there any?
I'm mad about books and just want to tell the world!
So here i am :-)