Book Quiz

Saw this over at 3M's blog and thought I would have a go!

You're The Poisonwood Bible!

by Barbara Kingsolver

Deeply rooted in a religious background, you have since become both
isolated and schizophrenic. You were naively sure that your actions would help people,
but of course they were resistant to your message and ultimately disaster ensued. Since
you can see so many sides of the same issue, you are both wise beyond your years and
tied to worthless perspectives. If you were a type of waffle, it would be
Belgian.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Not sure that I agree with the description...but I did like the book! LOL!!

Historical Tapestry - something new and exciting!

I am so excited to announce that I am now part of a group blog called Historical Tapestry, along with four other people:



Ana from Aneca's World

Kailana from Kailana's Written World

Stephanie from Stephanie's Confessions-of-a-Bookaholic

Louise, who used to have a blog for a while, but currently doesn't have one!



The plan is that Historical Tapestry is going to focus specifically on Historical Fiction of all eras, including Historical Fantasy. Hopefully with a good group of people we will get an interesting mix of different eras and subject matter including our different countries. We are also hoping to have a mix of Author Spotlights, book reviews and general info on the Historical Fiction that we like to read.

I am very excited that this is now off the ground, and hope you will drop by and have a look at:

Historical Tapestry

One Night with a Prince by Sabrina Jeffries

Continuing her irresistible Royal Brotherhood Series, bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries introduces the third of three half-noble half brothers — the brashest rogue in all of London.

Proper Lady Christabel, the Marchioness of Haversham, is desperate to regain some letters that could destroy her — so desperate that she pretends to be the mistress of notorious gaming-club owner Gavin Byrne to accompany him to a scandalous house party where she can reclaim them. But when she agreed to let Byrne coach her on how a true mistress behaves, she never suspected how very...persuasive his wicked lessons would be.

Gavin is secretly determined to find the letters himself and use them for revenge against the noble sire who abandoned him to grow up in London's worst slums. He's also delighted at how very successful his "mistress lessons" are: it won't be long before the luscious young widow is in his bed. But when Christabel catches Gavin in his own seductive net, he faces a difficult choice: to wreak the vengeance he's planned all his life, or to protect the woman he may — to his own astonishment — need more than revenge.

And we get to the final book in the Royal Brotherhood series. I hadn't read any Sabrina Jeffries before I started reading this series.

This book was definitely a better entry in the series than the last one, In the Princes Bed, which I thought was pretty average.

I do tend to enjoy the mistress at a house party plot, and have enjoyed several over the last couple of years. In this book the chemistry between Christabel and Gavin is palpable - they fight, and they love, Gavin reveals more of himself to her than he has to any of his previous mistresses and Christabel learns to love as well.

The whole searching for letters thing was possible a little overdone, as were the gambling reference, but the final scenes were definitely suspenseful and well written.

Whilst I did like the three books in this trilogy, I am not yet completely enamoured with them! I liked them enough to start reading another series from her, and to see how they go!

Rating: 4/5

Wordpress help

Never mind! We'll stick with Blogger which is what we know!





At the moment, I am trying to figure out how to get a new theme onto a wordpress blog, not because I really have one at the moment, but rather that I might be getting one soon (still working out the details on this, but you will know about it when it is all worked out!). I can't work out though how it is you upload a new theme. On Blogger I know that you copy and paste into the Template page, but I can't see anything similar anywhere on Wordpress.

Can anyone help?

It's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn

Meet Our Hero ...
Gareth St. Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him, is determined to beggar the St. Clair estates and ruin his inheritance. Gareth's sole bequest is an old family diary, which may or may not contain the secrets of his past .. and the key to his future. The problem is -- it's written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word.

Meet Our Heroine ...
All the ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. She's fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken, and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But there's something about her -- something charming and vexing -- that grabs him and won't quite let go ...

Meet Poor Mr. Mozart ...
Or don't. But rest assured, he's spinning in his grave when Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual -- and annually discordant -- Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth's every word seems a dare, and she offers to translate his diary, even though her Italian is slightly less than perfect. But as they delve into the mysterious text, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the diary, but in each other ... and that there is nothing as simple -- or as complicated -- as a single, perfect kiss.

This is the seventh entry in the long running Bridgerton series that I have been slowly working my way through, following on from When He Was Wicked. Once again, the style returns to the tones that were prevalent during the early parts of the series - somewhat light and frothy but still with really good dialogue and intensity between the characters. I really loved Hyacinth and Gareth together, and the fact that Gareth is Lady Danbury's grandson was an added bonus as it meant that we got to see plenty of the crotchety old dragon!

Gareth was great! I really liked him. Hyacinth was good too, but for me this novel really was about him. The fact that he was trying to make his own way without relying on his very hostile father, but still knew not to take himself seriously was fantastic!

If there was any note that was a bit discordant, it was that the sneaking around that took place with Hyacinth and Gareth trying to get into his father's house to try and locate a mysterious treasure from his mother's side of the family was a bit much. The other thing that threw me a little was when Gareth was goaded into proposing to Hyacinth. I definitely understood her concerns.

With just one more book in the Bridgerton series (not counting the two Lady Whistledown anthology spin-offs), I will definitely be sad to say goodbye to this family!

Rating 4/5

Chill Factor by Rachel Caine

In Rachel Caine's Ill Wind and Heat Stroke, Weather Warden extraordinaire Joanne Baldwin, who protects the human race from monster storms, was killed, reborn as a Dijinn, and then restored to her original form. She's been through a lot - and stuck her neck out many times - to save innocent lives. Now she's rolling the dice to stop an infinitely powerful, deeply disturbed kid from destroying the world....

A teenager named Kevin has holed up in style at a Vegas hotel with the most powerful Dijinn in the world, planning who knows what kind of mischief. The Wardens' senior leadership is dead, Djinn are disappearing, and a secret society wants to help Joanne destroy Kevin, even if doing so kills her (again). But everybody in Vegas has a game going, and Joanne has to learn the rules fast because the stakes have never been higher - and all hell is about to break loose....

In this one, Joanne finds herself in Las Vegas, location of a terrible event in her past, and it seems that those events are about to come together with current events, leaving Joanne stuck in the middle of a dangerous situation!

Caine is really good at putting her main character into very dangerous situations, and then having to extricate her again. Not only does Joanne have to worry about whether the Wardens are going to catch up with her, and perhaps permanently alter her forever, but there is also a new group who have entered the fray, known as Ma'at, who believe that the Wardens are completely corrupted. Unfortunately they're not exactly on Joanne's side either.

When I read this I quite enjoyed it, but it was so long ago now that I can't say much more than that! I guess the thing is about this series, is that I like it.....but I don't love it! I'm not quite sure what it is that I am waiting to happen, but there's just something that stops the series from being a Must Read Right This Minute kind of series.

I was interested to see exactly where one thing that has happened with Joanne will go in this book, but I'm sure all will be revealed in the next book, which I have sitting here on my shelf ready to go.

Rating 4/5

Great Australian Novel

I was so busy last week that I somehow managed to miss doing BTT but I am back on track with this week's Booking Through Thursday question!

What with yesterday being the Fourth of July and all, I’m feeling a little patriotic, and so have a simple question:

What, in your opinion, is the (mythical) Great American Novel? At least to date. A “classic,” or a current one–either would be fine. Mark Twain? J.D. Salinger? F. Scott Fitzgerald? Stephen King? Laura Ingalls Wilder?

It doesn’t have to be your favorite book, mind you. “Citizen Kane” may be the “best” film, and I concede its merits, but it’s not my favorite. You don’t have to love something to know that it’s good.

Now, I know that not all of you are American–but you can play, too! What I want from you is to know what you consider to the best novel of YOUR country. It might be someone the rest of us haven’t heard of and, frankly, I think we’d all like to get some new authors to read.

This question has had me thinking ever since I read it, and there have been a few different titles that I have thought of. My first thoughts were of books like All the Rivers Run by Nancy Cato that tell stories of early Australia (in this case about life on the paddle steamers that run on the inland river system in Australia), but then if Australian history was going to be my focus then my choice would have to be For the Term of his Natural Life by Marcus Clarke - the story of a convict sent to Australia.

Another good one is A Fortunate Life by AB Facey:

The remarkable story of an 'ordinary' man. Bert Facey's childhood ended when he was eight years old. That was when his grandmother had to send him away to work for his keep. Bert grew up tough in the vast, wild outback of Western Australia. He lived to eighty-seven, and wrote down his extraordinary story for his grandchildren. In spite of its difficulties and sufferings, he always believed he had had 'a fortunate life'.

For other good examples of the battling Aussie spirit, another option would be Ruth Park's classic books that include Harp in the South and A Poor Man's Orange, set in the slum suburbs of Sydney during the Depression. Ruth Park also wrote one of Australia's classic children's stories The Muddle Headed Wombat.

I am sure that there are other books that I should be mentioning but that's a start!

Romance Novel!

I saw this over on the Eloisa James and Julia Quinn message board! Thought it was pretty funny, so now I am sharing it with you all!


]



God I love pirate romances! LOL!

Presentation is everything!

Well maybe not everything....but wouldn't it be nice if every time you received a book it came presented like this?



In case you are wondering the book is Mermaid in a Bowl of Tears by Cindy Brandner and there is also a bookmark in there! You can find out more about her work on her website.

Half way done

So, we are basically at the halfway mark in the year, so I thought I would do a quick check of where I am at in comparison to the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year.

My goals for the year were to:

Read 200 books
Read 15 books that I already owned as at 1 January 2007
Read Dorothy Dunnett
Read more Australian Authors (at least 10)
Read shortlists for the Booker and either the Orange Prize or the Pulitzer Prize
Blogging - specifically not getting so far behind on reviews or putting pressure on myself if I do.

So how am I going? Let's just say it isn't pretty!


Read 200 books - actually this one isn't too bad. As at June 30, I had read 98 books, so I am not too far off of where I need to be in order to meet my goal, however, at this point last year I had read 109 books.

Read Dorothy Dunnett - I borrowed the first book in the one of her series. Didn't get to read it though! Does that count?

Read 15 books that I already owned as at 1 January 2007 - Um...well I've read 2, so I might need to work on this one a bit! It's especially a bit of a worry seeing as I have bought more than 15 books in May and June alone!

Read more Australian authors (at least 10) - Surprisingly on target on this one! Maybe I need to go and check my spreadsheet to make sure that I counted right!

Read shortlists for the Booker and either the Orange Prize or the Pulitzer Prize - Well given that the shortlist for the Booker isn't out yet, I am not failing that part yet, but as for the Orange and the Pulitzer...well...I've read both the books that won! I will be reading a couple more of the Orange prize nominations soon...no really, I will be!

Blogging (specifically not getting behind on reviews) - There was this brief moment back in April when I was all caught up. Unfortunately, that wasn't something that I was able to maintain, and I am currently a terrible 22 reviews behind!

So I might be being a bit harsh on myself at this stage to say:




but it isn't that far off!

Busy, busy, busy!

30th June is the end of the financial year here in Australia, and so for me...it's been a busy few weeks, as we have to get ready to close off the old year, and get ready for the new one! Of course that means working on the weekend, so I have barely had time to read anything for ages!

Not only that, but I seem to be reading slower when I do get to read. No idea why, but just seems to be the way it is! Wish I did know why, because I have a gazillion books on my TBR piles at the moment!

Addicted....me?

Hot on the heels of getting an R blog rating, I saw this on KristieJ's blog!



84%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?.


Hmmm....still room for a little more addiction!

UK storms

I have been watching the news of the floods in the UK with growing concern. There have been quite a few mentions of Sheffield in South Yorkshire in the news, particularly in relation to flooding. It is amazing to me to hear stories of flooding in the city because in the 4 years I lived there, I would never have guessed that that would be possible in the city. The rivers are all quite small, lots of hilly terrain, and certainly while there was rain and snow, never anything like what we are seeing on the news.

The pictures we are seeing show Hillsborough stadium pitch covered in water, people being winched out of floodwaters by helicopters, and cars basically being swamped by water.

The house where we lived was built quite near to a little creek. There were quite steep banks but I can only imagine what the view out of our old kitchen window would be like at the moment.

I must try and get hold of the friends that I have still there and see if they are okay. They, and the others in the affected areas, are in my thoughts.

Image from BBC News - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6240038.stm

Books and Bucks Meme

Five Reasons the Best Writers Come from the Outback - and no, that isn't the US restaurant chain....the REAL outback! Sorry...no onion bread!

1. Need a cast of colourful secondary characters? It takes a special kind of person to live in the Outback for years at a time! They definitely count as colourful!

2. Lost your inspiration - the local pub is the best place to go searching for it! And it's likely you can get a nice cold drink to help cool down at the same time! Multi-tasking - you gotta love it!

3. Beautiful landscapes, vivid colours, wide open spaces. Wait...we're not meant to be painting are we?

4. You can talk to yourself, and your characters, all you like. After all, when your closest neighbours live hundreds of miles away, you can't just drop in for a coffee when you want to have a chat!

5. Well....what else is there to do?

Tied to the Tracks by Rosina Lippi. July 3, 2007. ISBN: 0425215326

"[This] is a hilarious, smart, sexy novel with a heart of gold." -- Susan Wiggs

"[Lippi] turns her buoyant creative talents to the romantic comedy genre with an effervescent tale of a trio of offbeat Yankee filmmakers plunked down deep in the heart of Dixie." -- Booklist

Read an excerpt. (Adobe Reader required)| Watch the book trailer

You can find Tied to the Tracks at Amazon , Barnes & Nobel, Borders, Powells, or at your local independent bookseller.

This meme has been entered in the Tied to the Tracks contest, originating on Rosina Lippi's Storytelling2 weblog. If you'd like to enter the BUCKS & BOOKS meme contest, get the rules here.

Blog rating

I've seen this on a couple of blogs (most recently at Books of My Numberless Dreams), so thought I would check out my own blog!






Apparently, my blog is unsuitable for anyone under the age of 17 to read! Although the words "murder" (used 4 times), "pain" (used twice) and "hell" (used once)are enough to trigger an R rating.

How about you?

Shadows and Light by Anne Bishop

Ever since the slaughter of the witches, the Fae - who should be shielding their long-lost cousins from danger- have ignored the needs of the rest of the world. And shadows are again gathering in the Eastern villages - dark, potent shadows that threaten the lives of every witch, woman, and Fae. Only three Fae can stand against the growing madness and help prevent more bloodshed - the Bard, the Muse, and the Gatherer of Souls.

Aiden, the Bard knows how desperately the world depends upon the Fae's protection. but the Fae refuse to heed his warnings about the wickedness lurking amid the trees. Now Aiden and his one true love - Lyrra, the Muse - must embark on a perilous journey to find the one Fae who can convince the rest to leave their secure perches to save the witches and mortals. Because if the Fae don't act soon, no one will survive...

This is the second book in the Tir Alainn trilogy and follows on from Pillars of the World, and features many of the same characters. This time, the focus is more on Aiden, Lyrra and Morag. Aiden and Lyrra in particular are travelling through Tir Alainn trying to convince the other members of the Fae of the importance of the witches role in keeping their world whole.

Once again, the Inquisitors are at work, trying to bring all of the women under control, and to specifically destroy the power of the witches. This time, they are trying to exert their power by getting the most powerful leaders in the country to come round to their way of thinking and ban all women from reading, writing, painting, basically anything that can be seen to require independent thought is banned to all women in certain parts in the country.

We are introduced to a young baron, Liam, who is making his way to his first Baron's council, and as he starts to hear of plans to expand this policy across the country, he protests vigorously. The Inquisitor's are however very dangerous men, and Liam finds his life in danger, and has to flee back to his home via a very circuitous route. Liam and his new friend and fellow baron Patrick are determined to protect their women folk as much as they can, especially given that both of them have connections to Fae or witches themselves.

Meanwhile, Neall and Ari, who we first met in the last book have settled in their new home, and have Morag, The Gatherer, with them. As danger comes closer to their idyllic home, Aiden and Lyrra appear and no one is sure whether The Bard and The Muse can be fully trusted. It could be that sometimes you just need to take a risk in order to prevail.

In many ways this book feels like a second book! I know that that probably sounds funny in a way. It's just that it was very readable, but there were many things that were introduced that weren't explained. I realised that they probably will be in the third and final book, but by having things like Liam's power, Breanna (Liam's half sister) and Falco's budding relationship, and other things introduced and then kind of just left hanging meant that this book felt incomplete in many ways.

Another example is the marriage between Aiden and Lyrra. Whilst the reasons for their unusual union (in the Fae world at least) were very nicely written, there was lots mentioned about how horrified the rest of the Fae would be, but then when they met other Fae it either just wasn't mentioned, or was accepted.

So whilst I enjoyed reading this one, and am looking forward to reading the third and final book in this trilogy, it wasn't without it's faults!

Rating 4/5

Am I kidding myself?

I am trying to convince myself that my library list is now a bit more under control. Well...it is if you only look at the books I have on request! There is only one of the 11 books on request that the library already owns...the rest are books on order. Can't get much better than that surely.


Pardon? What's that you asked? How many library books do I have out at the moment? Well.....45......but we don't want to talk about that right now!

The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick

Following early beginnings as a knight in the English royal household and a champion of the tourneys, William Marshal's prowess and loyalty have been rewarded by the hand in marriage of Isabelle de Clare, heiress to great estates in England, Normandy and Ireland. Now a powerful magnate, William has weathered the difficult years of King Richard's absence on crusade and is currently serving him on campaign in Normandy while Isabelle governs their estates.

All the stability William and Isabelle have enjoyed with their young and growing family comes crashing down as Richard dies and his brother John becomes King. Rebellion is stirring throughout the Angevin domains and although John has created William Earl of Pembroke, the friction between the two men leads William and Isabelle to distance themselves in Ireland. The situation escalates, with John holding their sons as hostages and seizing their English lands. The conflict between remaining loyal and rebelling over injustices committed, threatens to tear William and Isabelle's marriage and their family apart. As the dramatic events unfold, William has to steer an increasingly precarious path that will lead him eventually to the rule of a country in desperate straits, and Isabelle walks with him every step of the way, fiercely intelligent, courageous - fearing for the man who is the light of her life.

The Scarlet Lion is a captivating historical novel, based on the true story of one of England's greatest leaders. Elizabeth Chadwick skillfully illuminates the complex lives of William Marshal, his wife Isabelle and the turbulent era of the early thirteenth century with all the texture, colour and dramatic detail of the richest stained-glass window.

Again this is a book that I finished a while ago, and having got around to reviewing yet!

The Greatest Knight was the first book that I read by Elizabeth Chadwick, and I really, really enjoyed it, so when this book came out, I had it on my request list as soon as it was added to the library catalogue! And I wasn't disappointed!

The Scarlet Lion basically picked up where The Greatest Knight left off. William and Isabel were married and enjoying life together. William was still serving the all powerful Angevin kings and queens of England, with Isabelle regularly giving birth to an ever growing number of children. Things are, however, destined to become a little less stable with the news that King Richard (known as The Lionheart) has died, and that he has supposedly named his duplicitous younger brother John as his successor.

What follows is episode after episode of betrayal, double crossing, promises and lies as John and William constantly clash, to the point where many of their lands are taken away, only to be returned at later times. John is a very tricky man. He often doesn't want William at court, and yet he will play games with his approval for William and family to return to their Irish lands. Even there, John's hand can be seen muddying the waters.

Isabelle was an amazing woman in her own right. It was through her family connections that William was entitled to rule many of their Irish lands. Not only did she give birth to many children, when she decides to remain in Ireland and William returns to court, Isabelle has to face their Irish enemies, defeat them and to pass judgement when 9 months pregnant.

She is also terribly torn, as John orders that two of her son's are bought to the court to learn to be squires and knights, much to the distress of William and Isabelle, who distrust John intensely. Whilst William continues to walk the fine line between obeying and defying John, their son's lives are literally in John's hands, and it is a dilemma that begins to form a breech in the formerly strong relationship between them. The breech grows larger, as John and his cohorts begin to influence the eldest son and heir, there is yet more dissension, this time between father and son, and in the end, there is a potentially a stand off looming between father and son.

Yet for all the political maneuvering, William manages to keep a couple of major assets - his honour and the respect of his peers, even those who don't always agree with him - and when John dies, it is William who is asked to lead the country, acting as regent to the young king, Henry III.

Chadwick has once again delivered a fantastic story, filled with the colorful characters of time past - real people with different problems than ours, but yet still with other recognisable problems that we can identify with - the pains of letting go of children, of family disharmony, of growing older.

The story of William Marshal's life, begun in The Greatest Knight, and continued in this book, is a very interesting and exciting one, and both books are well worth reading. I really do intend to read some of Chadwick's earlier works and work my way through her backlist!

Rating 4.5/5

Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas

SHE'S FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS

Liberty Jones has dreams and determination that will take her far away from Welcome, Texas - if she can keep her wild heart from ruling her mind. Hardy Cates sees Liberty as completely off-limits. His own ambitions are bigger than Welcome, and Liberty Jones is a complication he doesn't need. But something magical and potent draws them to each other, in a dangerous attraction that is stronger than both of them.

HE'S THE ONE MAN SHE CAN'T HAVE

When Hardy leaves town to pursue his plans, Liberty finds herself alone with a young sister to raise. Soon Liberty finds herself under the spell of a billionaire tycoon - a Sugar Daddy, one might say. But the relationship goes deeper than people think, and Liberty begins to discover secrets about her own family's past.

WILL THEY FIND THEIR HEARTS' DESIRES OR WILL HEARTBREAK TEAR THEM APART?

Two men. One woman. A choice that can make her or break her. A woman you'll root for every step of the way. A love story you'll never forget.

So here's a test for a book! I read it weeks ago but only wrote down a couple of notes of my thoughts...so can I remember enough to write a review! Actually, I don't think it is too bad. It must be a sign of a good book that you can recall it fairly well after this length of time.

As everyone is no doubt aware, this was historical romance darling Lisa Kleypas' first foray into contemporary romance. Given how much I have enjoyed just about all of Kleypas' books that I have read, I was pretty confident that I would enjoy this one.

Reading the first part of the novel, I did begin to wonder whether or not the book was actually going to turn out to be a romance at all, because it is very unusual to get first person background for a character in the way that we did in this book. We hear about Liberty's youth and childhood, and in particular the effect of her life when she had to become the carer for her much younger sister Carrington. Also, we meet Hardy, the older teen that Liberty comes to love, in what is pretty much an unfulfilled relationship, because Hardy is determined not to capitulate to the cliches as so many others have done in their home town of Welcome, Texas. Hardy is determined to be something.

Having moved to Houston with Carrington, Liberty has a couple of pieces of luck and she begins to make her way through life. She eventually meets an older gentleman by the name of Churchill Travis, and I began to shudder - surely, surely not...this couldn't be what the title kind of implied! Churchill ends up being more of a guardian angel than a sugar daddy (thank goodness), offering Liberty a job, and both Liberty and Carrington a place to stay. Churchill's son, Gage, is particularly concerned by Liberty's motives in getting so involved in his father's life, but it isn't long before sparks begin to fly between Liberty and Gage.

In the last third of the book, the romance aspect definitely kicks in, and all looks to be smooth sailing, until just as Liberty begins to trust her feelings for Gage, Hardy shows up again, and this time he's ready for love, and Liberty needs to figure out her feelings and choose between two very different men.

I did think Hardy was a bit presumptuous waltzing into Liberty's life and expecting her to choose him, but I did think that Gage was a great match for Liberty.

One thing though...to me it did feel like a bit of a historical romance novel epilogue! But I guess some habits are hard to break!

As well as the upcoming release featuring Cam who made a brief appearance in Devil in Winter, there apparently is going to be another contemporary novel from Lisa Kleypas. I will be reading both of them! I do have just a few more of her historicals to read at some point to, but I am just about caught up on her backlist I think.

Rating 4/5

Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Hannah Swensen and her bakery, The Cookie Jar, bask in the glow of Hollywood glamour when Main Street becomes a movie set. And although tensions simmer as the cameras roll, no one expects the action to turn deadly...until it's too late...

There's no such thing as privacy in Lake Eden, but Hannah never thought things would go this far. Everyone has been telling her what to do ever since she got not one but two marriage proposals. Movie mania soon shoves Hannah's marriage dilemma into the background and even gives her cat a shot at stardom. The Cookie Jar serves as snack central with Main Street rented out for the week. She stirs lots of fresh gossip, whipping up treats for cast and crew, including demanding direct Dean Lawrence's favourite - cherry cheesecake.

Everything's on schedule until Dean demonstrates a suicide scene with a prop gun that turns out to be all too real. As filming continues, Hannah sifts through the clues, hoping against hope that the person responsible for Dean's death is half-baked enough to have made a mistake. When it happens, Hannah intends to be there- ready to rewrite a killer's lethal script with the kind of quirky ending that can only happen in Lake Eden...

It has actually been nearly 18 months since I read a Hannah Swensen story, and whilst I knew that I was a bit jaded with the relationship aspect of the book, I couldn't think of any other reasons why I hadn't read any. So I went ahead and bought this book, and now I remember! I guess I have a few months before the next book in the series comes out in paperback, and whether or not I am ready to give it another try!

SPOILER WARNINGS....SPOILER WARNINGS!


This post may well turn into a bit of a rant, so I can't guarantee that there won't be any spoilers in this review for anyone who hasn't read the last couple of books in this series. In all honesty, I probably should not call this be a review, because there were a few things that happened in this book that made me think about giving up this series, and therefore I am going to talk about them, as opposed to the actual storyline of the book! Where to start?

The Movie:

So, it turns out that there is going to be a movie that will have some of it's scenes filmed in Lake Eden. Fair enough. The news comes in, and then just days later the movie crew arrives. Okkkaaayyy. But then it turns out that some of the central roles in the film haven't yet been cast. I understand minor characters, but to have pretty integral roles not cast seems unusual to say the least. Of course, luckily, Hannah's precocious niece Tracy is perfect for the role. Can you see me rolling my eyes!

The Family:

Hannah's sister Andrea seems to think her husband Bill who has gone to a policing conference in Florida is having an affair, and there is a lot of time spent in the early parts of the book, talking through whether or not he is! And there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that he is! Andrea is annoying most of the time! Then there's the fact that she has a new baby that she doesn't seem to spend any time with. And this time there is the younger sister Michelle in the story more than usual. At least I don't want to slap her.

The Incidentals:

There was some talk about stuff that was completely irrelevant to the story in this one. For example, at one point in the book the three sisters were talking about marcelling - basically the finger wave that they used in the 20's and 30's - it seemed as though Fluke had learnt something new and then wanted to add it into the story. Of course, then there is the old murder that crops up and is resolved in the last few pages as an added extra!

The cat:

I'm sure that other cat people think Moishe is adorable, but I think he needs less page time!

And now for the big one - The Relationships - and this is where the spoilers will come in.

At the end of the last book, both men that Hannah is dating, Mike and Norman, proposed to her. Now to be honest I didn't get that myself. She has apparently been dating both of them for well over a year. There is no suggestion of hanky panky with either man, but it seems that they both love Hannah enough to want to propose marriage. So this book opens with Hannah thinking about which man to accept - Mike or Norman - and the whole town has taken sides and is putting pressure on her to make up her mind. Eventually, she says no to both of them - or more precisely said that when she has decided to get married she will be asking the man that she wants to marry, so whilst they both sulk they both hang around. So, what is an author to do when she has an unresolved love triangle??? Add another suitor of course!! Ugh. To be honest, I think that both Mike and Norman are schmucks for putting up with Hannah's crap, no matter how irresistable she is, even though she is apparently plain and a little on the plump side. Perhaps it is her cookie making skills that are so attractive??

As to who I would choose - no contest - Mike Kingston, the hot policeman...without a doubt!

At the end of the new potential suitor leaves town, and you have everyone gathered at a family gathering. Hannah is sitting between Norman and Mike, and seemingly thinking that everything is well with the world, which I don't get either. Unless I really misunderstand the dating rules in the US, it doesn't exactly seem like a normal situation to me. Hannah thinks to herself:

Hannah smiled at Norman and then she turned to smile at Mike. On past occasions she'd resented the fact that she was always seated between them. She'd even made cracks about being the filling in a Mike and Norman sandwich. Today she didn't mind at all. She'd upset their equilibrium by going out with Ross and it was time to reassure them. Ross was like an exotic dessert, a diversion to tingle the taste buds and make her savor her own life with a more discerning palate. he was like a baked Alaska flambeed with fine brandy, flashy and exciting, but not something you'd serve with an ordinary supper of meat and potatoes. Mike and Norman were more like ....cookies. Cookies were something you could have every day without ever tiring of them.

She then goes on to choose what type of cookies, they would be. Norman would be an Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookie...."perfect for any occasion and at any time of day", and Mike a Black-and-white cookie....."perfectly shaped and gorgeous to look at. It was sweet on the outside, and darker and more intense once you got past the powdered sugar." In my opinion, they both need to give Hannah the flick....or Mike could have me, and Hannah can have Norman!



So having said very little about the actual storyline, I can tell you that these things annoyed me so much that I was going to rate this as 2.5/5, but I do have to concede that the recipes included in the mystery sound great, so instead I give it...


Rating 3/5