Me...jealous? Nooooo!

I was happily reading my book on the train tonight when I looked up, and what did I see? There was a woman standing less than 2 metres away from me reading Lover Unbound by JR Ward! Talk about a distraction. I started to go back to my book, and just looked at the page and thought "I don't wanna read this! Where's my Lover Unbound! Where is it????" I did manage to eventually start reading my book, but as I got off the train the lady was right next to me, so I just had to ask her if it was good or not, even though she wasn't far into it herself!


So....where's mine? Huh? Huh?

Witness in Death by J D Robb

Opening night at New York's New Globe Theater turns from stage scene to crime scene when the leading man is stabbed to death center stage. Now Eve Dallas has a high-profile, celebrity homicide on her hands. Not only is she lead detective, she's also a witness - and when the press discovers that her husband owns the theater, there's more media spotlight than either can handle. The only way out is to move fast. Question everyone and everything...and in the meantime, try to tell the difference between the truth - and really good acting...

It almost seems as though every time I write a review of a JD Robb book, at some point or another I will say something along the lines of 'it's amazing how consistently well written this series is' and to be honest, I am not going to be saying anything different this time either!

Eve and Roarke are attending the opening night of a play at his newly renovated theatre. The play is Witness for the Prosecution, and the night is going well until suddenly it becomes apparent that something has gone horribly wrong. A man was supposed to act as though he had been stabbed, but instead....he has really been stabbed. Now the question is who had the motive to want him dead? Who had the opportunity? How the heck are they going to interview 3000 plus witnesses, and are the main players as innocent as they seem, or just really good actors?

Eve and Roarke again work well together, although as ever, the ghosts of the past are haunting Eve, particularly as the truth comes to light about the victim. Roarke's strength once again shines through, and the partnership that they are building is coming together beautifully.

The twists and turns of the plot were interesting, and whilst in some ways I had figured out where it was going, the final twist was clever enough to be somewhat of a surprise, even if the motiviation wasn't!

J D Robb has got the mix of action between the primary characters (Eve and Roarke) and the secondary characters like Peabody and McNab really well balanced, although there wasn't much of Mavis in this one!

As usual, I can't wait to get to the next one!

Rating 4/5

The House of Gaian by Anne Bishop

Fragile Bonds are Brutally Tested....

It began as a witch-hunt. But the Master Inquisitor's plans to eliminate all traces of female power in the world have expended to crushing the Sylvalan barons who oppose him - and to destroying the wellspring of magic in the Mother's Hills.

Faced with this evil, humans, witches, and the Fae become uneasy allies. But even together they aren't strong enough to stand against the armies the Inquisitors are gathering. So they look for help from their last possible ally: the House of Gaian. The reclusive witches who rule the Mother's Hills. The witches powerful enough to create a world - or to destroy one....

And the witches' long-held creed of 'Do No Harm' is about to give way to a more important one: Survive.

I will apologise in advance that this is going to be a quickie review, simply because I finished it so long ago, that I can remember general things but not necessarily specifics!

In the conclusion to the Tir Alainn trilogy, the world as it is knows is coming to an end unless the Bard can join forces with the new Huntress, who also happens to be one of the House of Gaian. They must stop the Master Inquisitor from destroying the world, but at the same time many of the characters must find the inner strength within them, and the strength of love to bind them together and hold them through tough times. For brother and sister Liam and Breanna this may mean finding love in unexpected places, and the brother/sister dynamics here were well written as Liam seeks to protect Breanna, which she does everything she can to escape his protection. The glimpses of amusement in the pages were a welcome respite from the looming battle between good and evil, between death and survival.

I do think that Bishop struggled to find who the central characters were in this series - were the main characters Aiden and Lyrra, or Breanna and Liam, Neall and Ari or others. I suspect that it was supposed to be more of an ensemble cast, but at times the narrative was a bit clunky, and the changes of perspective a bit too uneven to work fully as an ensemble piece.

If there are fans of the Black Jewels books who begin to read this story, there is a chance that they will not enjoy the same fantastic experience as the Black Jewels trilogy but I did close the book with a sigh of enjoyment, and having enjoyed the ride through this trilogy.

This trilogy, which started with Pillars of the World and continued in Shadows and Light is definitely worth reading!

Rating 4/5

Library crazy

It's been ages since I have put up a list of all the books I have out from the library at the moment, so when I saw Danielle's list over at A Work in Progress I thought that I might post my list! For a little while there I had it down to only 35 books out, but now I am back up over the 40 mark! Whoops!

So we will start with the books that I have currently got out:

The Boar Stone by Jules Watson - I've finished this...just need to take it back!

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - last years Booker Prize winner

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon

Never Seduce a Scoundrel by Sabrina Jeffries

The Last Great Dance on Earth by Sandra Gulland - third book in the Josephine B trilogy

Angel in my Bed by Melody Thomas

The Observations by Jane Harris - I have borrowed this a couple of times now. I am determined to read it this time!

Silhouette in Scarlet by Elizabeth Peters

Further Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes

Winnie and Wolf by A N Wilson - on this year's Booker long list

Dreaming the Hound by Manda Scott - third book in the Boudica trilogy

The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood - fifth book in the Phryne Fisher series

Seeing a Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters - ninth book in the Amelia Peabody series

The Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini - eighth book in the Elm Creek Quilts series

Peony in Love by Lisa See

Mermaid of Penperro by Lisa Cach

Barbed Wire and Roses by Peter Yeldham

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong - fourth book in the Women of the Otherworld series

Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan - on this year's Booker long list

The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho - on this year's Booker long list

The Night Drifter by Susan Carroll - second book in the St. Ledger trilogy

Shadowbrook by Beverley Swerling

Judgement in Death by J D Robb

Lord of Fire by Gaelen Foley

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Drowned Wednesday by Garth Nix

The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith

Weight by Jeanette Winterson

Firestorm by Rachel Caine

Only in my Arms by Jo Goodman

Where Dreams Begin by Lisa Kleypas

Lady in Blue by Javier Sierra

London's Perfect Scoundrel by Suzanne Enoch

A Woman's Place by Lynn Austin

The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown anthology

Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

Society Whirl includes stories by Michelle Styles and someone else

Sebastian by Anne Bishop


And these are the ones I have on request at the moment:


Blood Fever by Karen Marie Moning

The book of air and shadows by Michael Gruber

Carpentaria by Alexis Wright - winner of this year's Miles Franklin award

Engagement between enemies by Kathie DeNosky

Grave surprise by Charlaine Harris - this has been On Order for months. I wonder if they are ever going to get it!

High noon by Nora Roberts

A long way gone memoirs of a boy soldier by Ishmael Beah

Portrait of an unknown woman by Vanora Bennett - this has been On Order for ages too!

Shadows in bronze by Lindsey Davis

Solomon key by Dan Brown

Super dragon ball Z. (PS2) (not for me!)

Unpolished gem by Alice Pung

Comfort Food

A little late, but her is this week's Booking Through Thursday question:

Okay . . . picture this (really) worst-case scenario: It’s cold and raining, your boyfriend/girlfriend has just dumped you, you’ve just been fired, the pile of unpaid bills is sky-high, your beloved pet has recently died, and you think you’re coming down with a cold. All you want to do (other than hiding under the covers) is to curl up with a good book, something warm and comforting that will make you feel better.

What do you read?

(Any bets on how quickly somebody says the Bible or some other religious text? A good choice, to be sure, but to be honest, I was thinking more along the lines of fiction…. Unless I laid it on a little strong in the string of catastrophes? Maybe I should have just stuck to catching a cold on a rainy day….)

I would without doubt be grabbing a historical romance novel, but I can't really be any more specific from that because I don't actually reread books very often, and so it isn't any one book that I grab but rather a book from a particular genre. Occasionally I might go for a nice cozy mystery as well, but it really just depends! Of course, I would also be comforting myself with some chocolate as well!

Why We Read What We Read by John Heath and Lisa Adams

What do weight loss, evil emperors and tales of redemption have in common?

We readers have many dirty little secrets—and our bestselling books are spilling them all. We can’t resist conspiratorial crooks or the number 7. We have bought millions of books about cheese. And over a million of us read more than 50 nearly identical books every single year.

In Why We Read What We Read, Lisa Adams and John Heath take an insightful and often hilarious tour through nearly 200 bestselling books, ferreting out their persistent themes and determining what those say about what we believe and how we relate to one another.

This is a very different read for me! I don't normally read much non fiction, much less do I remember reading any books that are really about reading. The idea behind this book was to have a look at the bestsellers over a period of time and try to figure out what the reading patterns (or probably more precisely, the book buying habits) of the American public can tell us. Make no mistake, this is very much a book that is targeted to the American reading public - there is little consideration about other reading populaces around the world. That's a completely understandable focus to have - it's just that I don't actually fit into that target demographic!

In trying to undertake this analysis, the authors have broken the book into several distinct genres - books focused on diet/wealth creation etc, adventure novels and political books (with particular focus on the numerous books that came out just prior to the 2004 US elections), self help in terms of relationships and romance novels, literary fiction and religious literature.

Whilst it must be quite difficult to undertake a study of hundreds of books that have been published over a period of 15 years or so, glean some lessons and put it into a form that both makes sense and also is readable,the authors do quite admirably in this area. There are plenty of light hearted, tongue in cheek comments, either aimed at specific types of books, or the authors/reading public etc. In fact, some of them were laugh out loud funny, and that certainly made a potentially dry read much more interesting in parts. Whilst there are some interesting points raised throughout the book, but maybe it is would have been better to break this kind of book into sections and just read a section at a time. Where I really did struggle is with some of the conclusions drawn, because it would appear that from my reading habits, I am doomed...doomed I tell you!

For me, there were some chapters that were harder work than others, most particularly because there were a whole heap of books that either never made it big in Australia, or where I just don't read those genres (for example, political books). The chapters that I had the most reaction to were the chapters about literary fiction and romance because they are what I do read, so I will focus more on those sections in the following paragraphs.

Romance is lumped together in a chapter called Hopefully Ever After with the profusion of relationship books out that were popular during the 90s like Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus and Relationship Rescue by Dr Phil. The authors look at many of the big names in romance - Roberts, Howard, Evanovich (they are big fans of Janet!), Woodiwiss and Quinn all get a mention, as well as Sparks and some romantic fiction like The Time Traveller's Wife and Girl with A Pearl Earring - and for a while there I actually began to think that maybe, just maybe, the conclusions wouldn't point to all the normal cliches that are drawn about romance readers, but alas it wasn't to be! Apart from the fact that basically it ended up being suggested that reading romances was a coping mechanism, "over a million of those [romance readers] consume an astounding 51-100+ books a year! These numbers suggest that a great many people are intensely reliant on the emotional effects of reading these books." And the final conclusions on this subject...."It's sadder still to learn that we love to read about love because we have so little of it". Last year I read over 100 romances, but having said that, I also read more than 100 books from other genres as well!

And what about other genres - specifically literary fiction. Well, things don't look that great here either. As readers we love to read about the triumph of the human spirit, about ways of being able to assuage our guilt, about redemption. The fact that nearly every single book on the list either has a happy ending, or at least the hope of a happy ending just helps the conclusion that we are sticking our head in the sand about real life as we read, because in real life, there isn't always a happy ever after. Oprah gets a fair amount of page space in this section, and she probably comes out of it with a little more credit than a lot of people seem to give her, although she is somewhat criticised for encouraging the internalisation by her readers of the books that she has chosen for her book club.

Of course, there could be no look at the bestseller lists of the early 2000's without mentioning one book, and that book gets significant page space - especially looking at how it is that Dan Brown basically wrote the same book twice and yet one was initially a dud, and the other a smash hit.

Man it sucks being a miserable reader! I'm not sure if I need to go and pick up a romance novel and try to cope, or whether I should pick up the literary fiction I am reading and contemplate if I have anything to feel guilty about!

Thanks to Source Books for sending this book to me for review.

Rating 3/5

Booker Prize 2007 Shortlist

So, the shortlist has been announced! Despite my best intentions I haven't actually read any of the longlist nominations yet, but I do have The Welsh Girl and On Chesil Beach out from the library at the moment!


# Darkmans by Nicola Barker (Fourth Estate)
# The Gathering by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape)
# The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Hamish Hamilton)
# Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (John Murray)
# On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape)
# Animal’s People by Indra Sinha (Simon & Schuster

Goldilocks

This week's Booking Through Thursday question:

Okay, so the other day, a friend was commenting on my monthly reading list and asked when I found the time to read. In the ensuing discussion, she described herself as a “goldilocks” when it comes to reading–she needs to have everything juuuuuust right to be able to focus. This caught my attention because, first, I thought that was a charming way of describing the condition, but, two, while we’ve talked about our reading habits, this is an interesting wrinkle. I’d never really thought about it that way.

So, this is my question to you–are you a Goldilocks kind of reader?

Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?

Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

So, what's the opposite of goldilocks?

I read anywhere and everywhere! Mainly on the train, and in bed at night, but also in the car at traffic lights if the traffic is bad, whilst waiting for kids sport to finish, in the doctors surgery.....just about anywhere!

So where, or more precisely, when is the only time I don't read? The answer is at lunchtime when I am at work, because I know that if I get sucked into a really good book then I know that I either will completely lose track of the time and get back from lunch really late, or I will sit there thinking about the book when I am supposed to be doing other things!

Spring has sprung!

Well, actually, it's been sprung for a few days now, but today is officially the first day of spring, and it was a beautiful day today! The backyard looks much better now that the lawn has been mowed, the roses have been pruned! The only problem with that was that it was me doing the mowing and now I am exhausted!

In other news, the Australian Rules football season is coming to a close, with this week the last week of the normal season! Next week the finals start, and thankfully, my boys just scraped in to the finals. I'm hoping that their game might be in Melbourne so that we can go to a finals game, but we will see! With our captain retiring at the end of the season, it is one last chance for glory before there is a changing of the guard! Go Crows!

I've posted a review over on Historical Tapestry on The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani. This was a really good read about a young girl growing up in 17th century Persia. Not your normal setting for a Historical Fiction book. Be sure to check out the review by clicking here!

Reunion of Revenge by Kathie DeNosky

Thirteen years ago, Nick Daniels had been minutes away from marrying Cheyenne Holbrook when the wedding came to a startling halt. Forced out of town by Cheyenne's powerful, menacing father, Nick vowed to return and seek revenge on the woman he believed had turned on him.

Now, an unexpected inheritance made Nick the owner of a Wyoming ranch — and Cheyenne's boss. All Nick's fantasies for revenge were about to come true. But first he'd have to fight off some other desires. Ones that involved tempting Cheyenne into his bed — and marching her down the aisle once and for all....

You know how my last review said that I very rarely read a series out of order? Well, this is the second book in The Illegitimate Heirs trilogy, and I haven't read the first book!

I hadn't actually heard of this author before I read her. The only reason I did read her was that this book was in a 2-in-1 book with Nalini Singh's Secrets in the Marriage Bed, and I figured that seeing as I had it, I might as well read it and see how it was!

Nick Daniels has recently found out that far from being a man who has to work to make ends meet that he is actually heir to a fortune. His newly acquired grandmother has given him a ranch. Not just any ranch, but the ranch where he grew up, and where the woman he nearly married lived. When he gets to his new home, he is surprised to find the same woman still lives nearby, but now she is his employee as well - a situation that they will both find uncomfortable.

For Cheyenne, having Nick as her new boss is a nightmare, but she has no choice. She has a contract and has to work to be able to look after her disabled father. What Nick doesn't know, is that she has never met another man who she wanted to give herself too so she is still a virgin. When they decide to have a no strings affair, it isn't long before it isn't enough for either of them.

As romances go, this one was not too bad, but the whole "I haven't found anyone I wanted to have sex with for 13 years, but now that you are here I am going to have a full blown affair" thing doesn't really work for me, but other than that it was readable. There was one other twist at the end which I was left shaking my head at as well.

I was however interested enough to find out if the library has the other two books in the trilogy or not (which they do), but wouldn't have been interested enough to have to pay for the books! It's funny really, because this is the second new author I have found to read because their book was in a 2-for-1 deal with Nalini's books! The other one was Maureen Child who I enjoyed reading when I read The Last Reilly Standing.

Rating: 3.5/5

Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters

Meet art historian Vicky Bliss, She is as beautiful as she is brainy--with unassailable courage, insatiable curiosity, and an expertise in lost museum treasures that often leads her into the most dangerous of situations.

A missing masterwork in wood, the last creation of a master carver who died in the violent tumult of the sixteenth century, may be hidden in a medieval German castle in the town of Rothenburg. The prize has called to Vicky Bliss, drawing her and an arrogant male colleague into the forbidding citadel and its dark secrets. But the treasure hunt soon turns deadly. Here, where the blood of the long forgotten damned stains ancient stones, Vicky must face two equally perilous possibilities. Either a powerful supernatural evil inhabits this place. . .or someone frighteningly real is willing to kill for what Vicky is determined to find.

This is the first book in the Vicky Bliss series of mysteries by Elizabeth Peters, who also writes the Amelia Peabody series of mysteries that I have been working my way through over the last year or so. I had already read the second book in the Vicky Bliss series, which is called Street of the Five Moons. It's very unusual for me to read a series out of order, and it is something that caused me to have at least big issue for me in this book. In fact, to say it was an issue is probably an understatement, because it was really distracting as I posted at the time!

We meet Vicky in America, where she is a history instructor at a small town college. She is also involved with another history instructor called Tony, and when they both find out about an important relic, they become competitors in the race to find the priceless religious shrine. They are not the only people searching for the shrine. There is also an avid art collector who has decided that he wants it, and then when they make it to the castle, there are also some other characters who seem to be involved as well. It may end up being more than just a race for the prize - it could be a race for their lives!

The details that are imbued in most Peters' books are here - fantastic settings (in this case a Gothic castle), creepy characters that you really can't be sure are all that bad, but neither are they all that good, lots of details about the object that is being searched for, all set amongst a mad cap plot and pithy dialogue between the main characters.

In the comments of the post that I linked to above where I talked about my frustration about what happened to Tony, Rosario suggested that this book is really a prelude to the series proper. It sets the scene for how Vicky comes to be living in Munich and working for Herr Professor in the next book, and I think I am in agreement with her.

So, while this was a lot of fun, there was still a big but in there for me! If I had read this book first (as I am normally so obsessive about reading in order I would usually do so) I'm sure that I would be rating it higher, but as it is I was very distracted during the reading of the book itself.

Rating: 4/5

Statistics

This week's Booking Through Thursday question:

There was a widely bruited-about statistic reported last week, stating that 1 in 4 Americans did not read a single book last year. Clearly, we don’t fall into that category, but . . . how many of our friends do? Do you have friends/family who read as much as you do? Or are you the only person you know who has a serious reading habit?

I am lucky in that I am surrounded by a number of readers. The girl I sit next to and I have regular book chats, and there is at least one person at work who comes to have a look at my blog to see what I have been reading if we haven't talked books for a while. My sister likes to read, but she finds it much harder work than I do. Having said that, there are at least two people at work who haven't read a book in the 3 or 4 years that I have known them. We have agreed to disagree, because at least one of those is completely DVD obsessed, whilst I am not!


BTW....I've posted a review over at Historical Tapestry, this time for The Tilecutter's Penny by Caiseal Mor.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

'Investigating other people's tragedies and cock-ups and misfortunes was all he knew. He was used to being a voyeur, the outsider looking in, and nothing, but nothing, that anyone did surprised him any more. Yet despite everything he'd seen and done, inside Jackson there remained a belief - a small, battered and bruised belief - that his job was to help people be good rather than punish them for being bad.'

Cambridge is sweltering, during an unusually hot summer. To Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, the world consists of one accounting sheet - Lost on the left, Found on the right - and the two never seem to balance. His days are full of people clamouring for answers and explanations. A jealous husband suspects his wife. Two spinster sisters make a shocking find. A solicitor investigates an old murder. A nurse has lost her niece; a widow, her cats.

Jackson has never felt at home in Cambridge, and has a failed marriage to prove it. He is forty-five but feels much, much older. He is at that dangerous age when men suddenly notice that they're going to die eventually, inevitably, and there isn't a damn thing they can do about it. Surrounded by death, intrigue and misfortune, his own life is brought sharply into focus.

Ingeniously plotted, full of suspense and heartbreak, CASE HISTORIES is a feat of bravura storytelling that conveys the mysteries of life, its inanities and its hilarities. It is a life-affirming work of profound insight and intelligence.

Jackson Brodie is a former police officer who has set up his own private investigator business. He becomes involved in three old cases, in addition to the one investigation that he already has where he has been enlisted to try and prove that a wife is cheating on her husband. The first case is 20 years old, and involved the disappearance of a 3 year old girl called Olivia Land. The Land family is very strange, and the three remaining older sisters are, what could only be called dysfunctional, and yet can it be that between the three of them, they may be able to provide the key details that will help unlock the mystery of what happened to their younger sister on a hot summer night so many years ago.

The second case has its roots in the apparently open and shut case of a young mother who apparently killed her husband. She asked her sister to look after her young baby, and after serving her time in jail, has now disappeared. Unfortunately the sister has lost track of the daughter and is now trying to track her down.

The third case is over 10 years old, and is about the seemingly random murder of 18 year old Laura Wyre. Her father has never been able to put the death of his beloved daughter behind him, and having collected every scrap of evidence he has been able to find, has asked Jackson to see if he can figure out what happened to her.

Whilst investigating these cases, Jackson also needs to deal with his own personal relationships. His relationship with his ex wife is somewhat hostile, but Jackson is doing his best to be a good father to his young daughter, a task made somewhat more difficult by the fact that Jackson seems to be having a bit of difficulty staying out of trouble at the moment! Jackson is also quite closed off about his past, but in the end some of those events in the past are the very ones that shapes the current Jackson.

Jackson is in many ways the quintessential jaded detective - hard bitten, unable to connect properly with others on many levels, and yet he is also more than that. I guess the word that I am looking for is probably multi faceted.

Woven through the narrative is also the story of a schoolteacher, who has suddenly realised that she is not happy in her life and is getting ready to run to a new life, not for the first time! Which of the cases is she connected to. It makes sense when you read the book, but the other characters are in many ways completely unaware of her.

Whilst this is a mystery book, it is also not a mystery. In some ways it is a character study of the people left behind when crimes are committed. Many of the characters seem to have no other connection other than through Jackson, and yet there are small things that happen in everyday life that also unknowingly connect these people as well. The other interesting thing is that whilst the reader knows the answers to that most basic of questions in any mystery - Who did it? - it is not necessarily the case that the characters have that same resolution.

Overall, quite an intense, but good, read!

Rate 4/5

Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Lou's Pages

Postcards from the Bed by Marian Keyes

'When people ask me what I do for a crust and I tell them that I am a novelist, they immediately assume that my life is a non-stop carousel of lims, television appearances, hair-dos, devoted fans, stalkers and all the glitzy paraphernalia of being a public figure.

It's time to set the record straight.

I write alone, in a darkened bedroom, wearing my PJs, eating bananas, my laptop on a pillow in front of me...'


Her novels are read and adored by millions around the world - now read Marian Keyes's collected pieces: regular bulletins from the bed.

Featuring a wide compilation of Marian's journalism from magazines and newspapers, plus some exclusive, previously unpublished materies, Postcards from the Bed is bursting with funny stories; observations on life, in-laws, weight loss, parties and driving lessons that will keep you utterly gripped - either wincing with recognition or roaring with laughter.

Marian loves shoes and her LTFs (Long-Term Friends), hates estate agents and lost luggage, and she once had a Christmas office party that involved roasting two sheep on a spit, Moroccan style. She's just like you and me...

This is actually the book that I was reading when I had to go and get my car windows fixed, and I did really enjoy it! Sitting in a cafe and in a car window repair shop and laughing out loud was a bit embarrassing but it is worth it.

There are a variety of different stories, some that make you laugh out loud, some that make you think, some that are poignant, and some that are just almost ridiculous! Whether writing whole novels, or short articles for newspapers or magazines, Keyes is always a fantastic read!

Interestingly enough, this book was published under the title Postcards from the Bed here in Australia, with this cover image, but I really struggled to find a picture of it, so I have settled for this one!


Rating 4/5

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life-the shapeshifter Quinn-but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit.

The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

Having read all of the Sookie Stackhouse books that are out, I put this one on the hold request list at the library as soon as it came on the catalogue because I was so eager. Having read it, I will definitely read the next book, but I might not be in quite such a hurry.

Once again the book is filled with all the usual suspects - Bill, Eric, Quinn, Sookie and also the Queen of Louisiana and her entourage, and this time they are off to the vampire summit, where Sookie is to use her talents as a telepath to try to find out anything that could help the queen, especially during the trial that she is due to face for the murder of her husband!

This book, in a way that I don't recall happening before in this series, got bogged down in the vampire politics, and there also seemed to be much more death and destruction in this one, particularly towards the end of the novel.

There are as always several possible love interests in this one, but I do wish that this question would be resolved a little more. I don't mind so much the very difficult choice that Sookie has between Eric and Quinn, but I do wish that Bill didn't still get trotted out again and again!

This isn't a book to start reading this series on. I don't think it would make any sense whatsoever if this was the first read for someone new to the series. Overall, I would say that this is one for the fans.

Rating 3.5/5

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of an evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may just be beginning....

Passionate, riveting, and deeply moving, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.

Yes, I know....everyone else in the world is currently obsessing on the next book in the series, Eclipse, but I have only just read New Moon (a couple of months ago), and now have to try and put a review together! I took this to Adelaide with me when I went to visit, and it was a nice way to escape from things when interactions with my mother and the ex got a bit much!

Edward decides that it is for the best if he and Bella split up, because when she gets a paper cut on her finger when opening a present on her birthday she is suddenly more than just attractive to her vampire family. Bella is absolutely devastated that Edward has left her, even though she can still "hear" his voice in her heart, and the book is very good at portraying that devastation. The only person who can seem to get through to Bella is her friend Jacob. The only problems are that Jacob has more than just friends feelings for Bella, and, well, he's going through some changes of his own, and these changes mean that he is destined to be the mortal enemies of the vampires.

When Edward finally returns to Bella's life, it is because this time she needs to save him from himself, as he has decided if he can't have Bella then it isn't worth living. What follows is a desperate flight to Europe to find him, and save him before he gives himself up to the powers that be. Bella seems determined that she needs to be turned into a vampire so that they can now be together, but Edward manages to talk her out of it. I guess it is a theme that will continue to be present through the next book in the series as well.

With it's cast of vampires and werewolves, this book is still an enjoyable read, but for me, not quite as compelling as Twilight was. Despite some of the average reviews that are around, I am still very interested in reading Eclipse. Hopefully I will get to it soon.

I do have to say that I love the covers in this series. So simple but beautiful and effective! Not so keen on the UK cover for Twilight but still!

Rating 4/5

Other Bloggers Thoughts:

The Bookworm - Naida

Secrets in the Marriage Bed by Nalini Singh

They were reconciling. That was all Caleb Callaghan could focus on when his estranged wife, Vicki, shared the news of her pregnancy. He was determined that this time, the marriage would succeed, no matter what it took.

But was Vicki’s price too high? She wanted more than his love and support…she demanded honesty between them, starting with his secrets. But there was something in Caleb’s past he could not—would not—share. For the truth would only destroy them.

I am slowly working through Nalini Singh's backlist. So far, the Desire books have been a bit hit and miss, but I have to say that this one was a HIT! I love the idea that this story about a couple who are married, and now need to work through the issues that have caused them to separate and find their happy ever after.

Caleb and Vicki have been separated for two months, when she finds out that she is pregnant. As soon as she tells Caleb, he insists that he must move back into their home and is determined that he is going to do anything he can to put their marriage back together, but she is determined that things will NOT go back to the way they were. Revealing some of the secrets that they have held from each other is possibly a higher price than they expected, but as they work their way through the issues from their past, their underlying love for each other begins to work it's magic.

Vicki is sick of being a trophy wife, and wants to find something useful to do with herself. Caleb is a successful lawyer whose business has in the past kept him working long hours and leaving Vicki to herself. Part of the reason that Caleb has stayed away is that whilst he wants his wife badly, and loves her desperately, she is somewhat frigid towards him in the bedroom, and he feels as though she doesn't like him touching her. For Vicky, she needs to figure out why Caleb is so driven to be successful, but then lets his family walk all over him constantly.

I loved that this was a story that very much focused on two people trying hard to get their lives back on track, and that as they communicated honestly and openly with each other, their relationship became stronger and stronger.

I can't think of too many other romances where the hero and heroine are already married, and now are working their way through their issues. It must be a risk to write one because if the reader doesn't believe that they have dealt with everything there will be a risk that whilst the book ends in a HEA, the couple themselves might not make it forever, but this one was believable to me!

Rating 4.5/5

Calamity Mum by Diana Palmer

A mum for all calamities...that was what Faulkner Scott's young son wanted. and the motherless twelve year old was determined to appoint Shelly Astor to the post!

I haven't read any Diana Palmer before, but I do have the impression around romance blog land that people either love her or shall we say dislike her intensely!

This was a novella that was included in a 3-in-1 Harlequin Desire book along with Reunion of Revenge by Kathie DeNosky and Secrets in the Marriage Bed by Nalini Singh, but was originally published in 1993. One of the things about contemporary novels is that it is possible that, unless the author is really careful, their novel will date as fashion and the world moves forward. For example, at one point in this novella, the hero, Faulkner Scott, was dressed in white pants, a white jacket, and a royal blue silk shirt....hmmmm....not sure if you would see that around too much these days!

As for the story itself, well, it was okay. Shelly Astor is a young society miss who has had to fight her parents tooth and nail to get permission to go to university to study, as she wants to become a social worker. She is therefore about 24, but when she meets Faulkner she lets him think that she is much younger than she really is, and keeps her well to do background to herself.

They meet when Faulkner's son Ben decides that Shelly should become his new mum after befriending her. She is definitely preferably to the woman who appears set to become his evil step mum. Faulkner is a successful and arrogant banker who works hard to provide for his son, but who really is a bit emotionally distant and doesn't know his son all that much.

After Shelly saves Ben's life, Faulkner begins to listen to Shelly, and begins to act on the attraction that he feels for her, but he makes it clear that there can be no future for them because he things she is too young, a virgin, not from the right background, and he doesn't want marriage stop things from going too far! Once he realises exactly who she is, things change and he can't live without her!

As in all novellas where the hero and heroine don't already have an existing relationship of some kind, the getting to know each other, falling in love and living happily ever after happen very quickly. There were a couple of really corny lines, including one after the wedding where Shelly and Faulkner are about to make love for the first time, when he asks her "Do you want me to make you pregnant?" as if he had the power to make it happen, but other than that it was an okay read!

Rating 3.5/5

Indoctrination

This week's Booking Through Thursday question:

Using a suggestion from Erin today:

When growing up did your family share your love of books? If so, did one person get you into reading? And, do you have any family-oriented memories with books and reading? (Family trips to bookstore, reading the same book as a sibling or parent, etc.)

You know, there are many ways that I am different from the rest of my family, and reading is only one of them!

I have no idea if my dad reads at all. I can't remember ever seeing him do so. My mum reads infrequently. My sister likes to read, but she finds it difficult and can read the same book for months. As for my younger brother, well, he reads a bit.

I most certainly can't remember taking family trips to the bookstore or the library, or anything like that. In fact, I can't even remember my mother reading with me for school.

It is one of the things that I am trying to do differently with my son. We often go to the bookstore and library together. When we go to Borders it is more likely to be me whining and saying "Can we go now" than the other way around! Another thing I try to do differently is to take him to exhibitions and museums and art galleries. Some times it works....sometimes it doesn't!

Another contest

This time from Dee and Dee Dish...About Books



The details are as follows:

Want the book? Blog for it! Copy/paste the cover .jpg and the highlighted Cover Copy onto your own blog, and link back here, or post me a comment. I'll list your blogs over on our sidebar. Next Wednesday, the night before I head out to Ohio, I'll have the oldest girl child pick a winner. You'll get my (slightly read) copy of AATHM. To make up for it being slightly read, I'll ask Jenny and Bob to sign it, just for YOU, when I see them on Thursday. NOW BLOG THIS BOOK ALREADY!

I am looking forward to reading this book! And to have a signed copy would be even better!