When is a book like a biscuit? ... let me explain

There is something very comforting about having favourite authors who are still writing, because we can buy their latest creation and feel confident that we have an inkling of the type of book we are getting into and that we will enjoy it (like selecting one of your preferred packets of biscuits : oat & raisin cookie or type of ice cream : white chocolate Magnum).  This is not to say you only ever go for this author/biscuit/ice cream - but you can depend on really enjoying what you are "devouring" when you select it!

Sophie Kinsella is one such author for me - from the the first novel I read by her "Can You Keep a Secret?" I loved it! So swiftly moved onto the Shopaholic series and have since enjoyed her standalone novels, I feel her writing has matured and her style developed  with "Twenties Girl" and "Finding Audrey" - which I read 2 months ago and was captivated by her perception of the troubled teen psyche.  The one I read this week was I've Got Your Number.  This may be an earlier novel, as the style reverts to that of Shopaholic or "The Undomestic Goddess" - some of the sticky situations our heroine Poppy gets into had my heart racing - SK has quite a distinctive knack - she gets you panicking in sympathy with her heroines.

Poppy has been swept up in a whirlwind romance, but there seem to be 'red flags' in the relationship: she is terrified of his high-profile, academic parents, her wedding planner is a disorganized friend of her fiance's family, and her colleague cant forgive her for snagging the eligible bachelor who should have been her client.  Mixed in with this is a comedy of errors where she loses her engagement ring & her mobile phone in the space of one afternoon, but a twist of fate provides a replacement phone from an unusual source, and suddenly the dynamics of Poppy's life are totally changed.

Another 'Favorite' author of mine is Janet Evanovitch - who writes her sassy Bounty Hunter series following the crime fighting antics of Stephanie Plum and her oddball collection of family & friends.  Because I am such a fan of these novels my attention was grabbed when I saw Innocent in Las Vegas: A Humorous Tiffany Black Mystery  by  A R Winters being described as a rival for Stephanie's fans, I had to give this first book a 'spin'.  I was delighted!  The story was gripping from the start, the narrative was fast paced and amusing, Tiffany's family were quirky and she was constantly in and out of danger (which she dealt with in unorthodox ways) so I was equally enthralled and amused.  I shall definitely be downloading her next adventure onto my kindle - why don't you check the books out too?  Tiffany's Grandmother looks likely to give 'Grandma Mazur' a run for her money - she loves to gamble and is a bit of a grifter!.

Where to Begin? ... Again!

Dear Reader - I am sorry I have been absent for a while, I do hope you have not been waiting for my 'recommendations' before you picked a book to read ... otherwise your Kindle will be cobwebbed, your bookshelf dusty and your neglected library card lurking down the arm of the sofa! (or is this just my sad housework-free status?!)  I am back after far too long of a break, and I have read such good books that I hardly know where to begin ... 

I just finished  Emma - an absolute classic by the talented Jane Austen.  It's been on my TBR pile for years - not when I was made to study Mansfield Park for my A Levels (Arrrgh! way back when!) but more recently - since 1995 when I began to love all things Austen, Pride and Prejudice being my favourite (and it's modern-day incarnation Bridget Jones' Diary).

Emma is a young lady, a little bit opinionated and definitely spoilt, but she and her family outrank all her neighbours, and her lone parent (her father) is in weak health, so it is not surprising that she gets a little above herself and runs amok trying to arrange love-lives and friendships as if she was playing a game with dolls.  Austen  apparently decided create a heroine who only she would like, but as reader you are privvy to all the thoughts which run through Emma's mind, so your sympathies and understanding are very much engaged - for this reason the book presents Emma better than the film (starring Gwyneth Paltrow) and the TV adaptation.

 The modernised version of this novel is Clueless (starring Alicia Silverstone) and the parallels are very clever, it remains as witty & well observed in the social "Do's & Don'ts" of its time as the JA original.

It is strange, when you realise that so much of the conversation and action  in the book is not 'live' but reported (as heard by Emma) - this is particularly effective for Miss Bates, who could witter on for England, and win a gold medal!

I highly recommend this book, and it has made me want to read more of JA's writing, perhaps I can finally revisit Mansfield Park - decades after my studies put me off it!


In contrast - although not as different as you might think - the next book I recommend is The Third Wife : Lisa Jewell.  LJ is well known for her books labelled 'chick lit' but they contain so much more than romance & following a lead female character through her life of juggling career & family.  This book in particular has a dark edge to it, a central character is killed off right at the beginning and the story unfolds through the eyes of those left behind, as well as with flashbacks from when she was alive.

The family is large and sprawling - Adrian has married 3 times - so there are complicated family dynamics (which LJ observes so well), secrets galore  and a 'stalker' element which is a little menacing.  Throughout I couldn't forget the mystery of the death at the start, was it an accident or was it suicide? Who can be trusted and who is dangerous, under their veneer of 'nice'?  I found myself imagining this being made into a film - with a great British vibe (that Richard Curtis does so well).  The story was very compelling and kept me guessing until the end, although I had begun to suspect some characters of dark deeds - and was not proven wrong!

Domination & Death ... Reading the Dark Stuff!!

I found the perfect antedote to the uber 'Nice' book I read last month ...

Dead Simple : Peter James (#1 in the Roy Grace crime series)

This book really packs a punch, and if you like things dark & twisted with nasty undercurrents of deceit & double bluffs ... well [Tick] [Tick] [Tick]!!

It starts with a very dangerous stag night prank, is followed closely by a terrible RTA which leaves several characters dead, enter our hero gettings himself in his bosses' bad books and going on a disastrous blind date.  Complex enough for you?  Lots of plates spinning at once?  Read on and you will see Detective Roy Grace - a pleasant likeable guy who has to deal with very unlikeable people - reading between the lines and unearthing (appropriate, if you readit you'll see why!) the truth behind what the suspects are telling him.  I like Roy, he believes in thinking outside the box and alternative methods of getting information about the case he is working on.

I have previously read & reviewed #2, and it is just as gritty and nasty, and very soon I will be picking up #3.

Bared to You : Sylvia Day (#1 in the Crossfire trilogy)

Oh Wow!!  This is a great book, both romantic & erotic.  The story and the 'action' are equal partners, and believe me I have read many where the story doesn't really need the bedroom scenes, and others where the raunchy bits are sizzling hot and the story telling just slows it down.  No! Syliva Day gets the balance just right, the power struggle between Eva and Gideon is constant but it is believable - she is feisty with a back story which warrants it, he is damaged in his private life but a successful powerhouse in industry -so he is like a baby in the relationship arena.

I heartily recommend this book, I powered through it really fast & am looking forward to cracking on with its sequel Reflected in You - maybe Eva might get to the root of Gideon's nightmares .... and perhaps keep her underwear on for 24 hours ...  or maybe not!!

Read this if you enjoyed 50 Shades of Grey - it is slightly more sophisticated!

A Shade of Vampire : Bella Forrest (#1 in the series)

Whilst it is true that there are a wealth of vampire tales out there right now, this one has a twist of something different - it is set on an island which is undetectable, where a witch has bespelled it so that the sun never shines.  The two central characters Sofia (young virgin with a spark of something special) and Derek (powerful, visionary  who rules a large vampire clan) bond very quickly and appear to be falling in love.  Fear not readers, there are dangers & tensions to provide page turning action, not the least of which is Derek's psychotic, fanatically competative brother who is determined to possess Sofia for himself. 

There is a large series of books to work through if you like this first one and want to see how the story unfolds.

I Need More Time to Read!!

I have got so many unread books on my Kindle and lent to me by friends (who share my taste) .... Add to that all the books which I couldn't resist buying when I organised a 2nd hand book sale at work, and you may get an idea of my problem!!

I am in the middle of several other-worldly series at the moment, so whenever I see a book in a 'deal' which will add to my collection, I cannot pass up the opportunity to down-load or buy!!

• The Mortal Instruments 
• The Shiver trilogy [more]
• Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 
• The Sookie Stackhouse series
• The House of Night series
• The Hush Hush saga [more]
• The Det.Sup. Roy Grace mysteries ...

I am like a kid in a sweet shop ... and I so stockpile the novels so that I can read them when I want a change of genre!!

I confess, I am a Bibliophile!!  -   an individual who loves books. A bookworm (sometimes pejorative) is someone who loves books for their content, or who otherwise loves reading

The Brightest Star in the Sky

Marian Keyes' Homepage

The Genre of book which I have just finished is chick lit, it is a romantic book and it is choc full of interesting characters with an unashamedly strong 'irish' voice ... well it is by Marian Keyes!  There is no other word for it, this book is NICE!!  But that's not to say it is overly sweet or predictable, none of that!!  There are some quite prickly characters, people who you dont like at first but who grow on you as you get to know them.  The chapters are very short, each time one ends you stop learning about 1 character and move onto another 'player' in this colourful tale.  Sometimes you may feel frustrated by this, "I wanted to know more about xxx!!" but don't fret, you will forget this feeling immediately as you are instantly invested in the threads you have just picked up of the next character's tapestry.

In the Brightest Star very few of the 'cast' know each others at the start, you move from vingette to vingette learning about the players and their back story but soon the stories start to become inter-connected and overlap. There is a hint of magic in this lovely story, and lots of  'relationship tangles'.  Marian has a wonderfully spellbinding style and a keen eye for observation, if you like Maeve Binchy you will like Marian, and vice versa.  Both authors either set their stories in Ireland, or have a strongly celtic cast list, and if you want a book that leaves you feeling uplifted, and as if you have had a lovely long gossip with a good friend, this fits the bill.

Read this if you enjoyed 31 Dream Street by Lisa Jewell, you will definitely feel a similar 'vibe'.

However, having read this book, I now want a total change of pace ... I could read  a gritty thriller or detective book - perhaps Dead Simple - the book which starts the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, or maybe Dark Matter by Michelle Paver which sounds like a powerfully suspenseful ghost story.

February's Post

I seem to have read a lot recently but posted nothing ... so I had better give you the highlights of February's literature before the month is over!!

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins  www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/‎

This book deserves all the hype it got - it is a refreshing concept, a twist in reality which could easily happen. I am not someone who enjoys fly on the wall shows like Big Brother, and yet in a strange way I like this - real people forced to fight in a gladiator-like scenario, to kill all their opposing competitors, to keep themselves alive, to keep their families fed & out of prison, purely for the entertainment of the vapid people of the Capitol and to prove to the population that the government is in control at all times.  

The central character Katniss is feisty, trusts almost no-one and is incredibly resourceful, and yet there is a naive side to her, she doesn't realise the effect she has on people, how she charms them and inspires them. She has honed her skills hunting & poaching to keep her family fed, and she is thrown into the games when her little sister is picked as a competitor & Katniss volunteers go in her place. There is a Romeo & Juliet thread to the story, modern though it is (this tale surely qualifies as science fiction) and as it blossoms into book 2 : Catching Fire I find I cannot stop reading because the elements of secrecy and rebellion which unfold are so compelling.

Friends & Rivals :  Tilly Bagshawe

www.tillybagshawe.com

This book revolves around the music industry, both in USA & the UK.  It somehow manages to channel Jackie Collins' rich, glitzy bitching style whilst also weaving in some good old fashioned family values, village life & insecurities about love and life 'a la' Jilly Cooper.  It was a great big romantic, saucy & glamorous read, which would be ideal for taking on holiday to lose yourself in whilst lazing by the pool.

It is written with authority, it is very current and there are plenty of characters in it who are thinly veiled versions of real music industry celebrities.  If "bonkbuster" is still a genre, this book fits it - the characters are not very likable but if you love to read about rivalry & squabbling, you will enjoy this!

I have previously read another of Tilly's books "Fame" which is equally escapist, racy & fun but which revolves round the film industry - I can recommend that too!

Sex or Love - Would Either of These Drive You to Kill?

City of Angels #4 in the Mortal Instruments Series : Cassandra Clare

Wow!  What a book!  I am sure I often review books as being page turners or that I couldn't put them down - well this book is a turbo-charged version of that!  Obviously I would recommend that you read the books in order, as they follow on quite closely from one another and the characters develop skills & abilities,  fall in/out of love, or  get wounded/ killed,   so the sequence IS important.  This book was as good as all the others - the character who gets the most attention in this particular storyline is Simon - a teenager who has (quite accidentally) become a vampire, Simon is still adjusting to the enormity of this change of circumstance.  He is an unusual vampire in that he is a 'Daywalker' i.e. sunlight does not burn him and this seems to make him powerful and desirable as an ally to other vampires - and there is definitely a power struggle going on within their heirarchy.

The love between Jace & Clary is still not plain sailing - she is always doubting that he can possibly love someone as ordinary as her (does this ring a bell Twilight fans?) and he is convinced that his love for her is dangerous to her health/safety (more parallels with Twilight  & Beautiful Creatures) and dark forces seem to be circling around this golden couple trying to throw obstacles in the way of their love (aint that always the way?!)

We meet some new characters - a kick-ass new werewolf,  a very ancient, cunning vampire and the mother of all demons ... but I don't want to spoil the impact of the story.  If you are reading this series you wont want to miss this book, if you love reading other-worldly books that are well crafted and thoughtfully written, I cannot imagine that this series will disappoint.  I have already got #5 lined up, and later I can go back and read the prequels (The Infernal Devices) - starting with Clockwork Angel.  Already on my Kindle (Tick! Happy days!)

Death by Hollywood : Steven Bochco

This book reads like a film - it is wonderful the way you see it in your head as you read, and perhaps this is because Steven Bochco writes for television - a 10-time Emmy winner for his work on Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue.  He writes with knowledge of the industry (who panders to who, whose egos need massaging, where the glitterati eat out - he knows it all).

The plotline follows a screenwriter who has hit a wall, is unable to write and his marriage is struggling, until one evening he is watching through his telescope and sees a murder committed (yeah, shades of Rear Window).  He decides this is his new writing material, but to get authenticity he insinuates himself in with the murderer and the detective to get information from all angles, and this is really where his good idea goes bad, because he gives himself away.

Again I don't want to be a 'spoiler' so I wont elaborate further on the plot or the characters, but I will say how interesting it is every time the story 'digresses' - it frequently wanders off into sub-plots, a lot like Ronnie Corbett telling one of his rambling jokes from the comfy chair.  At first you think "Tsk! get back to the action!" but if you kick back and relax you will always enjoy getting to the destination via the scenic route, and sometimes the side story will have a direct influence on the way the main plot pans out.  The other speciality of this book is the way the author has his finger on the pulse of his character's motivations, not only why would a wife start an affair? but why wouldn't her husband confront her about it? why simple honesty makes a sexy, self assured woman-of-the-world drop her barriers ... it's like visiting a shrink without having to bare your soul or pay a penny!  What's not to enjoy about that?

I highly recommend this book - for once I am speaking directly to the male audience - it not being one of my usual selections: chick lit, rom com or young adult storylines, and anyone who enjoys a good detective novel will  surely want this in their library.

In Between the Christmas Shopping & Gift Wrapping ... Snuggle up with a Great Read

The Diviners - Libba Bray   libbabray.com/‎

What a brilliant book this was - well worth the wait (it's been on my reading list for about 16 months) - it was a riveting combination of:

• history  it's set in America in the roaring twenties 
• spooky  it has ouija boards & undead spirits
• magical  several characters have special powers which they do not totally understand

The central character is Evie O'Neil who's a young girl who has been sent away from her home town because her parents cant handle her - her uncle has no idea how to manage her either, but in the main he treats her like an adult which suits Evie just fine.  There are parties and speak-easys which she wants to go to, her uncle is busy helping the police solve a string of crimes with a supernatural twist and  soon Evie is assisting him with his enquiries and trying to keep 1 step ahead of the trouble which seems to follow her and her colourful group of friends.  Danger is very much closer than Evie and her uncle could possibly imagine.

As it is a novel for young adults there is romance & yearning, but it doesn't get too heavy.  The tone of book is chilling rather than horror, and the story is well crafted with a vivid tapestry of interesting characters who are well developed, but the reader is left feeling that there will be more to discover as the series continues.  I could not put this book down, I took my Kindle everywhere with me and stole any moment I could to read it.

Readers who enjoyed Beautiful Creatures &  New Girl would enjoy this book I am sure!  Libba has written other novels - most recently I enjoyed A Great & Terrible Beauty which is book 1 of a trilogy.

West End Girls  Jenny Colgan    www.jennycolgan.com/

This book is chick lit at its best - real girls (unidentical twin sisters) who bicker and argue as well as larger than life 2 dimensional characters to make you laugh out loud!  One sister, Penny, has always coasted on her looks - they should be her ticket out of her life of drudgery and duff boyfriends.  The other sister, Lizzie, has always looked out for Penny (which generally gets her into trouble) and squashed her sorrows with food, she isn't looking for adventure, she is looking for a quiet life.  When life throws these sisters the opportunity to live rent free in a flat in Chelsea, how will they fare in such different surroundings?

What follows are their attempts to get jobs, get a rich boyfriend (Penny) visit the places they have only read about in magazines (Penny again!), make friends and make a new life for themselves. Some of their adventures are crazy and madcap, some of the situations are uncomfortable but you will keep turning the pages wanting to know what happens next - who finds love and who just finds out what really matters in this life.

Jenny Colgan never disappoints - and she is very clever at finding different voices for herself in the novels she writes.  If you  like this book, you will quite likely enjoy the works of Jojo Moyes, Lisa Jewell, Judy Astley & Sophie Kinsella.