tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22477640161102817492024-03-14T04:31:39.842+00:00The good, the bad, and the ugly reviews of Louise WiseGBU book reviewer and analyst. Reviews may contain spoilers.Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-10060742808138280442017-02-07T16:26:00.003+00:002017-02-07T16:26:31.486+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Not currently taking on any more books to review.</span></div>
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-55191855789674340832016-04-17T11:37:00.000+01:002016-04-18T22:46:05.630+01:00The Stratosphere by Brian Cox @BrianCoxWrites #bynr #scifi #bookreview<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35z_mYBUpLlbW3yWQKXQh5hJ8_t_qMZSdU9wAoEK5v8No2VRkSwJhmCR8InTZIZ65B2QrPhmnxtH6NLlQyBmBAj-n4e0n0Cj2oqlS11ZuKBrt8lVLMm6VjcXP8RG907omaAXqnmk1K8s/s1600/41VGHmhiaRL._SX298_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Stratosphere - The Birth of Nostradamus</span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">GBU Review: 3/5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stratosphere-Birth-Nostradamus-Brian-Cox-ebook/dp/B01C6OXDGK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1460888690&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Stratosphere%3A+The+Birth+of+Nostradamus"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Amazon.UK</b></span></a><b> | </b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C6OXDGK#customerReviews"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Amazon.com</b></span></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I wasn’t too keen on </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">the
cover</span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. I wasn’t sure what the symbolic silhouette of the people
represented. First glance, it looked like one of those traffic crossing signs
you see outside schools. The author name wasn’t prominent enough and as a thumb
nail, hard to see.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The title</span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> was spot on,
though. I liked the way the name ‘</span><span style="color: #0070c0;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Stratosphere’
</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">seemed to be written in blood or that was my impression anyway. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The blurb</span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> was bold and strong but the
last lines: </span><span style="color: #0070c0;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And it certainly is not an alien
invasion or zombies. The threat is imminent, and it lies waiting where you
least expect… </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’d have liked to have shortened it to: It’s is not an
alien invasion or zombies. The threat is imminent, and it’s waiting (or coming)
… but that’s me being picky. Overall, it’s a strong blurb.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Look inside</span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> is the next most
important thing about a book, and this book has a prologue. Again, it’s strong
and draws me in straight away. It asks the question: </span><span style="color: #0070c0;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If
freedom is the power to exercise choice, what would happen in a world where
everyone is free? </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And I’m left wanting to know what does it mean by
‘everyone is free’? Free to do whatever they like? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Chapter one opens with a girl called Nancy and her ‘gaggle’ friends
waiting to attend a lecture, and the authors draws me a picture of a bolshy
schoolgirl that’s hard to shake off as the story suggests, further in, that she's older. And as Nancy becomes the unlikely hero, I still can't shake her nastiness. There is a little
bit of back story in the first chapter but it’s not overdone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But still in chapter one, I’m suddenly in another POV of Gus. Gus has
motor neuron, and given that the book is set in the far future I’m surprised
the author chose this disease instead of making one up, because surely, medical
advances would have cured this illness? (This is explained further in the book,
and the story </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">needs </span></i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gus to have some
kind of disability). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bearing in mind that I’m still reading the ‘look inside’ I’m
overwhelmed with many names and their corresponding POVs. It’s a lot to take
in, and I’m struggling to keep my interest in the story (it’s the intriguing
blurb and prologue that keeps me going) as all the characters are introduced at
once.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We’ll, I’m glad I persevered because the concept does push boundaries
and make you think about humankind. It’s a ‘sad’ book; showing the bad side of
human nature, I’d even go as far to say that it’s a horror story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It shows the advances of virtual
reality where humans can exist in The Stratosphere, living their dreams, while
the world collapses around them. The book, as aforementioned, is set in the
very far future with today’s verging technology firmly being used, debunked or
discarded ie 3D printers, robots.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Affection, love and even sex between real people is rare as is
pregnancy, because people are doing as little as possible to stay alive
just to exist inside the ‘Strat.’ The Professor
who created the Stratosphere has realised his mistake and tries to right his
wrongs, but it seems he’s one person against the rest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Brian Cox writes a very good, very thrilling, </span><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">post-apocalyptic book and once through
the boring (and confusing) opening it became extremely exciting. It tells us of
a possible future for human kind if we allow virtual reality to dominate us.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Cox tells me the book has been edited, but editing is not all about
typos or grammar, sometimes you need an editor to rein in the writer’s flow.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Over all, the storyline is very well researched, thought provoking and downright scary. And I do think it's a possible future for us all if we allow technology to take us over. </span></div>
<i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span></strike>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Blurb:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Big Brother is dead. <br />The real threat is not government. <br />It is not big business. <br />It is not artificial intelligence. <br />It is not your friends, your colleges or your neighbors. <br />It is not climate change, a comet, or a supernova. <br />It is not an EMP, WWIII, terrorism or a nuclear accident. <br />And it certainly is not an alien invasion or zombies. <br />The threat is imminent, and it lies waiting where you least expect…</span><br />
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-30527314602874244612016-03-09T11:34:00.000+00:002016-03-09T11:34:08.381+00:00B.P. Smythe #macabra #shortstories #bookreview<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbH55WUK0JZyBA1gB84Fh4pNcQ31hYqaOdm3SK-KHYqMvKH-lKZ_ARUWwNbz-rczHskmEVCam35KnTtnlAvuVINvcB1lpif_BsuKL9PYWw4Y-i67ykut9pduzKgfZZOGcGtuThyphenhyphenXz2EA/s1600/review.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">4/5</span></b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">From a Poison Pen</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poison-Pen-collection-macabre-stories-ebook/dp/B01BKWT4EE" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Amazon.UK</b></span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Poison-Pen-collection-macabre-stories-ebook/dp/B01BKWT4EE/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1457286881&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=From+A+Poison+Pen%3A+A+collection+of+gripping+and+macabre+short+stories" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Amazon.com</b></span></a><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At first glance, I'd have overlooked this little pocket of (gory) fun. </span><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The cover</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> didn't reveal anything of its contents other than a title and author's name. I wouldn't have known if the book was a collection of shorts (which it is), a novelette or a full blown novel. </span><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The title</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> does suggest a horror or a thriller of some kind.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In </span><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">the look inside</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> we have the usual copyright page, an author dedication and the TOC, then it's straight in with the first story called Constricted Love. It opens with a belly-dancing scene which becomes a little dramatic as the snake attacks the belly-dancer. Then the scene is over and seemingly forgotten, but the story does catch my attention and I'm drawn into Julian's world of greed and self-gratification, and the story is all tied up at the end.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are ten stories in total and all in verifying lengths (the first probably the longest). They all had the same horror/story with a twist theme. Some are set in the modern day while others are set in times gone by, and the characters are all carefully drawn with their own set of flaws, likes and dislikes and with their own story to tell.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There were some editing issues such as missing speech tags but nothing to take the reader from the enjoyment of the stories. The stories were written in a mixed POV but I felt this was quite skilfully done.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From a Poison Pen</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> is described as a collection of 'dark, humorous and macabre tales' that 'explores the disturbing side of human nature', and I think that sums it up accurately. They aren't 'safe' stories where the hero gets his just desserts, they are dark, and sometimes disturbing stories of the dark side of human nature.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">My favourite was Girls of BDM which I thought was some kind of new erotica but in fact was a story set in the concentration camps during the WW2. There were a few formatting issues in this story with live links where, I think, the author had researched something and copy and pasted a name or a slogan to place in the book and forgot to unlink the text.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I summed up the book as 'pocket of gory fun' and it was. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><b><br /></b></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Blurb</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What happens when a member of the Hitler youth ends up in a concentration camp? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How does a beach side cocktail get in the way the way of one woman’s scheming? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What leads a teenage girl to rain down fire and brimstone?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This collection of dark, humorous and macabre tales explores the disturbing side of human nature. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /><i>From a Poison Pen</i> is the first book in a trilogy of collected short stories by B.P. Smythe.</span></div>
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-24100212130663223482015-08-31T11:17:00.000+01:002016-03-06T18:04:15.606+00:00What constitutes a trashy novel? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="ya-q-full-text">I always thought the answer was gratuitous sex scenes</span> amongst
shallow characters, but others have told me it's an insignificant plot.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I Googled the answer and (</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">palpitation</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">s!) it brought up chick lit. <i>Chick lit!</i> Surely not. Other answers are a <span class="ya-q-full-text">formulaic </span>book written for <span class="ya-q-full-text">scandal or simply a badly-written</span> book. It seems no one really knows the true answer. Maybe it's an easy-reading book that you've enjoyed?</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="ya-q-full-text">When I brought up this question
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<br /></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yeah, I know, idiot, and not because the group was mainly made
up of women. So the question is still out there—what constitutes a trashy
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<br /></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, my own trashy, chicklit novel (with no gratuitous
sex scenes or insignificant plot) is now free in the Amazon lending library.
Feel free to check it out:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: magenta;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A Proper Charlie</span></span></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 115%;">What’s a girl to do when
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyuT07hHGi3ZByJIRhO2rwRl8WbNdkKIqj0OwwLtBkZMxk9i8Q_8nyHeE4W4CxYvh9gz7hFLS_kbGadhV8FsBZpzBjxnt1FAJZpzbn0maRxEvU0ZdBn1rVtpfWTdPzAcMFFUKBZOgSVME/s1600/AProperCharlie_EBOOKSW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyuT07hHGi3ZByJIRhO2rwRl8WbNdkKIqj0OwwLtBkZMxk9i8Q_8nyHeE4W4CxYvh9gz7hFLS_kbGadhV8FsBZpzBjxnt1FAJZpzbn0maRxEvU0ZdBn1rVtpfWTdPzAcMFFUKBZOgSVME/s320/AProperCharlie_EBOOKSW.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b><a href="http://bookshow.me/B004NSV6NK" target="_blank"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a></b></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Shame</i>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Shame
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Shame</i> it's on missing prostitutes and Charlie thinks pretending to be a
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span>Unashamedly trashy!</b></span></div>
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-38276426482284627522015-05-01T08:45:00.000+01:002015-05-01T12:50:26.858+01:00Jason Ayres<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BjhI2ChR0uLYyYZnRsx2wXLAkgqdo0NxB3wvHqNSYXoiGgvB_VHuPdvQIJZgK4ohqPqbwqsrhLrZMmEd5_U8Bo_x_khcqkuprO61Dw4CqxO2iwSf0Ti7_k-4vhKPQGTcjWVxSdRUuBI/s1600/jason+ayres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BjhI2ChR0uLYyYZnRsx2wXLAkgqdo0NxB3wvHqNSYXoiGgvB_VHuPdvQIJZgK4ohqPqbwqsrhLrZMmEd5_U8Bo_x_khcqkuprO61Dw4CqxO2iwSf0Ti7_k-4vhKPQGTcjWVxSdRUuBI/s1600/jason+ayres.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>5/5</b></span></td></tr>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My Tomorrow Your Yesterday</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UDHAD0M?*Version*=1&*entries*=0&hc_location=ufi" target="_blank">Amazon.UK </a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tomorrow-Your-Yesterday-Jason-Ayres-ebook/dp/B00UDHAD0M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430465993&sr=8-1&keywords=Jason+Ayres" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Amazon.com</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sometimes I buy and review a book just because it's one I want to read for pleasure, and <i>My Tomorrow Your Yesterday</i> was one such book.</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It wasn't <b>the cover</b> that pulled me in on this occasion, it was the
strong <b>blurb. </b>The first sentence tells us about the protagonist, he's 54
and he's about to die. The second sentence tells us 'the next day, he woke
up'. If that doesn't pull in time travel-loving readers nothing will!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>The cover</b> is strong. The back to front calendar and a lone man
staring up at it in confusion completely matched the blurb.</span></span><br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>The title</b> also summed up the story, so all in
all, blurb, title and cover all corresponded nicely together.</span></span><br />
<br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Look inside</b> began with the Epilogue with the title Death and
introduced the protagonist Thomas Scott. He’s in hospital, confused and obviously
dying. There is a woman sitting by his bedside and she says, ‘Happy New Year
Dad.’ Then he dies.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The next chapter is labelled Cancer, and Thomas wakes feeling well enough to
watch TV. A news broadcast tells him ‘preparations are underway for tonight’s New
Year celebrations’ and so, remembering the woman’s ‘Happy New Year’ words from
yesterday is confusing for the protagonist. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's a strong opening.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">During the story we are taken, alongside the lead character, on a journey to slowly realise
we’re going backwards in life. Each day runs forwards, but in the early hours
of the morning we’re pinged back to the start of the day before.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So as Thomas slowly starts to ‘get better’ from cancer he realises he can make
changes so he never gets the illness in the first place by not smoking and
eating healthy, although he wakes up every day with nicotine withdrawal symptoms
until he hits the point where he first began smoking and simply doesn’t begin. Here,
I wonder why he went through the pain of the withdrawal when, by not starting
to smoke, it’d never happen anyway?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Thomas doesn’t remember his life so the people coming and going are new to
him ie his daughter, but the connection between him and his family is strong
and touching.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The author takes Thomas through a sticky patch where he seeks out
prostitutes and has a girlfriend almost thirty years his junior, which I found distasteful,
but Thomas is obviously a lonely middle-aged man. There is evidence of a wife,
killed by a drunk driver, and as Thomas is pulled backwards through time he
plans to save her and maybe change his sad future.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The author doesn’t take us through every single day of Thomas’ backwards
life but in significant periods where the character makes changes to alter his
future. We’re not told why any of this has happened but that only adds to the mystery
and appeal of this book.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And when Thomas relives his own birth it 'resets' time and he begins life going the correct way but
we're not told if he remembers anything of his other topsy-turvy life or even he’s
destined to yo-yo for eternity.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">All in all this is a fantastic story for time-travel lovers. So unique and quirky, and worthy of a 5/5. It’s
British so expect Britishisms.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I didn’t find any errors in the book.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blurb:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When 54 year old Thomas Scott wakes up in a hospital bed on New Year’s
Day he has no memory of who he is or why he is there. Racked with pain
from a terminal illness, death swiftly follows.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The next day he awakes to find himself alive again and confused,
especially when he discovers that it is now New Year’s Eve. As the days
pass he begins to realise that he is living his life backwards one day
at a time.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So begins the extraordinary tale of a man who goes to sleep on
Sunday nights and wakes up on Saturday mornings: A man who cannot form a
meaningful relationship with a woman because when he jumps back to the
previous day, she has no memory of him. And a man who can win a fortune
from gambling any time he likes, but has only one day to spend it.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Trying to find some purpose in life he resolves to find out as much
about his own personal history as he can. Learning of the death of his
wife and an attack on his daughter, he prepares to make changes in the
past to secure their future.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From middle-aged father all the way back to childhood, the passing
years present all manner of different challenges as he grows ever more
youthful.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Set in and around Oxford between the years of 1970 and 2025, this
unique concept for a time travel novel features plenty of humour,
nostalgia and “what if?” moments.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Taking place in the same universe as the author's Time Bubble
series, this is a standalone novel aimed at a more adult audience. It
can be enjoyed without the need to have read those earlier books.</span></div>
</div>
Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-23843696023950999252015-03-04T22:04:00.003+00:002015-03-04T22:04:56.977+00:00Vivian Mayne<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="productImageGrid" style="width: 240px;"><tbody>
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<tr id="prodImageContainer"><td height="300" id="prodImageCell" width="300"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/B00S4ZE30G/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Flame and The Moth (Etherea Book 2)" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Sk5HiofSL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4,BottomRight,1,22_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg" height="300" id="prodImage" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>3/5</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td>
</tr>
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<div class="buying">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>The Flame and The Moth (Etherea Book 2) <br />by </b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Vivian Mayne</b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="buying">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flame-Moth-Etherea-Book-ebook/dp/B00S4ZE30G/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1421579422&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Flame+and+The+Moth%3A+2">Amazon.UK</a> <br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flame-Moth-Etherea-Book-ebook/dp/B00S4ZE30G/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425482018&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Flame+and+The+Moth+%28Etherea+Book+2%29+by++Vivian+Mayne" target="_blank">Amazon.com </a></span></span></div>
<div class="buying">
</div>
<div class="buying">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The cover </b>didn't draw me in at all. I loved the rich chocolate colour but the design, picture and silhouette of the person was nondescript to me. All it made me think of was the genre history, and<i> The Flame and the Moth</i> is as far from history as you could get.</span></span></div>
<div class="buying">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The title </b>was intriguing: it told me of something dangerous (the flame) and something vulnerable (the moth) and of course it's book 2 of a book that I've already read: <a href="http://wisewords-bookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/the-curse-of-fin-milton.html" target="_blank">The Curse of Fin Milton</a>. The theme is magic, sorcery, ghosts, adventure and a family feud. It isn't a light read and it's in multi viewpoint, which does make it difficult to stay in tune with the main character. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The look inside</b> got straight into the story with Fin Milton astral planing (a sort of out-of-body travel. Beats rush hour, that's for sure!) through New York. The first line made me think of impending doom for this strong character:<span style="color: blue;"> It wasn't the first time Finn Milton had astral planed through New York city, but it would prove to be his last.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finn has many magical abilities: astral planing, reading minds and heightened hearing. He lives alongside others with his abilities in modern England in the seaside town of Cornwall. An excellent location because Cornwall is steeped with folklore legends.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finn's now with his sweetheart, Ellie, and she's heavily pregnant. Together they travel back to Cornwall because Finn's father had been involved in an incident, which has put him in a coma in hospital. Finn was shocked to hear this news, so I couldn't understand why it took him several more days to visit his dad, albeit he sent someone else (Branna) before he'd even left New York, but still, once back in England Finn slept, ate and chatted about NY before seeing his dad. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And again, when his beloved wife went into labour, he spent more time with new friends instead of rushing to her side. These characterizations make Finn a little cold, and I don't think that was the author's intention. Also, there was a lot of talk about Finn being powerful, but he didn't come across like that to me. He was a likeable character, but he relied on too many people to be 'powerful'. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Branna was a character that <i>was</i> powerful, however. She didn't seem to need anyone, and she is one character who stayed with me since book 1. She was the reason for the family feud beginning by killing her evil father and brother in book 1, but they were the bad guys so they had to go. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Other than my nitpicks, this is an interesting story of a family at war with one another, and I was <i>so</i> batting for the Milton's! </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Connelly's (the baddies) are an evil bunch and don't care who they hurt to get to Finn Milton. The book seemed to come alive the more madder and crazier Cillian became. He was one scary person!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The book was addictive, and I couldn't once predict the ending. It had lovely friendships between the characters and <i>The Flame and The Moth</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i>truly </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> was bad verses evil.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A few typos, mainly the speech mark being inside punctuation, but nothing spectacular. The men in the story, with an exception to Cillian, appeared a little effeminate but otherwise great characterisation.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The mixed POV took away some of the story's power and needs to be contained, or even eradicated completely, to make this an excellent book.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Overall, an interesting story which would probably appeal to the YA genre.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Blurb:<br /><br />A violent family is bent on revenge using enchantments and mind control. This time Finn needs help. Aside from mastering soul light and telekinesis to astral planing to a deadly spiritual realm filled with Sentries, he is getting married and having a baby. </span></span></div>
<div class="buying">
</div>
<div class="buying">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Welcome to the crazy world of Finn Milton!<br /><br />Set in modern day New York, London and Cornwall, England, this enchanted ghost story follows the trials of Finn Milton and his fiancée Ellie Morgan who are about to start a normal family life. But a dark omen has proven they will always have a part to play. For all parties, breaking from their past has grave consequences. <br /><br />After Finn's destruction of Shannon Connelly’s talisman the year before, another one surfaces. Its existence and unknown location threatens the lives of all Finn cares for. At the same time he is targeted by a ruthless nemesis who is attracted by his unique and powerful soul light. This time Finn needs help and forms a possé. Aside from mastering soul light and telekinesis, the choice he makes has massive repercussions. <br /><br />When I started writing The Flame and The Moth I wanted it to be a solid follow-up to The Curse of Finn Milton. For this reason alone there are more ghosts, new characters and a spiritual location far far away in the distant cosmos. As with the first book, I undertook intensive research into the local history of Cornwall. Wartime in St Ives caught my imagination and found itself fused within an integral flash back. – Vivian Mayne, 2015<br /> </span></span></div>
<div class="buying">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Previous review: <a href="http://wisewords-bookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/the-curse-of-fin-milton.html" target="_blank">GBU Reviews: The Curse of Fin Milton </a></span></span></div>
<div class="buying">
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-42765468521447017202014-08-31T12:39:00.000+01:002014-08-31T12:39:05.659+01:00Kathy May Davies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Hint of Satin</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hint-Satin-Kathy-May-Davies-ebook/dp/B00JFN7FL0/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407058991&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Hint+of+Satin+[Kindle+Edition]+Kathy+May+Davies+%28Author%29">Amazon.com</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hint-Satin-Kathy-May-Davies-ebook/dp/B00JFN7FL0/ref=la_B00F1WS2VQ_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407058927&sr=1-7">Amazon.UK</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A nice bright <b>cover</b> that shouted women's fiction. The only thing that ruined it for me was the tweed cap. It didn't match the 'satin' in the title or material at the bottom of the cover. I'd have liked to see her hair for a more sophisticated look--but, hey, maybe she's a tomboy!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3/5</span></span></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>The title</b> <i>Hint of Satin</i> has an erotic feel to it, and I'm wondering what I'm about to read. <b>The blurb,</b> however, indicated mystery crossed with a bit of horror. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The first paragraph of the blurb is excellent, but then the second paragraph contradicts it all and ruins it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">First paragraph: she <span style="color: blue;">'finds herself in a house with strangers and then the lights go out'</span>. Second: as a taxi driver Lee is safer driving the streets of Texas<span style="color: blue;"> 'than being with
her two new acquaintances who are as leery of her as she is of them'</span>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The 'leery' part undid the strong first paragraph and made the strangers appear like loutish youths, and where I felt the book was going down the erotica route (not a problem if that's what you're after). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The very last line in the paragraph could be perceived as having an error: <span style="color: blue;">Hint of Satin has mystery, intrigue and just a tad bit of romance to spice the adventure.<span style="color: black;">The 'tad' and 'bit' mean the same in this context so one or the other should be removed.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><b>The look inside </b>has no acknowledgements or praise to scroll through, which is a bugbear of mine, so I'm thrilled at getting straight into chapter one and into the mind and actions of protagonist Lee (we never find out her last name). </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">She's late for her university finals, and when she notices a case on the back seat of her car she takes it in with her rather than leave in in the cab--at this point I couldn't understand if the case belonged to Lee or had been left by a customer (she's a taxi driver, and is a allowed to use the taxi for personal use), but when I read on it becomes apparent that the case had been left by a customer.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">So Lee takes the case back to its owner, and disregarding her own safety, enters a house occupied by two strange men, and my interest in this book wanes a little as I expect this is where the 'erotica feel' comes into play, but I'm wrong. Other than a strong sexual attraction between Lee and Blake Stone nothing happens.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Instead, Lee is embroiled in a sinister run and hide from someone trying to kill her. Blake, thinking it's because of him, becomes her protector.Together they set out to find out who is responsible for this reign of terror and the mystery surrounding the case.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><b>So over all,</b> <i>Hint of Satin</i> is a sweet romance, nothing erotic (not even a sex scene!), between two people thrown together in exceptional circumstances.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Lee and Blake are well-rounded characters and both easy to visualise, but the supporting cast (with the exception of Jimmy) appeared cardboard. Secondary characters such as Jennifer and Macho popped up from time to time but added nothing to the story. I felt Macho was only there so Blake had someone to shout at and be the 'formidable' character I felt the author wanted him to be.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Due to the formatting of this book, it is at times, hard to follow. With the changes of POV between Lee and Blake it was difficult to know when a scene or POV change happened, so sometimes I was merrily reading thinking I was in Lee's POV but it was Blakes--<i>and</i> it was the following day!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">There wasn't many grammar or spelling errors as such, but there were punctuation errors--mainly missing speech tags or errant commas, so I would suggest a good editor for this novel to correct that and to tighten its structure.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">That aside, the book <i>was</i> visual and it did have two very likeable characters who you routed for throughout the book. There were some terrific lines and scenes of intense sexual tension, and even comedy with Blake and Macho as they argued and teased one another.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Hint of Satin</i> had a HEA and it suggested at more to come, maybe they will be a <i>Hint of Satin 2,</i> there was certainly enough intrigue and plot for more with Lee's background history.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Kathy May Davies </b>is an author who can only grow and get better. <i>Hint of Satin </i>has </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">lifelike characters embroiled in </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">intrigue</span></span></span></span></span> and sweet romantic moments.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blurb:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Taxi driver and student, Lee, finds herself in a predicament that
could be sinister - in the same house with an unusually large man and
another who wears dark glasses, black clothes and has a scar on his face
that very probably runs the length of his torso. She can only guess, of
course, but the ragged line is fresh. And then the lights go out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Driving the streets of San Antonio, Texas is safer than being with
her two new acquaintances who are as leery of her as she is of them.
But, they need each other to discover why their lives are in danger, or
at the very least, which one is the intended target.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hint of Satin has mystery, intrigue and just a tad bit of romance to spice the adventure.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>4/5</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Successio</span><i> </i></span></span></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/SUCCESSIO-Roma-Nova-Book-3-ebook/dp/B00KOSV1YC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1406706923&sr=8-3&keywords=alison+morton" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/SUCCESSIO-Roma-Nova-Book-3-ebook/dp/B00KOSV1YC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1406709104&sr=8-3&keywords=alison+morton" target="_blank">Amazon.UK</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is the last of the Roma Nova saga. I can't say much about <b>the cover </b>other than it's similar to the last two books, and although I found the covers dull, together they make an impressive collection.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The title</b> Successio, in Latin, means </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">descent, inheritance, succeeding etc so I think this book could focus on the main protagonist's family life. Maybe the grandmother, Aurelia Mitela (Nonnie), elderly in the last book, has died and Carina inherits? Shall have to read to find out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The blurb </b>nicely includes a first line hint at the troubles of the previous episodes before drawing me back into Carina's life. The blurb also reinforces my belief that this book will concentrate on troubles brewing in the Mitela household.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The look inside </b>is again (almost) the same as the others--background story--which because I commented on before I shan't do so here.The only difference was the illustration of Carina. A nice touch.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Straight into the review of the story...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The beginning hinted at friction between Carina and her stepdaughter, Stella, which was nicely done. Nothing heavy handed. Then Conrad received a mysterious letter where Carina, instead of asking him about its contents, decided to be sneaky and follow him.I've always come away feeling that Conrad and Carina aren't a strong match for one another. They seem to mistrust the other, and in Book 1 and 2 I felt it was because he'd picked up on the </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">sexual spark between</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Carina and Apollodorus--maybe he'll just never forgive her. Maybe I read too many romances!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, instead of asking her husband what the hell is going on Carina follows him and discovers he has a daughter from a past relationship laying claim to his affections. Nicola Sandbrook is resentful of Conrad's other family (Carina and her children) but worse, she is now the heir to the throne after the beloved death of Grandmother Nonnie (I came to love this character, and it was a sad moment when she passed).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nicola is a nasty, flawed character, and intent on destructing the entire foundations of the Mitela household. She first causes trouble by trying to lead Carina and Conrad's oldest daughter, Allegra, astray, but then settles on Stella (another daughter from Conrad's past) and uses Stella's jealously over her stepmother Carina to worm her way into the Mitela household.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then her destruction gets steadily worse as Carina and Conrad drift even further apart. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Successio</i>, like the others in the series,<i> </i>is a plot driven book rather than character but I preferred <i>Successio</i> to the others because in this one, Carina seems more human and less of a superwoman. Conrad was allowed emotions as well, but so much so, I began to think he was a wimp! Neither could I</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> understand why he was blind to Nicola's evilness and turn his back on Carina and their other children.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Subtly, Morton had dropped into the story that Conrad had had an accident and although recovered physically I felt his mental state was still in rehabilitation (because of his eagerness to side with his villainous daughter), but whether this was intended or not, I wasn't sure.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even so, Carina was cruel to break the news </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">in front of others</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> about the activities of this bad daughter. She should have waited until they were alone. Their massive bust-up over it could still have happened, but the reader would have been more in Carina's court. Instead, I lost sympathy for her a little.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's a tight read, tighter than the others, which seemed to have many little sub-plots feeding through. I did think that Carina would have had more respect at work by now, and the constant put downs she received was unnecessary because she'd proved herself time and again that she was an effective solider. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Successio </i>is probably the only book out of the three that you could read as a stand-alone novel. It's genre is an alternative history (and well thought out) but first it's a crime story with a strong emphasis on thriller.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Very well done. Another strong 4/5.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Blurb <br /><br /> Roma Nova – the last remnant of the Roman Empire that has survived into the 21st century – is at peace. Carina Mitela, the heir of a leading family, but choosing the life of an officer in the Praetorian Guard Special Forces, is not so sure. <br /><br />She senses danger crawling towards her when she encounters a strangely self-possessed member of the unit hosting their exchange exercise in Britain. When a blackmailing letter arrives from a woman claiming to be her husband Conrad’s lost daughter and Conrad tries to shut Carina out, she knows the threat is real. <br /><br />Trying to resolve a young man’s indiscretion twenty-five years before turns into a nightmare that not only threatens to destroy all the Mitelae but also attacks the core of the imperial family itself. With her enemy holding a gun to the head of the heir to the imperial throne, Carina has to make the hardest decision of her life… </span></span></div>
Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-85047645706725129472014-07-05T19:12:00.001+01:002014-07-13T20:29:07.139+01:00Alison Morton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/PERFIDITAS-Roma-Nova-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00K2RU8OE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404643332&sr=8-3&keywords=alison+morton" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>4/5</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Perfiditas </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/PERFIDITAS-Roma-Nova-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00K2RU8OE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404891915&sr=8-3&keywords=alison+morton" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Amazon.UK</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/PERFIDITAS-Roma-Nova-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00K2RU8OE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1404643386&sr=8-2&keywords=alison+morton" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Amazon.com</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The cover is in line with the rest of the books in the series. I haven't changed my opinion on the cover, I still dislike it. But this time I looked up what Perfiditas means: <span class="st">faithlessness and treachery. Oooh, piqued my interest instantly!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The blurb gives a little from the previous book, which acts as a nice reminder for those who have read it. Perfiditas begins seven years after the first, and Carina has got it together with love interest, Conrad, and is now a mother of two. I'm disappointed that I wasn't privy to their 'coming together'. In book one, they'd split up and I'd have loved to have seen them make up. But that's a romance reader talking. I have to remind myself that this is a thriller. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The look inside was all taken up with the same intro that had appeared in the first book, which I thought unnecessary, but these books could <i>possibly</i> be read as stand-alone reads (not something I'd recommend because there is a LOT going on with characters carrying on their role from the previous instalment), so the author probably thought it was needed for that reason.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Perfiditas opened with Carina discovering the 'entrapment' of Aidan, seemingly, he had disappeared after dipping his hand into the cash drawer at work. It seemed trivial, and Carina was ready to dismiss it as such, but a hunch made her pursue it. Aidan was under surveillance from several minders: at home and work.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The build to his 'kidnap' was a brilliant hook and held my attention as Carina took charge, taking on many disguises to discover what was going on, so I was disappointed when I was just told that he had been liberated.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That wasn't the end though, Carina needed to find out <i>why </i>he'd been held and why she, are all those held dear to her, were being slandered. The plot thickens... but like the first book Morton tends to have her characters plan and discuss the tactics to be used instead of having actions. It is a little disappointing (for me), but it's the author style, and in no way 'wrong'.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'd have liked Conrad to be her sidekick, instead of being pushed to one side. Other men are listed as 'dangerous' and 'exciting' instead, and I feel this should have been Conrad's role. Anyway, Carina finds herself in the middle of a plot to overthrow the government (her family) and kidnap her children </span><span style="font-size: small;">and herself </span><span style="font-size: small;">(to possibly kill them) so no female heirs can carry the 'throne'.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She goes on the run, seeking out her old villainous friends, whom we become acquainted with again, it was good to meet them, but Carina's children, and the rest of her family, seemed like mere observers in her exciting life. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I could understand that she wanted to separate her dangerous working life from that of her family but maybe, slowing down, and allowing the reader into this calmer life would turn this into an amazing thriller. As it stands, it felt like something was missing--a spark--emotion--can't quite put my finger on it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I just wish they'd been more of this: </span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;">Normally, I relished the buzz of going undercover on an operation. But no adrenaline raced through my body now. I had no doubt I'd been on the brink of being arrested as a conspirator; I'd been trapped into deserting my post so would be pursued; I was cut off from my family, my children and my love. A cold wave washed through me. Deep down, I had never felt so alone.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And less emotionless planning to bring down her enemies or sudden 'Oh, I have children/a husband' mentions. Because of this I couldn't feel much empathy for Captain Carina </span><span style="font-size: small;">Mitela. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Also, the revelation that Renschman had died was placed into the story so matter-of-factly I almost missed it. I know I described him as a pantomime villain in the first book, but felt his character was a waste to just kill him off in a sentence. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Over all, this story focuses on a treason plot on her family (the government), and the fallout of
Carina’s attempt to put things right. I was disappointed with Conrad for not understanding her reasons for getting things done quickly (illegally) but the sexual tension between Carina and Apollodorus was so strong I knew why.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And Alison Morton <i>can </i>do emotional<i>; </i>the ending actually made me go awwww. So I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series: Successio.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Blurb</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Captain Carina Mitela of the Praetorian Guard Special Forces is in
trouble – one colleague has tried to kill her and another has set a trap
to incriminate her in a conspiracy to topple the government of Roma
Nova. Founded sixteen hundred years ago by Roman dissidents and ruled by
women, Roma Nova barely survived a devastating coup d’état thirty years
ago. Carina swears to prevent a repeat and not merely for love of
country.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Seeking help from a not quite legal old friend could wreck her
marriage to the enigmatic Conrad. Once proscribed and operating
illegally, she risks being terminated by both security services and
conspirators. As she struggles to overcome the desperate odds and save
her beloved Roma Nova and her own life, she faces the ultimate betrayal…
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-6204670728054867112014-06-03T13:50:00.004+01:002014-06-22T10:43:44.647+01:00Alison Morton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>4/5</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Inceptio </span></b></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/INCEPTIO-Roma-Nova-Alison-Morton-ebook/dp/B00K5OO4QW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401745054&sr=8-1&keywords=Inceptio" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Amazon.com</b></span></span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/INCEPTIO-Roma-Nova-Alison-Morton-ebook/dp/B00K5OO4QW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401746111&sr=8-1&keywords=Inceptio" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Amazon.UK</b></span></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The cover</b> didn't jump out at me, I didn't know what the image meant and neither did I understand <b>the title </b>and had to look it up (it's Latin for beginning). What <b>the cover<i> </i></b><i>strongly</i> told me was that the book was literary fiction, and maybe a little heavy-going.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The blurb</b>, however, tells a different story. It's exciting! It's present day and Karen is angry and frightened after surviving a kidnapping attack. The blurb immediately draws me into the meat of the story and tells me not only who the main character is but also what the book is about. It has just enough information to tell me that the book has an alternative history and Karen could be a Lara Croft type character. I hope she's not going to be too perfect though...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The <b>look inside </b>puts me off with a page of reviews, and then came the Historical Note and I admit I groaned a little. History lesson, I thought. But the first sentence: <span style="color: blue;">What if King Harold won the Battle of Hastings in 1066?</span> lead to the question of an alternative history, and as that <i>is </i>the essence of the book my interest picked up again.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I did skip a few pages of the historical notes to get to the beginning, and the beginning opens with the main character Karen punching the nose of (unknowingly at the time) the son of the External Affairs Secretary, Hartenwyck, who is apparently the most powerful person in the country.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And so the story begins. Karen Brown is an ordinary woman and she most certainly isn't perfect. In fact, in the beginning she's a little wimpy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">Conrad Tellus is the love interest, which is very subtly developed into the book. The story doesn't hang about, and at less than a chapter in I'm pulled into Karen's world where everything she has ever known has been turned upside down. She's terrified, angry and confused and who wouldn't be? You're living your life as a nobody and all of a sudden you're sacked from your volunteer job, gain a criminal record, stalked</span></span><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260"> by a Government enforcer, and have a sexy guy (Conradus Tellus) who wants to help you, with what, you're not really sure.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">Renschman has a vendetta against Karen's father, and as Karen's father is dead, it's Karen who he seeks revenge from, but she doesn't know this at the time. Her secret past is cleverly left until the end to keep the reader engaged.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">Karen ends up in Roma Nova, in Italy, which is ruled from the female descendent of Imperial Rome. Karen, unknown to her, is a descendent and her family want her back, they also want to protect her from Renschman.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">This is where I became confused. So wanting to protect her, they allow her to become an undercover agent and act as bait for a </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">notorious drug-running gang. </span></span>OK,<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> so </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">Karen, or Cara, as she is now called (original birth name) </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">learns a martial art and becomes the Lara Croft that the blurb promised, but though her transformation worked well within the story, I couldn't believe her family and friends would allow her to put herself in so much risk by pretending to work for a group of career criminals. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693" style="font-size: small;"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">Another 'problem' I found, or maybe it was the authors style, was that s</span></span><span style="font-size: small;">ome of the scenes and chapters <span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">seemed to cut off in their climax. For instance (Cara's in a relationship with with Lurio--or thought she was):</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">'You know something, Cara Bruna?' he said, his finger touching the tip of my nose. 'You are </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">the most tremendous fuck I've ever had and I'm going to miss that.'</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How coarse he could be, but it was a great compliment from him. 'What do you mean "going to miss that"?'</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">'After the trials next week you'll be free to go home.'</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">End of chapter.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The new chapter opens with the trials, and then Cara goes back to Lurio's apartment to collect her things and drop his keys through his mailbox before going 'home' to her grandmother. It's a little bit emotionless.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But at least the characters weren't one dimensional. They were <i>real</i> people with flaws, and we had some g</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">reat characterisation from the s</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">exy
Conrad, cold and domineering Lurio, exciting Apollodorous, ice queen Somma
and of course the quirky, strong-yet-ordinary Karen/Carina Brown. But the villain, Renschman, what a disappointment! He became a cartoon villain: hapless and pathetic. I bet he wore a black cape to cover his face with on his 'villainy' e<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: #333333; line-height: 115%;">scapades</span>.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The
book had a lot of characters, but the author had a 'dramatis personae' at the back of the book for readers to refer back if they became lost.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Over all, Inceptio is fast-reading with interesting story lines in between the main plot of the story. It is the first of the series</span></span></span></span><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a class="spell" href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?safe=active&client=firefox-a&hs=I3G&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&channel=rcs&q=series&spell=1&sa=X&ei=ge-MU9-KBsWu7AaKzoG4Bg&ved=0CCIQvwUoAA&biw=1366&bih=631"><b><i></i></b></a>, and this first book is a good indicator of the characters yet to be fleshed out and I can only imagine the adventures that Cara and Conrad experience will under the skilful hands of Alison Morton.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's an alternative history but has more emphasis on the action and crime, and if you like an intelligent read along those lines, and</span></span></span></span><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> with a strong heroine, then this book is definitely worth a read.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It can be read as a stand-alone read. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Perfiditas follows Inceptio, and the third book, Successio will be published this month (June 2014)</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">.<span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260"><br /></span></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="readable" id="reviewTextContainer546637693"><span id="freeText16166914299113962260">Read 'Karen Brown's' interview on WWBB: <a href="http://louisewise.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/a-character-interview-with-karen-brown.html">http://louisewise.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/a-character-interview-with-karen-brown.html</a></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blurb</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">New York, present day. Karen Brown, angry and frightened after
surviving a kidnap attempt, has a harsh choice – being eliminated by
government enforcer Jeffery Renschman or fleeing to the mysterious Roma
Nova, her dead mother’s homeland in Europe.
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Founded sixteen centuries ago by Roman exiles and ruled by women,
Roma Nova gives Karen safety and a ready-made family - at a price. But a
shocking discovery about her new lover, the fascinating but arrogant
special forces officer Conrad Tellus, who rescued her in America,
isolates her.
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Renschman reaches into her new home and nearly kills her.
Recovering, she is desperate to find out why he is hunting her so
viciously. Unable to rely on anybody else, she undergoes intensive
training, develops fighting skills and becomes an undercover cop. But
crazy with bitterness at his past failures, Renschman sets a trap for
her, knowing she has no choice but to spring it...
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-19806767468732508712014-04-16T23:14:00.000+01:002014-04-27T10:40:15.246+01:00Curtis Edmonds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Rain on your Wedding Day</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rain-Your-Wedding-Day-ebook/dp/B00BJ7CCKY/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1368067278&sr=1-1&keywords=rain+on+your+wedding+day" target="_blank">Amazon.UK</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Your-Wedding-Curtis-Edmonds-ebook/dp/B00BJ7CCKY/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1398591551&sr=1-1&keywords=rain+on+your+wedding+day" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A plain, simplistic <b>cover</b> yet eye-catching. Loneliness and loss were the words that sprang to mind when I saw it, and the title only enforced that thinking. I think it's a love story; a sad and maybe tragic tale of love and loss. Both <b>the title</b> and <b>author name</b> were understated but matched the cover beautifully. I don't think a screaming title or author name would be good in this instance (if I'm correct in my assumption that the novel is a tragic tale).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The blurb </b>was straightforward, although I hadn't a clue as to what '<span style="background-color: white;">Southern Gothic' meant. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I began to read the sample, I was drawn straight into the POV of Will Morse and immediately connected with his longing to be close to his daughter again after a tragic event. I was able, within a few paragraphs, to grasp the mood of the book and know exactly what the main character was feeling--brilliant! I'm buying!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Will<span style="background-color: white;"> Morse has taken himself to an old vacation cabin in the North Georgia mountains and had been there for five years; divorced from his wife and his last remaining child. But his child, an adult daughter called Alicia, calls him to tell him the news that she's getting married and she wants him at the ceremony. This is how the story begins. I thought it was going to be straightforward, but another tragedy and then a startling discovery about one of the main characters keeps me turning the pages.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The back-story was confusing at times as sometimes I found myself thinking I was in the present with Will, when in fact, I had been taken back a few years. That was my only criticism. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The emotion running through the book felt very real, and at times the depressive mood of it had me putting the book down several times, but that's not a criticism just my perspective. It's a gritty book and has excellent dialogue. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There were some great lines to lighten the tone: <span style="color: blue;">It was a good thing he was an ethnomusicologist; he would have starved to death as an actor. </span>And: <span style="color: blue;">I looked a bit like Denver Pyle on the old Grizzly Adams TV show--the eccentric mountain man, but without the folksy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rain on your Wedding Day is a contemporary book, not really a romance, although there is romance in the story. The ending all came together nicely that made you feel pleased that Will was going to be happy at last.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="background-color: white;">RAIN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY</b><span style="background-color: white;"> is a modern Southern Gothic novel about one family's tragic past and the consequences that it holds for their future.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Five years ago, Will Morse was arrested and charged with the murder of his youngest daughter Trixie. Will maintained his innocence, and claimed that Trixie's death was a suicide. Although Will escaped criminal charges, he lost his job as a Coca-Cola executive in the scandal. His wife, Danielle, left him, convinced that he had some role in Trixie's death. Distraught and racked by grief and guilt, Will retreated to the safety and silence of a remote cabin in the North Georgia wilderness.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Will's only connection to the outside world is a phone call he receives once a year, at Christmas, from his daughter Alicia. But this year, Alicia calls to tell Will that she is paying him a visit. Alicia arrives with her fiancée in tow, and tells Will that she expects him to attend the wedding in the spring. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Will wants to rekindle his relationship with her daughter, especially once he learns that she is pregnant. However, Will fears that attending the wedding will bring up painful memories from his past, and lead to conflict with his ex-wife and her family, who still blame him for Trixie's death.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Will develops a relationship with Dot Crawford, an English professor, who makes a chance visit to his cabin. The relationship flowers into a romantic friendship, and Will begins to open up to Dot about his tragic past. But Will soon learns that Dot is not all that she appears, and breaks off the relationship.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the eve of Alicia's wedding, Will must confront the guilt and shame that he feels, and seek forgiveness for his actions that put Trixie in danger, and decide whether to reach out to Dot and forgive her for her betrayal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="background-color: white;">RAIN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY</b><span style="background-color: white;">is a poignant, moving tale about the need for forgiveness, redemption, and Coca-Cola.</span></span></div>
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-64035512342555591852014-03-22T10:52:00.000+00:002014-03-30T21:08:14.717+01:00Eliza Green<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Becoming Human</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Becoming-Human-Exilon-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00AOBIRIW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367419840&sr=8-2&keywords=becoming+humanwiswor-21">Amazon.UK</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Human-Exilon-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00AOBIRIW/ref=sr_1_3_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395484309&sr=1-3&keywords=becoming+humanbookjunk04d-20" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a><br />
<br /><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* Please note: This is the review of a copy I purchased May 2013, and since then the author as told me she has updated it to match her much stronger writing skills to bring it in line with the proceeding series.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Without looking at the cover, <b>the title</b> made me wonder if the genre was a vampire (or werewolf or ghost). <b>The cover </b>was powerful and definitely eye-catching but didn't match what <b>the blurb</b> said at first glance: <span style="color: blue;">polluted and overcrowded Earth.</span> The road leading to the high-rise buildings looks very lonely, but maybe this wasn't earth? Anything that makes you stop and wonder is a good thing. <i>Becoming Human</i> is clearly a science fiction book and I'm quite keen to begin reading.<br /><br /><b>The opening blurb </b>was amazing: <span style="color: blue;">Two worlds. Two species. One terrifying secret.</span> Exciting! It went on to describe the book in a straight-forward way that was professional and interesting. <br /><br /><b> The look inside </b>opened to the prologue and it was hard stay interested, and I must admit, I scrolled forward to the meat of the story. In chapter one I was introduced to Bill Taggart, the main character of the book, but back story had me scrolling forward again. Not a good sign.<br /><br />After chapter one I'm taken into the POV of one of the aliens, bizarrely called the very human name of Simon, but I feel a connection with this alien (he is a species called Indigenes). His race feels like the 'underdog' from the beginning and together with the name: indi-genes, I already think I know the outcome. Can't wait to find out if I'm right! I buy the book... <br /><br /> But then comes chapter three and I'm taken into the POV of another character, and not until chapter eight am I back with the lead character Bill. Whose story is this? With so many characters I'm having trouble connecting with any of them! The main character's chapters (Bill) seems to be pure back story, the others are full of explanations of new technology so I'm really struggling. <br /><br />The child, Ben (Bill and Ben, two similar names that is normally a no-no in writing) doesn't ring true. I can't engage with him and can't possibly imagine an eight year old out alone on his own with these 'dangerous' aliens running free. But then the child doesn't feature again after appearing in two chapters--not in this book anyway.<br /> <br />There was one person I warmed to out of all the characters in this book and that's a character called Laura. She's living on the over-populated earth and the author really does well in making the future earth sound like a horrible place to be. Laura gains some potentially dangerous information about the main character Bill Taggart and struggles with what to do with it (the govt. has evolved to be very mysterious and harsh). I'm lost though. The reader isn't told what this information is, only that Laura is worried. I also don't know why Stephen and the other aliens have gone to earth, or why they thought befriending a child would give them the necessary leads to get them there, neither do I know why, if all Stephen wanted was Taggart's help, is why he went to Earth (when Taggart was on Exilon 5), only to find Laura Hamilton so she could approach Taggart on their behalf.<br /><br />Then I find out that the Indigenes are highly intelligent (much higher IQ than humans) so again the above makes no sense.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Two chapters from the end the story picks up, and my theory was correct. Basically, <i>Becoming Human</i> tells the story of how a future earth copes (not very well) with the population growth of humankind, and instead of altering a planet's composition to accommodate humans, the world govt. alter the humans DNA to fit with the planet's. <i>Becoming Human</i> could potentially be a brilliant book and I wonder if the author grew into the series as the time went on?<br /><br />The ending wasn't concluded, but I think it ended at the right time, and the entire series will need to be read to get a better understanding of Exilon 5 and its inhabitants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There were no grammar or spelling issues, but a strong edit for redundant characters, POV control and a back story tidy is recommended.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Blurb<br /><br /><br /> Two Worlds. Two Species. One Terrifying Secret.<br /><br />In 2163, a polluted and overcrowded Earth forces humans to search for a new home. But the exoplanet they target, Exilon 5, is occupied. Having already begun a massive relocation programme, Bill Taggart is sent to monitor the Indigenes, the race that lives there. He is a man on the edge. He believes the Indigenes killed his wife, but he doesn’t know why. His surveillance focuses on the Indigene Stephen, who has risked his life to surface during the daytime.<br /><br />Stephen has every reason to despise the humans and their attempts to colonise his planet. To protect his species from further harm, he must go against his very nature and become human. But one woman holds a secret that threatens Bill’s and Stephen’s plans, an untruth that could rip apart the lives of those on both worlds.<br /><br />BECOMING HUMAN, part one in the Exilon 5 trilogy, is a science fiction dystopian adventure that you won’t want to put down.</span></div>
Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-88518182665346562432014-01-09T09:30:00.000+00:002014-01-09T09:30:54.051+00:00Angela Brackeen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>A boring cover.</strong> It didn't stand out but what I got from it, other than maybe that I was opening a clothing catalogue, was that it was gentle and 'serious'. The title and author's name were at the expense of the cover and faded into nothing. Not only forgettable but unappealing too.<br /><br /><strong>The blurb</strong> made me sit up and I particularly liked the line: <span style="color: blue;">Now she must choose—escape, or survive and learn to live with the changes<span style="color: black;">, which especially grabbed my interest.</span></span> <em>Lark, in Her Element</em> appears to be a brooding read about a young woman left with little choice but to change the way she's been living for whatever reasons, and I'm keen to find out, although t<strong>he price</strong> (Kindle) was very expensive: £8.04 or $13.25, that's a lot of money for an eBook, even for a well known author!<br /><br />In the <strong>opening chapter</strong>, I became a little confused because it read like a paranormal, but I soon realised that this was the insight of the main character's (Lark) thoughts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The first few chapters moved through Lark’s life too fast and we were only allowed glimpses from her life as the book moved from child to adulthood. I couldn't connect with her and I really wanted to be with her on her journey, but the author (I felt) rushed the growing up bits until I felt like a distant spectator instead of being side-by-side with Lark.<br /><br />The essence of the book is rejection. Lark was rejected by her father (he died), her first love (Hartmann Worth) didn't fight hard enough for her, her work colleagues rejected her... and she aches to belong. I got that. I felt her loneliness, but she was such an introvert and seemed to withdraw from human contact. In fact, I wanted to shake her for not having a backbone: Lark went to buy paint (ten tubs) and the assistants were not only rude to her but deliberately made up the wrong paint colour, and when she returned it they refused to help and implied she was the one to make the mistake. I'd have poured the paint all over their heads! (or then maybe I could do with some of Lark's calm!)<br /><br />As I'd already said, part of the story felt told, as if the author was rushing through it, but then other parts, the dreary bits, were detailed over pages and pages of text. For instance, Lark met a married man, Russertt, (she didn’t know he was married at the time) but I felt the scenes were rushed just so we could linger over Lark’s depression when the relationship fell apart.<br /><br />And I couldn’t believe Lark would have been fired from her job because of it, either! And then everyone gossiping about her, not just at work, but in another state when she went home? Really? The book felt very old-fashioned because of that, in fact, I’d have thought I was reading a historical had there not been mentions of modern technology.<br /><br />This review seems bad, but all in all, it wasn’t a bad read, far from it. I’d describe it as a gentle and gliding story with a strong lesson in prejudice on someone's character. I think it asks the question: what if a recluse </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">was taken from their comfort zone and pushed into the judgemental eye of her peers? <br /><br />The detail in the book is certainly very good and visual. It’s nicely written, almost lyrical with its flowery prose.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To Lark’s dismay, her heart’s innocent longings have brought unsettling changes to her life. Now she must choose—escape, or survive and learn to live with the changes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Life was so right; flea marketing within sight of San Francisco Bay in search of bongo drums, old photographs, and vintage dresses marked the end of Lark’s busy, but well-ordered work weeks. Now, the control she has held over her life—control that brought her such success—is slipping from her grasp.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Those evenings spent romantically with a work associate couldn’t be to blame, could they? After all, she only longed to wear one of the lovely vintage dresses that hang forlornly in her closet …</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Control over her life seems all but gone, when threatening occurrences leave her trembling in fear behind her own door, her mind reeling with questions of why. She fears she is coming unhinged—until a rainy evening when her romantic interest’s revelation brings blessed understanding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, how will she live with the changes that have been wrought in her life? Hope is prompted by a treasured flea market find—a key to remembering who she was before hurt sent her retreating. Will she see a break in the clouds and find desperately sought for peace if she flies to a place of family, winding creeks, and a gray house that fades into the trees?</span></div>
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-12991314129161032142013-12-17T14:37:00.000+00:002013-12-19T08:44:54.225+00:00Jennifer Collin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">3/5</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Set Me Free</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Set-me-free-Jennifer-Collin-ebook/dp/B00CKN505A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386081432&sr=8-1&keywords=Jennifer+Collin" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Set-me-free-ebook/dp/B00CKN505A/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368273323&sr=1-4&keywords=set+me+free" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.UK</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>The
cover</b> was quaint and old-fashioned looking (1950s red dress). It was bright and assured me that I was getting chick lit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>The
title</b> made me think the lead character was in a disastrous relationship and she
wanted out.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>The blurb</b> told me about the main characters: </span><span style="background-color: white;">Charlotte Evans and </span><span style="background-color: white;">Craig Carmichael</span><span style="background-color: white;"> and I instantly think they are going to end up together, no bad thing, the fun part is reading how they manage it. I loved the line: </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">It’s what they might lose that has Charlotte and Craig wondering what it is they really want. </span>But I haven't a clue as to how that, and the title, connect.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chapter one opens with dialogue and immediately had my attention: <span style="color: blue;">"Why are you sniffing me?"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">"Just checking to see if you've washed that man out of your hair."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's a brilliant opening where the reader is introduced to two sisters Emily and Charlotte. Charlotte is the main character and owns an art gallery, Emily is her married sister and the artist who supplies her with paintings to sell. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chapter two introduces us to the other lead: Craig Carmichael. He's stressed and over-worked and has the horrible job of telling the owners of an art gallery that their shop is going to be bulldozed--that shop is Charlotte's. She's jet-lagged and not thinking straight, and he's so smitten with her he fails to tell her why he's there, and instead ends up in her bed!</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is where my sympathy of the characters slip: a young woman (in chick lit they can't be slappers!) takes a stranger back to her house and bed, and has condoms readily available in her bedside drawer (indicating she does this often). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Her actions are blamed on her being jet-lagged and drunk but later, when she discovers the reason why Craig came into the gallery, has the nerve to call the guy all the names under the sun for sleeping with her. And no, before you think it's all one sided, I didn't like him either. He knew she was drunk, yet he still went back to her house and had sex with her. Eeeeeow.</span><br />
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I read on but the once-thought main story line has switched direction and now I'm not sure whose story this is: Emily, Charlotte's sister has discovered her husband's adultery, and we learn that Ben (Charlotte's best friend) has been holding a torch for Emily and is in love with her. The POV moves to these new characters, plus, Emily and Charlotte's mother, Diane, is on the scene and also has a POV. It's become confusing.</span><br />
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I wouldn't call this book a chick lit as the cover suggests, and it's clear that this story has a multi-story line. It's not as easy-reading as true chick lit with the many characters coming and going, but as I'm further in, it HAS become more interesting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Whereas before I HATED the main characters, Charlotte and Craig, I now like them. In fact, I think I'm a little bit in love with Craig. In the end, he came across as a true 'chick lit lovable-but-with-flaws' character. Vulnerable but strong. Charlotte strengthened too and I've forgiven her sluttiness in the beginning. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Set Me Free</i> also<i> </i>has a mystery element surrounding the gallery with Craig's business partner receiving backhanders, which implements Craig in its involvement. That is unfolded slowly, drip-feeding the reader until they HAVE to keep turning the pages to find out its conclusion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Back to the title: It's clear that the title refers to the side dish of the book: Emily and her estranged husband. The blurb needs to clarify that this book isn't focused on Charlotte and Craig but rather two sisters and the men who are in love with them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It has a few editorial and formatting problems such as typos and double spaces changing to single, and that being said I'm giving this book a very high three out of five (shame Amazon has no half marks). It's worth a read!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BLURB</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Disastrous love life aside, Charlotte Evans is rather content with her life. Her quaint little art gallery is plodding along nicely, and her sister Emily’s artistic career is about to take off, thanks to her tireless promotion. She even gets to see her best friend every day and drink his delicious coffee in the café next door.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But when dastardly property developer Craig Carmichael comes along, threatening to demolish her gallery and take everything away, Charlotte has an unexpected fight on her hands. Not only is she battling to stop Craig’s development, she’s also struggling against the mysterious magnetic pull that has her on a collision course with Craig himself.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Craig Carmichael is fighting the Battle for Boundary Street on more than one front. The tenants of the building he wants to knock down are mounting a strong case against him and in a hot-headed moment he put his career on the line for a project that is threatening to fail. If the project doesn’t succeed he will lose everything, but for some reason he’s having trouble maintaining his focus.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As their worlds begin to unravel around them, anyone could win. It’s what they might lose that has Charlotte and Craig wondering what it is they really want.</span><br />
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-63695819681549115042013-12-06T06:00:00.000+00:002013-12-06T06:00:11.939+00:00Stephanie Elmas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrFlILDQjb_-Bhq_wQ93q9045wTJy7Sooxtmim-CpRwaW2yh2Py_T_LDluxhFCxLNc1qLoildmMysdenm-5GlqH6CPFLLs8oOz_eALYMlDKuWCr-POU3Jnq5thUuDHe40gUC6ISb1nDH8/s1600/review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrFlILDQjb_-Bhq_wQ93q9045wTJy7Sooxtmim-CpRwaW2yh2Py_T_LDluxhFCxLNc1qLoildmMysdenm-5GlqH6CPFLLs8oOz_eALYMlDKuWCr-POU3Jnq5thUuDHe40gUC6ISb1nDH8/s1600/review.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">3/5</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>The Room Beyond</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Room-Beyond-Stephanie-Elmas-ebook/dp/B00FJ433QK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1382101342&sr=1-1&keywords=the+room+beyond" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Room-Beyond-Stephanie-Elmas-ebook/dp/B00FJ433QK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385713349&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Room+Beyond+Stephanie+Elmas" target="_blank">Amazon.UK</a></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">An interesting <b>cover</b>: a key among raining jasmine. The key wasn't shiny or small and together with the exaggerated <span style="color: blue;">ROOM</span> in the title it made me think of a house. A sinister house. The flowers added a sadness to the title. It made me think of <i>Flowers in the Attic</i> by Virginia Andrews.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The blurb</b> introduces Serena who is on her way to a job interview at <span style="text-align: center;">Marguerite Avenue for a </span>nannying position, and also introduces the time shift to another family from the late 1800s. It's clear the book's going to be full of mystery with supernatural going-ons. The blurb is enticing and I'm looking forward to reading.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the <b>'look inside' </b>the story begins straight away. There aren't any dedications or TOC to wade through. I like that.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Room Beyond</i> moves between two time periods (present day and 1892-early 1900s) but both are centred on Marguerite Avenue. It's atmospheric, but the characters were all alike, even characters from the different times, and I had problem knowing who was talking or whose POV I was reading from. Neither era stood out, although the flowery prose and the haunting way the story is told kept you suspecting something big was about to happen urged you to keep reading.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I found Serena's story easier to follow because there was just the one point of view, but I found it hard to identify with her...I still didn't know her even by the end of the book. Why did she want a nannying job? Had she been looking before she went to this interview? She wasn't qualified, so why was the job offered to her? And why did she accept the job when it's obvious the family didn't want her there? Neither could </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I understand why Serena fell in love, and into bed, with Seb so fast. There was no passion between them. There were many unanswered questions, I felt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And Beth, four-year-old Beth is unbelievable. No child of those tender years would act or speak the way she does: on Eva who was discussing which university she would get into with her grades, young Beth replied: <span style="color: blue;">'What about Cambridge?'</span> A simple question, but she is<i> four years old. </i>And there were lots of incidents with actions that, even though it was pointed out often that "Beth wasn't a normal child", still didn't ring true.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When the book went back to 1892 the story was almost impossible to follow because of all the characters pushing for centre stage. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Many times I had to scroll back wondering if I'd missed something.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In this part of the book we have four major characters: Lucinda, Alfonso, Tristan and Miranda. Lucinda's husband has left her for another woman. Lucinda takes Tristan for a lover. Tristan is married to Miranda. I felt this story could have been a book on its own. I LOVED the character Miranda, disliked selfish and flighty Lucinda and the nasty Tristan. I really wanted a HEA with this story but the author turned the tragedy into a horrorfest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was a sad, tragic, tale although I wasn't sure if the paranormal activity from Tristan (after he'd died) was real or just the work of Miranda's imagination. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">True, it wasn't an easy read and some of the writing was so over-the-top I threw it down many times in disgust, but somehow I needed to keep with it to find out what happens at the end. It's probably the type of book you'd want to read again and then come away with another perspective.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The ending was a surprise, and one I didn't see, but when it came things slid into place a little better. The Victorian story HAD to end the way it did, I see that now, and I'm glad the present-day had a HEA (of a sort). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Editing problems such as missing or wrong punctuation, over-writing (lots of it) and unneeded characters cluttered the book, which added to the problem of a disjointed story line.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blurb</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Present day: Serena arrives at the beautiful mansion on Marguerite Avenue to interview for a position as a live-in nanny to Beth, the 4-year-old granddaughter of Arabella and Edward Hartreve. Beth's teenaged mother, Eva, also lives in the house along with several other interesting characters. The job is given to Serena on the spot and when she returns for her first day of work, she's shown to her beautiful turret room "like a nest perched amidst London's rooftops" that she falls in love with immediately. Serena is perplexed as she begins to live with the strange family in that mansion -- one thing she notices right away, it seems there is an oddity with the house numbering. House 32 is occupied by the Herbert family and 36 by the Hartreves. House 34 is missing. There are some other quite strange goings on inside house 36 and at another unusual family home -- Druid Manor -- where the Hartreves go for Christmas. Does Serena sense things that others do not see? What strange connections exist between the family and whatever dark past they all share.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1892: Miranda and Tristan Whitestone live at 34 Marguerite Avenue. Imprisoned and almost invisible in a miserable marriage to a man she adores, Miranda watches as her husband takes the neighbor from 36, Mrs. Lucinda Eden, as his most recent lover. Events transpire that turn Miranda's world into a nightmare and she leaves her home and life behind, escaping with damaged cargo in the dead of night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This twisted tale shifts between those two time periods weaving together a story of evil and destruction that centers on MargueriteAvenue. Pervasive themes of loneliness and pain linger throughout as the reader is drawn into the lives of the families that lived on this street over a hundred years apart. Serena is lured into a shadow world that exists within the houses on that street and is tormented by unanswerable questions about who these people are, what happened there, and what they want from her. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Recommended for anyone who loves a mystery with supernatural elements.</span></div>
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-50598787079267779902013-11-30T06:00:00.000+00:002013-11-30T06:00:01.177+00:00JJ Ward<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinA4XL-o2_bhSoyux0dTRdqpfag-lYonPeWNoV-7SkQvM1Ef_PsYRAVB5Hefa_zwBvPj5au9rHEcVqLuRtEzIMXDPk0xoW8FsUWgnis6iiiCOgO3aWLAPImAheaIYamIbfQllunEb0GWo/s1600/review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinA4XL-o2_bhSoyux0dTRdqpfag-lYonPeWNoV-7SkQvM1Ef_PsYRAVB5Hefa_zwBvPj5au9rHEcVqLuRtEzIMXDPk0xoW8FsUWgnis6iiiCOgO3aWLAPImAheaIYamIbfQllunEb0GWo/s1600/review.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>4/5</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-MI7-Kramski-Case-ebook/dp/B00BZ5EPI2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381674653&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Kramski+Case" target="_blank">Amazon.UK</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tales-MI7-Kramski-J-J-Ward-ebook/dp/B00BZ5EPI2/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384957105&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=tales+of+m17+by+JJ+ward" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a></span><br />
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<strong>The cover </strong>stood out for its originality and blandness, but it wouldn't have tempted me to 'look inside' had I been browsing. It looked like a university student's course work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The title</b> 'Tales of M17' told me just that: tales e.g short fiction tales of crime or thriller shorts. The small subtitle The Kramski Case inferred the tales would be all on one theme.</span><br />
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<b>The blurb </b>begins with a short excerpt, but it's not productive. The opening sentence is a mouthful and out of context it has no depth. It's cold. A pile of baked beans without buttered toast. The true blurb is better and straight to the point.</span><br />
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<b>The look inside</b> takes us to Cumbria where Jilly, a member of the latest music phenomenon, is climbing out of bed with a guy from a rival band. She can hear the paparazzi outside and we're lead to believe she's worried for herself (because she's been caught with her pants down, so to speak) but the <span style="background-color: white;">paparazzi are being assassinated and she's worried that, because of her, someone is going to die. And they do in this great beginning to </span><span style="background-color: white;"><i>M17.</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When the scene switches to a prison I'm a little bereft but the setting is very visual: <span style="color: blue;">He sat at the table, straightened his back and flattened his hands on the Formica surface. Above him a single strip light buzzed and flickered. </span>'He' is Deputy Commissioner Khrantsov and he's on the point of recruiting prisoner Orlov, who's in for treason, and giving him early release. I'm presuming he's been signed to hunt for the murderers, but that's where the sample ends. Will have to buy the book to find out!</span><br />
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In short, the M17 have brought in three men: British, Jonathan Hartley-Brown, American, Lieutenant Detective Commander David Bronstein, and the newly-released prisoner Orlov from Russia to hunt for the killers who are spanning three countries. I'm expecting a lot of action with gun fire, helicopters and fast cars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Jonathan Hartley-Brown is a 'posh Brit' and I find it hard to visualise him as a hardened man able to get his hands dirty, on the opposite scale Orlov is 'tough guy' Bruce Willis and I'm instantly routing for him. The American, David Bronstein, seems a lost in the great characterisation of the other two.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />I became confused by chapter nine when, seemingly out of the blue, Jonathan Hartley-Brown and Jilly, from the opening chapter, fell in love. One moment he was questioning her over the shooting and next he was inviting her to meet his parents. Another problem I found was that there wasn't always any notice of scene jumps. Usually these are indicated with an asterisk or a blank line but in this Kindle version </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">these</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> were </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">sometimes missing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But I'm being picky, this is an excellent political thriller with a strong story. It may have had too many characters for me to keep tabs, but every character had their place. There were a few shockers, especially when one of my favourite characters died and another was indirectly linked with all the murders. There was also light relief in the eccentric Hartley-Brown family and I laughed out loud when Joy Hartley-Brown said (on discovering her son was gravely injured): <span style="color: blue;">"Tell the doctor we're with BUPA."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's a mixed POV, and other than some absent scene breaks it was a very well-written political thriller and a fast read.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blurb</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“The reason you’re incredulous, gentlemen,” Ruby Parker went on, “is because you haven’t the faintest conception of how MI5, MI6 and the FBI and CIA now work. Which is good news for us, bad news for the Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki, not to mention the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure and the Bundesnachrichtendienst. We’ve managed to keep our rivals in the dark for over a decade.” </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Bravo,” Bronstein said. “Now maybe you could fill us in on what the hell you’re talking about.” He put his hands together. “No disrespect.” </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She sat down. “I won’t bore you with the details. There is no MI5. Not any more. It merged with MI6 nearly a decade ago to create MI7, the result of an initiative to bring intelligence – in the cybernetic sense of the word – into Intelligence. We continue under the MI5, MI6 designation in public for obvious reasons. And because people seem to like it.” </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Right,” Bronstein said. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“We’ve had effective departments of spies in this country since Francis Walsingham in the sixteenth century, Lieutenant Bronstein. The author of Robinson Crusoe was a spy. There was nothing special about MI5 or MI6.” </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When someone starts assassinating paparazzi in three countries, MI7 sits up. Apparently, the killer is none other than Dmitri Vassyli Kramski, retired SVR field-operative and former Kremlin protégé. True, the Cold War is long finished, but everyone knows Vladimir Putin is as unhappy for Russia to play second fiddle on the international stage as even the most strident of his Communist predecessors. In 2010 therefore, East-West relations remain as tortuous as ever. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kramski’s trail leads deep into London’s émigré community, forcing his pursuers into conflict with an unknown organisation bent on protecting him. Bit by bit, he begins to look less like a professional assassin and more like someone plotting to scupper the foundations of Western democracy itself. To compound matters, the Russians are as baffled by him as anyone.</span></div>
Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-14748372171623694432013-11-20T15:15:00.000+00:002013-11-20T15:36:12.741+00:00Ellen Harger<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">3/5</span></b></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BLD5U78" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.com</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Strong-Enough-ebook/dp/B00BLD5U78/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363391071&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.UK</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The cover</b> was plain but in the typical cartoon style of 'chick lit', <b>the title</b> was nice and large as was the author name. I liked the title. It was simple, yet appealed. I was put off by 'a midwest novel' tag on the microphone but only because being from the UK I felt I might feel excluded from urban slang and so forth (I wasn't).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In <b>the blurb</b> I'm introduced to the main character, Whitney, who is average in just about everything. But she wants to change. She's tired of being average. What I liked about the blurb is that there wasn't any mention of 'she wants a man'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The 'look inside'</b> was disappointing. I like to get to the hub of the book to see if it's something I can read and hopefully download, but first I had to scroll through the three pages of TOC, then the blurb again, then the introduction and prologue (which wasn't very interesting).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The book (finally) opens introducing the alter ego of Whitney - DJ Kelly Carter. Kelly is bright, outgoing and full of energy. Whitney prefers to fade into the background. Already it's different to the normal 'chick lit' novels and I feel this is going to be an interesting read...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The chapter titles were song titles and very apt for Whitney's profession. Clever, I thought. Whitney is a nervy lady but her alter-ego (the DJ) is not. She has a nice set of friends in Sadi, Leah and Marc. There was good characterisation with the characters but Whitney should have been centre-stage for most of the time. She's wasn't, and at times I wondered whose story I was reading.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Strong Enough </i>takes you through the dynamics of friendships, and the humour is subtle but Whitney as a character is someone you'd want to slap. She's so suspicious of everyone's intentions and beyond. I did sometimes wonder how she managed to keep such a strong friendship going with the feisty Sadi.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over all, the book focuses on the loves and lives of several women: Whitney, Sadi and Leah with a few others not too central to the book, it's a fun read. Not too heavy and with many laughs dotted around. It has some clever shocks where the author lures you into thinking you know a character but then that character turns out to be a nasty piece of work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wasn't drawn into the book though, and I couldn't put my finger on the problem. There was n</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">o editing issues, and the storyline was all there. The characters didn't always gel together and maybe that was the issue. They seemed, at times, to be unlikely friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I awarded it a high three out of five. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Blurb</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Starting over is hard. And sometimes, you have to burn a few bridges to do it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" />
<span style="background-color: white;">Whitney Brown is average--average height, weight, and personality--but she wants to be someone new. To kick-start her rebirth, she wears formal mourning, a black veil and vintage dress, to a wedding in her hometown, Woods Cross, a community that treasures family values. Is it an attack on marriage or has she just gone bonkers?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" />
<span style="background-color: white;">Emboldened but lacking a plan, she forces her foot in the door of a radio station in Sundown. A small metropolis of nearly 150,000, Sundown is a notch of urban flair along the Midwest's Bible Belt.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" />
<span style="background-color: white;">Getting in proves to be the easy part and the anonymity of being a DJ suits her well. But off air (and in person), Whitney must stand up to Sadi, an angry feminist and the bane of her college years while an old friendship with her former roommate, Leah, devolves around a guy. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" />
<span style="background-color: white;">It's 2002 and the Midwest radio scene is changing. Just as Whitney hits her groove, the radio station undergoes its own identity crisis. But what rocks Whitney to her core is the moment the condom breaks</span><span style="background-color: white;">. Her abstinence only background leaves her embarrassed and facing a difficult choice.</span></span></div>
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-52300371869282630232013-11-15T10:18:00.000+00:002013-11-15T10:18:20.948+00:00James Patrick<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>The Invincibles</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">2/5</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Invincibles-JW-Patrick-ebook/dp/B007P62CP8/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383079651&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=The+Invincibles+JW+Patric" target="_blank">Amazon.UK</a></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Invincibles-ebook/dp/B007P62CP8/ref=la_B007PBSYEG_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383081560&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.com</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The cover</b> of this book was dark and 'horror' looking with the full moon, sinister house and strange figures lingering outside. <b>The title </b>made me think of superheroes and the font sent the message that it was a children's book. The cover has great imagery and really striking. It instantly held my attention.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The blurb</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> was fast-moving and told me the genre was YA. It sounded English with its boarding schools, and I couldn't help but think of Harry Potter. Not a bad thing, but it meant I had high expectations.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The sample</b> was straight to the story and we're introduced to Jack. The writing, though, wasn't top-notch and I'm disappointed: <span style="color: blue;">Jack squirmed lower in his seat as he peered through the battling... </span>'squirmed lower' and 'peered<span style="color: blue;">' </span>don't match and it's impossible to do both simultaneously. This will confuse the reader. Another was <span style="color: blue;">Jack's mum slammed her foot down hard and their brand new BMW X5 4*4... </span>what does that tell you? It told me she'd stopped the car, but instead the car 'roared up the driveway'. These small discrepancies matter. A reader is building a picture but if they have to keep redrawing that picture they aren't going to enjoy the book.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That aside the<b> first chapter </b>had intrigue, secrets and fear as Jack was driven to a boarding school he didn't want to attend. He has a 'plan', which we're not informed of yet, and was nicely slipped into the story to further hook the reader.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The final sentence of chapter one was somewhat a shocker: <span style="color: blue;">If he is found guilty David Crawford will be hauled out of his cell and led into a small courtyard to be executed by firing squad.</span> --but compelling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As twelve year-old Jack Crawford settles into the boarding school, I, unfortunately find my attention wandering. The POV is all over the place, and even though grammar and spelling is OK, it's over-written and the author has no sense of punctuation. Also, you can 'hear' the author's voice (an adult) and not twelve year old Jack. That's the bad news, but there are some fantastic one-liners: <span style="color: blue;">Jack smirked as Mr. Keeling wilted like a chocolate bunny in a microwave.</span>-- is just one of them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The idea behind this book seems brilliant, but I could only get as far as chapter eight before I gave up on it. The author has a good story, an awesome cover and an eye-catching blurb so I wonder why he stopped at an editor? It's a shame.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blurb</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Only gifted hacker 12 year old Jack Crawford can save his father from death row. But for his own protection Jack has been sent to a remote Scottish boarding school with no internet connection. Jack needs help but everybody seems to hate him... even the teachers. Somehow he must motivate a bunch of rich, spoiled, lazy, resentful misfits to work together and risk everything to help him save his dad’s life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To succeed, Jack must forge The Invincibles into a crack team of daring escapologists, whip-smart cryptoanalysts, cunning App programmers and robotic engineers. Racing against the clock, The Invincibles must learn to work as a team, overcome their worst fears, crack a secret code, unmask a traitor, evade a killer, seize control of their school and......</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">...learn to talk to girls.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-59771461522082558232013-11-04T06:00:00.000+00:002013-11-04T06:00:06.056+00:00Steve Holak<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">4/5</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>The Winds of Heaven and Earth</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Winds-Heaven-Keystone-Lodestone-Clarion-ebook/dp/B00F2NGRVG/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1382221344&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=Steve+Holak" target="_blank"><b>Amazon.com</b></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Winds-Heaven-Keystone-Lodestone-Clarion-ebook/dp/B00F2NGRVG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383061102&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Winds+of+Heaven+and+Earth+Stephen+M+Holak" target="_blank"><b>Amazon.UK</b></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Both<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>the title and cover<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>of this book was beautiful but I
couldn't gage anything from it. The lone man on the cliff top, was he about to
jump? Admiring the view? Disposing of a body? It could be a love story,
thriller, romance or possibly a fantasy.<br />
<br />
<b>The blurb<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>straightens out
the genre: fantasy, so now the title takes on a whole new meaning. One thing
that did confuse me a little was the line:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: blue;">What
he discovers about his adopted wife's hidden past.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Having read the book, I
now understand that line but at first, I felt it was a typo - he'd adopted his
wife?<br />
<br />
<b>The sample<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>didn't hook me
straight away, I must admit. It opened like a run-of-the-mill crime story, and
the newspaper stories were dull. It wasn't until chapter one that my interest
was piqued. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I loved the opening line<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: blue;">Demons chased Jordan Parish
down the beach<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>and
as the book opens, I learn that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Melanie,
Jordan's pregnant wife has gone missing. Jordan's anger
is apparent (he's feeling helpless, lost and confused) but I get
no grief or sadness from him and that makes him a little cold.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
<i>The Winds of Heaven and Earth</i> took off for me when Jordan
travelled to Hawaii after his missing wife's necklace was found on Big Island.
There, the magic and fantasy began, and with a cynic like Jordan, it was interesting
to see how his character would come to terms with the supernatural elements of
the story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />I discover that, as a child, Melanie was found wandering without knowing how
she got there and without memory of her past. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It’s fascinating to be
there with Jordan as is dawns on him that Melanie’s stepbrother, Chase (his close
friend) knows the mystery to her disappearance, and that it’s no
coincidence that his grandmother, Lena, was also “found” as a child and without
a memory of her past. The two people who he trusts the most seem to be
conspiring against him, but before he demands answers dark forces whisk
Jordan and Chase away. They are separated and Jordan thinks Chase is dead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
Jordan ends up seemingly back in the past (it made me think of Merlin and
King Arthur), where he learns his wife is a princess and her father, High
Lord Namana, believes her to be dead. He also thinks Jordan is her murderer. It
takes a lot for Namana to believe that not only is she alive, she grew up, married Jordan and is expecting his grandchild.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
In this new world Jordan discovers Lena, his wife's grandmother and Chase
were the keepers of his wife’s secret and know of the prophecy that she,
or rather her baby, has to fulfil. It's a very visual read, and as
you can probably tell from my review, heavy at times. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It has a strong storyline with
excellent characterisation that you have affinity for. The main character,
Jordan, seemed like a real flesh and blood person lost in a fantasy novel. He's
potty-mouthed, aggressive and impulsive, and at times I wanted to throttle him
but it made the story REAL.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
It<span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><i>is</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>a complex story with many twists and
turns and with characters, which I think, will come into their own in the follow up to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Winds of Heaven and
Earth</i>. It's not a stand-alone read, but the ending isn't too much of a
cliffhanger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The chapters opened with quotes from famous poets or authors like Merwin
and Arthur C Clarke, which had a nice touch.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">No editing issues.</span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Blurb</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How far would you go to save your wife and child?</span></b></div>
<b style="background-color: white;"></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<b style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To another world?</span></b></span></b></div>
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span></b>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When Jordan Parish's wife Melanie disappears shortly after the couple announce their pregnancy, everyone assumes the motive is ransom.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But six months pass with no demand, and when the FBI discovers the only clue to her disappearance, a missing family heirloom worn by Melanie the day she vanished--with Jordan's blood on it--the investigation turns to the temperamental and volatile Jordan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Desperate to find his wife and clear his name, Jordan mounts an investigation of his own. What he discovers about his adopted wife's hidden past plunges him plunges him into the world of mystery and magic surrounding their families. And when Jordan and Melanie's brother Chase pursue strange assailants into a mysterious storm, Jordan is cast into a realm where he finds his child at the center of a struggle for power surrounding the culmination of a centuries-old prophecy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Winds of Heaven and Earth</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> launches a new fantasy trilogy, blending epic and contemporary genres in the tradition of Stephen R. Donaldson's </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and Roger Zelazny's </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chronicles of Amber</i></div>
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-50206231090499660982013-10-21T06:00:00.000+01:002013-10-21T06:00:01.914+01:00Lisa Becker<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>4/5</b></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Click-Online-Love-Story-ebook/dp/B004UI6IJ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367940624&sr=8-1&keywords=lisa+becker" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.com</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Click-Online-Love-Story-ebook/dp/B004UI6IJ0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1381101303&sr=8-4&keywords=Lisa+Beckerwiswor-21" target="_blank">Amazon.UK</a></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The cover </b>was bland and sort of faded into the background as an icon on Amazon, and had I seen in on a page in between all the other brightly coloured chick lit books (instead of being directed straight for it) I'd not have noticed it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The author's name was a tiny scrawl that I couldn't read unless I clicked 'look inside'. But <b>the title</b>, a single word, immediately spoke modern or technical and intrigued me enough to glance at the blurb.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Through <b>the blurb</b> I found out <i>Click An Online Love Story</i> is a romance told in a series of emails and I'm immediately put off: I'm hit with the thought that other people's messages are without character, meaningless and, well, boring. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Reluctantly, I have a look at <b>the sample </b>and<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am awash with names yet I'm still on page one! Renee, Mark, Ralphie, Shelly, Mel... I just can't see how a story can be cultivated from a</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> series of email conversations, but the reviews of this book urge me to keep with it and so I keep reading.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">We have a group of friends: </span><span style="background-color: white;">Renee, Mark,</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Ashley,</span><span style="background-color: white;"> Shelley and Lisa. Renee is the main character and her 30th is looming. She's single and not happy about it (a chick lit cliché</span><span style="background-color: white;">!) Mark convinces her she should join with him and sign up to an online a dating agency. There were some genuine laugh out-loud moments (or emails) as Renee went about meeting one bad guy after another.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">There were </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">a few 'text words' that sailed over my head, but not many, just enough to make it look authentic, so kudos to the author for that.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Renee and Shelley were lovely as characters, and I could visualise their BFF relationship. At first I thought <i>Click</i><b> </b>had character over-load but I began to get to know them and they all had their own distinctive voice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I didn't see the ending coming. It was a 'of course, should've spotted that!' moment, so very well done again to the author on that score.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over all, the reviews were right, it <i>was</i> a fun read. It took me a while to get into the reading the style, and I don't think I relaxed until almost a third into the book. If you want a challenge give this little gem a try.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No editing issues.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blurb</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="productDescriptionWrapper" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px 0px 1em;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fast approaching her 30th birthday and finding herself not married, not dating, and without even a prospect or a house full of cats, Renee Greene, the heroine of Click: An Online Love Story, reluctantly joins her best guy pal on a journey to find love online in Los Angeles. The story unfolds through a series of emails between Renee and her best friends (anal-compulsive Mark, the overly-judgmental Ashley and the over-sexed Shelley) as well as the gentlemen suitors she meets online. From the guy who starts every story with "My buddies and I were out drinking one night," to the egotistical "B" celebrity looking for someone to stroke his ego, Renee endures her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates. Fraught with BCC's, FWD's and inadvertent Reply to All's, readers will root for Renee to "click" with the right man.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-1459644459942800622013-10-07T09:22:00.003+01:002013-11-09T12:30:18.794+00:00Nicola S Dorrington<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">3/5</span></b></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Knight-Pendragon-ebook/dp/B00DPMIA1G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381056014&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Last+Knight+%28Pendragon%29bookjunk04d-20" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.com</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Last-Knight-Pendragon-ebook/dp/B00DPMIA1G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381096808&sr=8-1&keywords=Nicola+S+Dorringtonwiswor-21" target="_blank">Amazon.UK</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was convinced I wouldn't like this book. <b>The cover</b> was pleasant enough with Stonehenge on a sunset background, but it didn't appeal to me on a personal level only because it screamed 'historical' and that genre isn't my bag. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>The title</b> was deep: <span style="color: blue;">The Last Knight. </span>It<span style="color: blue;"> </span>made me think that I could be reading a tear-jerker. Maybe the ending wasn't going to be a HEA.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
I move to <b>the blurb</b> and it talks of foreseeing the future and past legends, then I read <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">then everything she thought was myth and legend is actually true </span>and now I'm not sure if the book <i>is</i> a historical. I'm still not convinced I'll like the book when I look at the<b> </b></span><span style="background-color: white;">sample.<b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>The sample</b></span></span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">surprises me because it's set in modern times, and that's something I didn't expect</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cara Page, the protagonist, is visiting her mother in hospital. The mother is suffering dementia and it's Cara's 17th birthday. I immediately connect with her youth </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My trainers squeaked on the tiled floor </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and then her sadness </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">'It's me, Mum. It's Cara.'</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> (she has to explain to her mum who she is).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">The sample was fast and told me enough to connect with the characters, and I'm happy to purchase the book. It was only 77p ($1.24) at the time of purchase.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
The book opens with Cara Page and her father who are both struggling to cope with her mother's diagnosis, and Cara is worried she is going to suffer the same fate as her dreams are becoming more and more strange, and worse, they are coming true. In her waking life she also hears voices and the result is her work is suffering at school and she (and everyone else) thinks she's going mad like her mother.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cara meets a boy called Lance, who takes a shine to her. She thinks it's an ordinary boy girl thing, but he's from the past sent to find her. She's his key to righting a wrong and even though he needs her more, she, unknowingly, needs him just as much. He and his friends (Wyn and Percy) coerce her to go with them, and the voice in her head says she shouldn't resist, so slightly thrilled and a little frightened she gets into a car with three men in the dead of night... sounds crazy but by then the voice in Cara's head is recognised from the one in her dreams. She doesn't think things could get any worse, I guess, and there's the promise that she'll discover the reason for her dreams.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Up until now, I'm with the author all the way, but </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I didn't</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> like the way Cara's dad was pushed to one side. In the beginning there were some wonderful heart-rendering moments between father and daughter so I was surprised that he became forgotten.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was also a lot of travelling by car: Cornwall, Wales, London... back to Cornwall, then Wiltshire... then I was surprised that Cara, having had only a few driving lessons and not even passed her test, decided to take over the driving and was able to drive all the way from Cornwall to London, find the Tower of London, park, and drive to Wales all in the same day (the book would have you believe it took minutes!).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But the book wasn't slow and the au</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">thor knew her legends and brought Sir Lancelot King Author, Merlin and the like alive. Dragons, Griffins, </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wraiths all featured beautifully bringing </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">mystical creatures and magic to the forefront of this book. A very high 3 out of five.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The is fundamentally a YA book, which verged into adult as the sexual tension between Lance and Cara sizzled. The ending was satisfactory but left room for the sequel. An excellent escapism read, I just wish Cara treated her poor dad a little better.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
There were a few editing issues.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blurb</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong><br /></strong>
<span style="background-color: white;">Like any teenage girl, Cara Page dreams of the future, the difference is, every day those dreams come true.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now she's dreaming of a boy, and a future that can't be real. Because if it is, then everything she thought was myth and legend is actually true, and there is an evil coming that will tear the country apart.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lance Filwer is a boy with secrets of his own, and a past full of mistakes he can't undo. Cara is his second chance, his chance to succeed where he failed before - if only she'll trust him enough to let him help her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cara needs to know what's happening, but the answer lies in a long forgotten past, and an ancient legend. To find it Cara will have to travel into the depths of Wales, and the heart of ancient Britain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With Wraiths, creatures from the darkest of myths, dogging her every move, Cara knows it's only a matter of time before they catch up with her. And myth or not, they will kill her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Her only hope is Lance, and the birth right she must claim, if she is to prevent the future she has foreseen.</span><br />
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-16747310584567685742013-09-24T18:17:00.001+01:002013-09-24T18:23:10.072+01:00 Karen Duvall<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>4/5</b></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Desert-Guardian-ebook/dp/B00DG8KCKG" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.UK</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Desert-Guardian-ebook/dp/B00DG8KCKG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380037541&sr=8-1&keywords=Karen+Duvall" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.com</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong>
This is an attractive looking <b>cover.</b> A romance, obviously, and set in or around the desert. It looks modern and a bit gothish (notice the piercings the man has in his ears). The title, again, speaks romance and from that I'm thinking it's about an alpha male looking after a, maybe ditzy, woman. Maybe she's in the wrong place at the wrong time...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><strong><br /></strong><b>The blurb </b>opens with<b> </b>the protagonist who receives a suicide letter from her brother, Jake, so I'm a little surprised that the book begins with the <i>other</i> leading character, Sam, but what a hook it was: <span style="color: blue;">What a perfect night for a kidnapping.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the beginning,<b> Desert Guardian</b> was a little Mills and Boony with it's endless sickly sweet description of 'peach shaped bottom' etc, which I found annoying but I'm glad I stuck with it because, after the slow start, it zipped nicely along and I was able to dismiss the flowery descriptions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The book has a mixed POV mainly between the leading characters Kelly and Sam but also with the secondary and the 'baddies' of the book. Sam and Kelly both had a past, which was gradually fed into the story, making them real fleshed out characters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the opening Kelly had already arrived at the cult. She's there to bring Jake, her young brother, home after he ran away due to an argument with their father but she has no idea of the danger they are in, neither has she realised the cult has begun its brainwashing on her already.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sam 'The Arrow' has been sent by her father to get her out. He does, but she still wants to find her brother and so hires Sam knowing she hasn't any money to pay him. He is smitten with her and decides to help her (he was once a member of the cult and so has 'unfinished' business with them). They are both attracted to one another but have no 'I hate you/let's have sex' going on which, considering it's opening, I was very certain was about to happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sam and Kelly work together to rescue Jake, and Sam's newly discovered little girl (I did say he had unfinished business in the cult, didn't I?). It isn't a quick rescue and Sam isn't a superhero. He doesn't fling Kelly over his shoulder and shoot guns with his free hands. He's very human and has limits, and when things so wrong with the rescue, things go wrong big time! And I must admit I was turning the pages quickly to find out how it would be resolved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course it ended happily, it was a romance, after all. But the ending wasn't one I saw coming. I hadn't a clue how Sam and Kelly were going to rescue Jake and Sam's daughter, and then Jake went missing... But all ends were tied with a nice satisfactory conclusion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A nice little gem of a story, and worth a read. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No editing issues that I noticed.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Blurb: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When Kelly Bancroft receives a suicide letter from her brother, she knows the star-worshipping cult he belongs to is to blame. She travels to the California desert to try talking him into leaving the deadly Star Mother cult, but he's nowhere to be found.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cult intervention specialist—and ex-cultist—Sam Reed, aka The Arrow, has his work cut out for him when he teams up with Kelly to rescue her brother. Sam has good reason to avoid the cult that killed his mother, but he's made it his mission to save those who have fallen under Star Mother's spell.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Deluded by their fantasy beliefs, the cult's followers await a starship that will deliver them to utopia on another planet. The caveat? All passengers must leave their bodies behind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Will Sam’s and Kelly’s romantic relationship help or hinder them in their struggle to stop a mass suicide? Or will they themselves fall victim to the cult’s fatal madness?</span><br />
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Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-45163095612911840942013-09-09T06:00:00.000+01:002013-09-09T06:00:06.255+01:00Marie Flanigan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One Big Beautiful Thing</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Big-Beautiful-Thing-ebook/dp/B00CM9K0PC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368642472&sr=8-1&keywords=One+big+beautiful+thing" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.UK</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/One-Big-Beautiful-Thing-ebook/dp/B00CM9K0PC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378119595&sr=8-1&keywords=One+Big+Beautiful+Thing" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.com</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They say never judge a book by<b> its cover, </b>well people do, and with this book I'd walk on by. It's dull with a capital D. A pot of paintbrushes on a dirty blue background. Very unappealing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It doesn't really say anything about the book, either. Maybe the main character is an artist? Even so, I wouldn't care. As for the genre, I couldn't say. It could be a thriller, crime, romance... anything but a horror or an erotic read. Two things I got from it (other than boring) was gentle or religious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The title </b>and the author's name are far to too small. Insignificant was the word that came to mind. The title didn't excite me and the author's name was almost an apology (after reading the book I get that the author was trying to make the cover look like a hanging painting. But it still needs more work). It's a book that wouldn't get noticed in the sea of other books on Amazon, and you what, now I've read it, that's a huge shame.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Within the first paragraph in the </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">'look inside' </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">sample</span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'm reassured that it's not heavy on religion (the main character 'couldn't remember the last time she'd gone to church') and I'm relieved. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The writing style is chatty and contemporary. It's also fast and in typical 'chick lit' style, and I find I have read the sample in no time at all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The protagonist is called Kate (Mary Katherine to her mum) and she has come home to grieve after the death of her boyfriend, Robert. And while her mother is away nursing her sick grandmother Kate has volunteered to step into her mum's shoes at the catholic school where she teaches art.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The relationship between Kate and her mother (Anne) is very </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">volatile and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">at first I thought she gave her mother a hard time but as the story progressed I realised <i>why </i>they had this love/hate relationship. It was fed to me very expertly and gently until there was some genuine heart-felt moments between the two.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kate meets Aiden and feels an instant connection. He's has a few problems of his own in the name of an ex with mental health issues, and feels he needs to 'protect Kate' from her wrath by keeping their relationship light and away from common knowledge. At first, Kate is happy with this because she's feeling guilty about moving on after Robert's death and wants to keep Aiden casual anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kate is an artist, a very good one, and <b>Marie Flanigan</b> was very confident in getting that across. She had either research it very well or is an artist herself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I loved this book, and felt the story was well told. It had a few laugh-out loud moments, but over all the book was heart-rendering. I especially cried a few tears when Kate ran away to her boyfriend's grave and subsequently went to find his grieving mother, where, it was discovered, never approved of her relationship with her son. Very nicely done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The book ended not with a complete happy-ever-after but with an ending where you suspect things would turn out well for all concerned and I liked that. Kate, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">her mother and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Aiden all had issues and it would have been too unrealistic to have a warm, cheesy ending with all of them hugging and ending happily.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A great début novel, which I'd be happy to recommend. It had no real significant editing issues either. A double whammy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blurb:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In this touching début novel, artist Kate Abernethy is trying to put her life back together after the death of her boyfriend. At first, moving back in with her mother seems like a good way to sort out her finances and re-evaluate her life—instead it proves to be a minefield of doubt and recrimination. Floundering, she pushes herself to take new opportunities so she can rebuild her life and have a second chance at happiness.</span></div>
Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-83779157336750511912013-09-01T06:00:00.000+01:002013-09-01T06:00:07.404+01:00Marylu Zuk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">4/5</span></b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Whose A&& Is That?</span></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Whose-A-Is-That-ebook/dp/B00E0LAKUK/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1376986976&sr=8-1&keywords=marylu+zuk" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.com</span></a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whose-A-Is-That-ebook/dp/B00CDGS7WW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1376987251&sr=1-1&keywords=whose+a%26%26+is+that" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amazon.UK</span></a></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br />The cover</b> of a large-bottomed female, struggling with her shopping hooked me before I saw the title. It was bright, nicely illustrated and resonated with me straight away. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The title</b> is clever and eye catching. It made me stop and laugh but I thought that, and especially the author name, could be bigger. There's a lot of white space not being made use of.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The price</b> of this short eBook did make me wince, and I think it'd put off some potential readers. Also, because of it's lack of length there wasn't a <b>'look inside' </b>to view and again, another fail. Who'd want to buy a 56 paged book costing $5.03/£3.27 without having a look inside? But saying that, these are the types of books you see in card shops, or on the counter of books stores to tempt you as gift ideas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The book was a short story told in rhyme. It was delightful, funny and cute. The illustrations are excellent and fun, and helped tell the story of a woman shocked by the largeness of her derrière to eventually come to terms and learned to live with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The rhymes roll off the tongue and are fun even though possibly true for some of us: </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's obvious I seem obsessed</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> with the bountiful gluteus maximus of which I have been generously blessed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Basically, it is a fun look at how women perceive themselves, and through this book we are able to laugh at ourselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Whose A&& Is This? </i>is described as a</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> gift book and I can see this cute little book being bought as birthday present or as a Christmas stocking filler, but it's a book to b</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">uy in<i> real</i> form. It doesn't quite work as an eBook unless you have a state-of-the-ark eReader.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">*</span></b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Author</span>, <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Marylu will be interviewed on WWBB 10th September. If you have any questions for her use the contact button top left of the screen and I'll put them to her.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blurb:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Filled with whimsical illustrations and witty rhyme, Whose A&& Is That? encourages women to laugh at our collective selves. Author Marylu Zuk reassures us that we are indeed perfect regardless of the size or shape of our buns. Whose A&& Is That? permits every woman to relax her abs, exhale, and laugh at what we rarely see - our own backsides! This quick read is a delightful gift for your female tribe - sisters, aunts, coworkers, and friends.</span></div>
Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2247764016110281749.post-26185894228588294342013-08-13T06:00:00.000+01:002013-08-15T09:45:45.691+01:00K.C. Ball<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lifting-Up-Veronica-ebook/dp/B00D01TOJE/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1376152247&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=lifting+up+verconica" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00D01TOJE" target="_blank">Amazon.UK</a></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">Lifting up Veronica</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I loved <b>this cover </b>it drew me in utterly. It was beautifully illustrated and spoke contemporary yet intrigue too. <b>The title</b> only enforced this belief, so when <b>the blurb</b> tells me it's<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"> suspense set in the 60s I'm a little surprised. But I can't take my eyes off that cover! Love it. I'd advise the author to have her name a little larger though because it's completely obscure.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The opening line in the blurb is powerful: <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">The smaller the town, the bigger the drama.</span> A great promo line for Twitter! I think the blurb is almost spot-on for pulling in readers, but this line </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">Mix in an assistant looking for fame and a beautiful woman who longs to become a mother, and it's a recipe for disaster...</span> is contemporary ie 'chatty'. What am I about to read?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The opening in the <b>look inside</b> bit was disappointing. An epilogue is usually obscure, but it IS meant to intrigue a reader and draw them in. I wasn't drawn, at all. Chapter one was better and I began to get to know the characters and the mean lead, <span style="text-align: -webkit-center;">Michael Kovac. He's come to West Virginia to film a documentary about a </span><span style="background-color: white;">Christian sect and their handling of venomous snakes in their sermons. On this basis, I bought the book.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's very atmospheric with the era wonderfully drawn. I could visualize myself in 1960 <span style="text-align: -webkit-center;">West Virginia, such was the strength of the writing, but, and it's a big 'but' <i>Lifting up Veronica</i> h</span>as a lot of characters and many with their own POV. It becomes even more confusing when the author uses their first and then the last name to identify them--and then there are the nicknames. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Michael and Irene's attraction seemed a little sudden, but maybe I missed a bit. I'm finding I'm skipping pages to get the main points in the book. It's a slow burner, for sure, and might appeal more to fans of literary fiction<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">I'm afraid I only got as far as chapter six. I didn't find any of the characters appealing enough to make me want to stay with them. It's a shame, and I don't think it has anything to do with the writing it's just one of those things because the genre isn't for me.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">I haven't starred the book b</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">ecause I haven't read the book fully.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Blurb:</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The smaller the town, the bigger the drama. In the summer of 1960, sociologist Michael Kovac travels to an old acquaintance's hometown in rural West Virginia to shoot footage for a documentary about Signs Followers — a Christian sect best known for their practice of handling venomous snakes. When money changes hands and the church elders are divided, Michael's involvement could lead to jail or worse. Mix in an assistant looking for fame and a beautiful woman who longs to become a mother, and it's a recipe for disaster...</span></div>
Louise Wisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04585797594757452007noreply@blogger.com0