Entangled by Cat Clarke
9 January 2011
Filed under Book Reviews, Challenges for 2011
Tags: Cat Clarke, Entangled
To quote a line from the back of the book Entangled is “A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendship and electrifying attraction”. The story is told in the voice of Grace who at the start of the book has woken up in a white room and has no memory of how or why she is there. In the room is a table and chair, writing paper and pens. As Grace loves to write – that is how she chooses to spend her time and as the days pass she gradually starts to piece together the prevous events that have led to her being trapped in this place but she isn’t going to like everything she remembers!
This book is totally gripping and refreshingly different. It touches upon such a lot of very difficult subjects, such as self harming, and yet manages to do so with such honesty, sensitivity and believability that it is frankly difficult to put down. The story isn’t particularly a new theme but it’s told in a very creative way and even though you may second guess what is going on it isn’t until the final few chapters that everything becomes truly clear. I really liked Grace, she’s certainly not perfect but I don’t think anyone would be who suffered such a dramatic loss at such a young age. It’s difficult to write much more about the story without giving away the plot which I don’t wish to do as I think that this book needs to be read without any preconceived ideas so that you can be swept away by the writing. This is an emotional read but it’s not dark or depressing and the voice of Grace is really well conceived, touching and amusing.
I don’t really have any criticisms! I just suggest you read it – and anyway, it would be difficult to resist picking up this book as the cover will totally grab your attention! (Its true that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover but its also true that this can be the thing that makes it stand out from all the other books on the shelf!)
Rating A+
Plus – triple brownie points as I think (need to check though) that this book meets all three of my book challenges so me really likey!
Entangled
His Last Duchess by Gabrielle Kim
8 January 2011
Filed under Book Reviews, Challenges for 2011
Tags: Gabrielle Kimm, His last Duchess
This book was a present and bought probably because it was an historical novel – which I enjoy reading.
The story is about Lucrezia de’ Medici who has an arranged marriage to the fifth Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso d’Este. On the face of it Alfonso is not only a Duke and intelligent, but also handsome. However Alfonso is a very complicated man – as Lucrezia is about to discover!
I thought this novel was very well written – especially for a first novel. The descriptions of life in that period are very evocative and the characters are brought to life on the page. I found myself caring for Lucrezia and absolutely detesting Alfonso! This is the type of novel that makes you look at these arranged marriages and makes you realise how difficult it was sometimes for the people living them – Lucrezia herself was in fact at one point envious of her own maid who seemed to have such a lot more freedom to come and go as she pleased and speak and like who she wished. In marrying the Duke Lucrezia was basically totally at his whim in all things – she had no money, no independence, no friends and the Duke expected her to have no will or thoughts of her own – althouth in actual fact he obviously found her intimidating.
Basically, Lucrezia was a very innocent, sweet and naive individual and as such most people naturnally liked her. The Duke was superior, disdainful and proud and as such most people naturally disliked him. In this, Lucrezia was lucky enough to have enough people around her who genuinely cared about her – even from quarters that you would not expect. I guess I had second guessed the outcome but even so the final chapters of the book were written in a way that did make for a tense ending.
My criticism for this book would be that I found it a little bit drawn out in parts. The introduction was well produced but I found my attention wavering somewhat during the 100-200 page range and I think maybe some of this could have been edited as it seemed a bit repetitive and I was tempted to skim read certain chapters.
Rating -B
His Last Duchess
Fade Out, Morganville Vampire Book 7 by Rachel Caine
4 January 2011
Filed under Book Reviews, Challenges for 2011
Tags: Fade Out, Rachel Caine
The residents of Morganville are hoping for a quieter time now that Amelie’s evil vampire father is out of the picture. Claire can settle down and study a little more, Eve is going to star in the town theatre’s latest production, Shane has a new job and Michael is doing well with his music. And, they all lived happily ever after. The end.
Nope, never quite as easy as that with RC. This edition brings us a crazy super computer and a plot to bring about the destruction of Morganville!
I love spending time in Morganville (which is a bizarre thing to say given that it’s a town full of vampires). In fact I don’t know why I left it so long to read No.7. RC has created a wonderful series with her Morganville Vampires. The town is well thought out with an intriguing history that is slowly being revealed. The characters are well written and funny and the books are always an easy and enjoyable read. I suppose No.7 is not as fast paced or full of action as some of the previous books but I thought this was a bit of a relief to be honest. I loved spending more time with Myrnin – who is fast becoming my favourite character – and I think the change of pace this time around allowed us to spend more time with the Glass House inhabitants and also to see how Amelie is coping with her recent loss.
The other thing I like about this series is that they’re all like individual episodes, I’m not suggesting that everything is always tied up nicely and obviously there are cliffhangers, but each book is quite original. In saying that, and even though I think you probably don’t need to read the whole series, I would suggest reading all the books (and in order) – I just think this is much better as otherwise you tend to have missing pieces – which I personally find irritating. Anyway, they’re such enjoyable reads – with laugh out loud moments – so why not read them all??
If I have any criticisms – Monica didn’t star in this book very much but maybe she’ll make more of a comeback in No.8? And, I didn’t really get the point of the whole ‘bomb’ issue – it didn’t really seem to bring anything to the story other than to embarrass Claire?
That being said
Rating: B+
Fade Out (Morganville Vampires)
Trade Winds by Christina Courtenay
This book was bought for me as a present and probably not one that I may otherwise have picked up. It’s part of a new series of books published by Choc Lit. I guess Choc Lit gives you an idea what sort of books these are going to be – obviously a romance with some mind candy. The sort of book that you should probably take on holiday and read whilst lying in the sun with a long cold drink of something. And that’s exactly what this novel is.
The story is based on two characters. Killian, who lives in Scotland and has been disinherited by his grandfather and seeks a living gambling and Jess, who lives in Sweden and believes her stepfather is swindling her out of her inheritance. The story contrives to bring the two characters together and the romance obviously follows. This is certainly a very easy book to read. I think if you are seeking a great deal of depth or historical detail you would probably be disappointed but if you want a nice light hearted read with a couple of good looking characters who undertake a little adventure and escape a few life threatening situations then it’s all wrapped up nicely in this book.
I can’t say I was absolutely riveted by this book but also I had no problem in reading it. It was a bit contrived in parts and probably tried a little bit too hard in the last quarter of the book to bring both elements of adventure plus a lovely neat ending – but really can you complain about that?? I don’t know. What’s wrong with a nice light hearted read after all. Not everything you read has to be deep and meaningful!
I guess given that these books are for the romance lovers out there the only criticism I would have is there wasn’t enough of the romance element. There was some build up and anticipation which was okay but then before you knew it you have two people who to my mind are too well established – in more ways than one! I felt as though they ‘grew up’ too quickly and were almost like a seasoned couple – I guess I’m trying to say that they had lost the excitement element to their relationship which was a bit disappointing. Also, things seemed to come very easily for them and nothing was ever stressful which under the circumstances they were in is a little bit unbelievable. If you compare this to a novel like the Bronze Horseman, by Paullina Simons -now there is a love story to remember!
That being said this is a nice easy book to read and a must for anybody who fancies a bit of a holiday read that is not too heavy on detail. I’ll check out ‘choc lit’ again to see what else they have.
Rating -B
Trade Winds
Books and travelling with Lynn 