Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh (3)

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she's the best—but she doesn't know if she's good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archan ...more

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she's the best—but she doesn't know if she's good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option...even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn't destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break…

I purchased this book because: I was recommended this series by a fellow book-lover because she knew I loved Vampire Novels ... :)

Opening lines: When Elena told people she was a vampire hunter, their first reaction was an inevitable gasp, followed by, 'You go around sticking those sharp stakes in their evil putrid hearts?'


Well don't you just love the cover to this :) ... I am glad that I purchased the UK cover cos the other ones are not really nice at all .... Well enough of me being a book snob :) ... Good to read an author who is on this side of the world ... Well New Zealand .... Nalini Singh was born in Fiji but lives in New Zealand ...

This is another series that involves Vampires and Angels .... Where Angels and Vampires are seen by humans and live among us ... And it is definitely an adult Read ... There is some violence in the novels but there is quite abit of sexual scenes ... So if you don't like that in your novel this series is not for you ....

The main character of Elena I love .... She is a Vampire Hunter and works for the 'Guild'. When she gets a job from her best friend Sara ( Director of the Guild ) she starts to worry ... Her new employer is none other than Hunky Immortal Archangel 'Raphael'. Elena is not too worried about getting the job done but whether she will be able to survive her new employer ...

There is something very special about Elena which the archangel 'Raphael' senses .... And it will be interesting to learn more about her past as the series develops ....

This is a different twist on the whole vampire genre .... In this series the 'Angels' are the ones that create Vampires .... And when one of them goes walk-about it is up to the 'Guild' to bring them safely back to their masters ... But this new job that Elena has been offered is a little bit different ... She is not asked to hunt a Vampire but an 'Angel' and a very old Angel to boot ...

Some of my favourite quotes: 'What, you got a big hunt coming on? .... No. But I do have a high chance of meeting a horrible death, within the next few hours. Might as well do something good and up my shot at getting into heaven.' pg 12

I did enjoy the novel and the story line is really interesting but it has adult themes running throughout the book .... I probably would have rated it more but for the sex scenes ...

I rate this book 3 ***


Other books in the series in order:
Guild Hunter Series
#1 Angels Blood
#2 Archangel's Kiss
#3 Archangel's Consort ( Released March 14th 2011)

And just to show you the difference in the covers here they are ....


This is the Japanese Cover ....

The German Cover .... Which to be honest isn't that bad ... I quite like it ...



The American cover which I just hate ....

Definitely think I got the better cover of all .... Go the UK !!!

"Valiant" by Holly Black [3]

When seventeen year old Valerie runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.

But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. And when one talks Val into tracking down the lair of a mysterious creature with whom they are all involved, Val finds herself torn between her new found affection for an honourable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.


Second book in this series and just like another that I mentioned with the previous review, it has taken a side step with the story. Again bad language dominates this book and it has a lot of adult content in it as well. It wasn't to bad ... easy to read ... it's edgy and powerful ... and it's about a young girl coming to terms with a major disappointment in her life, and how she finds the courage to fight and be valiant in herself and with her friends. Not for young readers.
I rate this book 3 stars.

"The Secret Mandarin" by Sara Sheridan [3]

London, 1842

Actress Mary Penney has brought disgrace on her respectable family.

Desperate to avoid scandal, Mary's brother-in-law, the ambitious botanist Robert Fortune, forces her to accompany him on a mission to China to steal tea plants for the East India Company. But Robert conceals a secret - he is a spy for the British forces, newly victorious in the recent Opium War.

His task is dangerous - the British are still regarded as enemies by the Chinese and exporting tea bushes carries the death sentence. In these harsh conditions Mary grieves for her London life and the baby she has been forced to leave behind, while her fury at Robert intensifies.

As their quest becomes increasingly treacherous, Robert and Mary disguise themselves as a mandarin and man-servant. Thousands of miles from home, Mary revels in her new freedom and the Chinese way of life - and when danger strikes, finds unexpected reserves of courage.

I love historical romance novels and when I saw the cover of this book and then read the back cover I was totally intrigued, only to be sorely disappointed. This book turned out to be very slow going even though it is only 370 pgs. Mary tells the story and it reads like a diary but not in diary form. It takes so long to get onto the story as the author is telling you everything and describing everything and I must admit ... which I hate to do, I actually did skip pages without losing the plot of the novel. I just couldn't warm up to either Mary or Robert as I found them both very selfish people for various reasons. I did admire Mary for her courage and the adventure she does embrace eventually, as women in that time really weren't able to do much. It's a pity she was a fictitious character. Robert Fortune is a real person who was a famous Botanist and he was married to a Jane Penney. The author has taken licence with the story, but has stayed historically true as possible.

It was an interesting read for just once, I won't be picking it up again soon.

I rate this book 3 stars.

'Token of Darkness' by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes [3]

Cooper Blake has everything going for him until he wakes up from a car accident with his football career in ruins and a mysterious, attractive girl by his side. Cooper doesn't know how Samantha got there or why he can see her, all he knows is that she's a ghost, and the shadows that surround her seem intent on destroying her. No one from Cooper's old life would understand what he can barely grasp himself ... But Delilah, the captain of the cheer leading squad, has secrets of her own, like her ability to see beyond the physical world, and her tangled history with Brent, a loner from a neighbouring school who can hear strangers most intimate thoughts. Delilah and Brent know that Cooper is in more trouble than he realizes, and that Samantha may not be as innocent as she has led Cooper to believe. But the only way to figure out where Samantha came from will put them all in more danger than they ever dreamed possible.

First time that I have read from this author and to me this was definitely a teen read, it was easy to read and flowed well, but I have read better fantasy novels. At first the story was a little confusing and you weren't sure what was going on, but it soon made sense. You may not understand how all the magic works but there is enough plot to keep the story going but it's really more for the kids. This book could have a sequel to it, but also not necessarily. Sorry to say but for me it was just an average read.

I rate this book 3 stars.

"Ash" by Malinda Lo [3]

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love - and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

This novel has been a real dilemma for me. I actually looked forward to reading a story about 'Cinderella' and seeing how it might be written from the actual fairy tale that we all know and love.

While the story was interesting, for me it did get a little monotonous with all the soul searching that Ash was going through, although that was part of her deep grieving and she needed to find a connection to life. The characters are strong and well written. The story is fine but I was really disappointed with the ending. This is the debut novel for Malinda Lo and because of her life style she has put a twist into the original story, which is her prerogative, but for me it did nothing and actually took away from the romance of the story of 'Cinderella'.

I rate this book 3 stars.

"The Postmistress" by Sarah Blake [3]

It is 1940 and half the world is living through the horror of the Second World War,

but America still believes it is safe from the bloodshed.

In Franklin, a small town on Cape Cod, Iris James is the postmistress and she firmly believes

her job is to keep and deliver people's secrets, to pass along the news of love and sorrow that letters carry. But one day she does the unthinkable: she doesn't deliver a letter and instead slips

it into her pocket.

Every night Iris and Emma Fitch, the young doctor's wife, tune in to Frankie Bard;s radio

dispatches; anguished bulletins sent from the air-raid shelters and

Underground stations of London during the Blitz.

One night in a bomb shelter, Frankie meets a doctor from Cape Cod with a letter in his

pocket, a letter Frankie vows to deliver.

In the last desperate days of the summer of 1941 Frankie leaves a traumatized London,

rides the trains out of Germany and records the stories of refugees

desperately trying to escape . The townspeople of Franklin listen and the war seems a life-time away, but Iris and Emma, unable to tear themselves away from Frankie's voice,

know better.

A truly beautiful front cover and an interesting read for the back cover is what appealed to me.

Sadly I was a little disappointed with the novel.

[First of all, let me just warn you there is bad language in the story.]

The novel is about the secrets we must bear or bury. It is about what happens to love during wartime, when those we cherish leave.

While the novel tells the story through the eyes of three women, most of the content centres around

Frankie Bard and her reporting of the war in England and Europe. Frankie's reporting will touch you and leave you thinking about the horror that comes with war, and the sadness that those left behind face.

The novel is entitled The Postmistress...

which you would think would be about Iris James and her life as the postmistress. It is only

to a small degree, which is why I'm a little disappointed. I don't think the title matches the story

to well. I guess I was hoping to find out a lot more about Miss James and what her story was.

I did find the story a little confusing at first, maybe due to the writing style, a little difficult to follow sometimes. Once you got into the part where Frankie starts to travel it did get interesting.

I stopped and started with this book so many times because I did seem to loose interest in it.

It's not a long book, with just over 300 pages.

For me it was a once read, I'll not pick it up again.

I have read better wartime love stories.

I rate this book 3 stars...just!

"Fairy Tale" by Cyn Balog [3]

Morgan Sparks and Cam Browne are a match made in heaven. They've been best friends since birth, they tell each other everything, and oh yeah - they're totally hot for each other.

But a week before their joint sixteen bash, everything changes. Cam's awkward cousin Pip comes to stay, and cam starts acting distant. Morgan is stunned when her formerly perfect boyfriend seems to be drifting away.

When Morgan demands answers, she's shocked to discover the reason for Cam's distance.

It isn't another girl - it's another world.

Pip claims that Cam is a fairy. No, seriously. A fairy. And now his people want Cam to return to their world and take his rightful place as Fairy King.

I have been waiting a while to read this book and found it to be a little disappointing.

This is definitely a book for the 13-15 yr old. I've read a few books now to do with faeries and found the story on each is kind of similar...which is fine, but I just thought this one was a little weak compared to some of the others I've read.

The character of Morgan was a little whiny and I got feed up with it all being about her. Cam to me also came across as a little weak too.

Look the younger ones will probably enjoy it, but for adults you can find better out there.

I rate this book 3 stars.

Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress by Elizabeth Boyle [3 ]

What if all you have are the memories of a rake...

and the scandalous red dress that nearly brought you to ruin?

Reminders of the kisses he stole? Or his seductive, rakish smile as he charmed his way into your bed, stole your innocence and your heart? To proper and respectable Philippa, Lady Gossett,

such memories are best locked away. At least, so she thinks, until a stranger arrives

on her doorstep and offers her a chance to tempt fate once again...

to tempt Dash back into her life and quite possibly into her bed...

This is the third book in this series.

I actually struggled a little with this one for some reason...

It is written in the present which is 1837 and then goes back into the past of 1814.

While the flow between present and past isn't a problem, the story just doesn't quite grab you.

Pippin is the main character, she is the cousin to Tally who we meet in the book 'Confessions of a Little Black Gown'.

Her hero is the dashing pirate, Captain Thomas Dashwell.

The story and writing flow well, but I just couldn't relate to either character for some reason.

I found it dragged on a little with explaining the history of this couple and finding their way

back to each other. There is romance between them and they fall in love with each other. But due to circumstances they are separated for about 20 years.

In this period each has moved on with their lives...

but they still remember the passion they felt.

The question is... can they forgive each other and rekindle that passion?

Not a favourite in the series.

I rate this book 3 stars.

"Ink Exchange" by Melissa Marr [3]

Seventeen- year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their shadowy power struggles. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life.

The tattoo does bring changes - not the kind that Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that bind Leslie to Irial, a dark and dangerous faery king fighting for the soul of his court. Slowly, Leslie is drawn deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils...

Melissa Marr continues her tales of Faerie in a dark story of temptation and consequences, and of heroism when least expected. While this book isn't supposedly directly after 'Wicked Lovely' you really do need to read it next

as it contains characters that will continue into the next novel.

Another beautiful cover to this book and easy to read.

The character of Leslie is a poor girl that has some deeply distressing issues in her young life that she is trying to escape from, only to find she gets entangled into the world of faery and that makes things worse. As a mother my heart just bleeds for this girl and you want to just hug her and make everything better. Her knight in shining armour is Niall but even he can't help her, it is something she has to deal with herself. I really felt drawn into this one, but again the emotions of the teenage characters start to annoy you a little. Well written, teens will love it.

Look forward to reading the next..."Fragile Eternity"

Tithe by Holly Black (3)

Do you believe in faeries? Not the soft, gentle kind, but the sinister, feral kind - the ones that wreak havoc on everything in their path... As a small child Kaye used to talk to faeries. Now at sixteen she is fierce and independent, travelling from city to city with her mother's rock band, until an ominous attack forces them to return to her childhood home and friends. Once there, Kaye discovers that her childhood memories were real and she is drawn into a secret faerie world by an attraction that she is unable to fight. Finding herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient and violent power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms, Kaye agrees to go along with a plan to disrupt the human sacrifice that binds her faerie friends to their unkind masters. But not everyone has been telling her the truth and she is soon in grave danger...

I think this cover that I have is the UK version which is pretty ........ I have had this series sitting on my book shelf for a while now and finally getting around to reading them ... Holly Black is better known for writing the Spiderwick Chroncles but this is her 3 part series on Faeries ..

OK let me start by saying the beginning of the story is not really what I was expecting ... I have been reading alot of teen books recently but I would class this book as more like an adult book then a teen book ... Mainly because of the language ......... Gosh there is alot of bad language in the first 60 pages to which I was actually going to give up reading the rest of the book ....... But it does calm down and then the real story begins ......

It is an interesting concept of Faeries being not so the nice Faeries that we have been led to believe ... I feel that this book really is more so setting up the characters for the rest of the series ...

Who can Kaye trust? ......... It meant just surprise you !!! ........

I rate this book 3 ***

WARNING: I would have rated it higher expect for the language there was way to much of it that alot of people would not continue reading the novel which is a shame .... There is some violence also in the book which at some cases can be graphic ..... Definitely an older adult read not a young teen which it is marketed for ......

'Instruments of Darkness' by Imogen Robertson [3]

Thornleigh Hall, the forbidding seat of the Earl of Sussex, dominates the surrounding countryside. It's heir is missing, and the once vigorous family is reduced to a cripple, his whore and his alcoholic second son, but its power endures.

Impulsive Harriet Westerman has felt the Hall's menace long before she happens upon the dead man bearing the Thornleigh arms. The grim discovery cries out for justice, and she persuades reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther to her cause, much against his better judgement; he knows a dark path lies before those who stray from society's expectations. That same day, Alexander Adams is killed in a London music shop, leaving his young children orphaned. His death will lead back to Sussex, and an explosive secret that has already destroyed one family and threatens many others.

A rich and thrilling historical novel of secrets and lies.

I was quite taken by the cover of this novel and then by the title, so I then turned it over to read it was a historical mystery... well that took my fancy straight away. Quite enjoyed reading this book, not an author I have read before. Flowed nicely along, but took a few days to read through.

I did love the character of Harriet, she is a strong minded woman, who is not idle to let things pass by. Crowther's is also an interesting character and I enjoyed the by-play between the two of them. The two main characters seemed unlikely to become friends but that is what happens as they solve the mystery together.

Good read.

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison (3)

In the kingdom of Kendel, anyone caught talking with the animals or practicing animal magic is put to death, so Prince George learns early on to deny that part of his identity. He does everything for the sake of the kingdom, even if it means agreeing to an arranged marriage with Princess Beatrice from the neighboring kingdom of Sarrey. But Beatrice has a striking and unusual relationship with her hound, Marit, and George finds himself drawn to the pair, and to that part of himself that he has ignored for too long. He is faced with many decisions, including how to help his dying father, and how to free Beatrice and her hound.

This is a beautiful cover and a book that I had to order from the States because it is not widely available here. I had decided to expand my reading material to cover some LDS writers which write fiction.

The opening chapter is absorbing and I was really looking forward to reading a lovely fairy tale. But I have to say that I found it sometimes confusing and jumping around a little bit ... The characters are good and the story line is also intriguing but it is just missing something ...

This novel is suitable for a younger reader but it just wasn't the fairy tale story that I was hoping for ... but the message from this tale is good " Love can overcome all"

I rate this novel 3 ***

An Affair before Christmas by Eloisa James (3)

One spectacular Christmas, Miss Perdita Poppy Selby met the man she thought she would love forever. The devilishly attractive Duke of Fletcher was everything the convent-educated girl wished for in a suitor and their wedding day was perfect. Unfortunately, no one had quite prepared Poppy for what would happen next. Four years later, Poppy and the duke have become the toast of High Society but behind closed doors the spark of their love affair has burned out. Fortunately, Poppy has a friend in Jemma, the Duchess of Beaumont. Jemma, who is toying with another man herself, reveals to Poppy a world of strategy and desire that will change Poppy s whole outlook on love forever.

Well are we not lovin the covers of these books ...... This is the second in the series of the Duchess and although I did enjoy it is not as good as the first one ...

I love how there are certain characters which are popping up in the books .... And you are getting to know them better .... And I have to say that I love the character of Jemma .... and really hope that we will be able to find out more of her story ...

This book focus mostly on 'Poppy' or better known as Mrs Peridita Selby and how as a little girl all she ever wanted was to be married to a Duke. Now that she has her wish and it is 4 years later is she really happy???? .........

These books are light hearted and very girlie ......... So if you are looking for something that you can sit in front of the fire and just get lost in for a few hours ..... You will love this series ....

I rate this book 3 ***

'The Fetch' by Laura Whitcomb [3]

Calder, like every Fetch, had only one name,

but he had two ages: his Earth Years numbered nineteen and his Death Years numbered three hundred and thirty. Though it was no excuse for what he would do, for a Fetch, Calder was young.

The Order of the Fetch, on the other hand, was old - it began when the ruins of the first garden could still be found hiding in the desert beside a river, a blanket of green vines having grown over her like a shroud, and, in this moist cave that was once Eden, at the heart of her darkness, the Tree of Knowledge bowed to the earth.

For some reason I struggled with this book.

The story is set around the Russian Revolution and involves the royal family.

You'd think that would be a plus in it self.

Calder is the main character along with two children from the royal family, Ana and her brother Alexis. Calder becomes obsessed with the Queen and does something that no Fetch should do, causing all sorts of chaos in the aftermath, the story continues with him trying to fix what he caused.

It took me a week to get through this story and for the life of me, I can't put my finger on why it took so long.

The book has a beautiful cover and it's a hard back to boot,

but apart from that I was disappointed with it. I don't know if it was the way in which the story was written that it couldv'e been better or it just lacked something... I'm just not sure what?

It's interesting... but I think it would be quite sometime before I would pick it up again.

Be interested to hear what other people think of it!

I rate this book 3 stars.

A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin (3)

Cruel betrayals, royal secrets and an ancient murder. Two murdered princes; a powerful queen betrayed; a nobleman riding towards his certain death... Everyone thinks they know about the Princes in the Tower: one of the most fascinating, and most brutal, murder mysteries in British history. But the real story of the suspicious deaths of the young Edward V and his brother, and the involvement of the man who would become Richard III, remains unknown, over five hundred years since the boys were taken from their mother, Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV. Now, in a brilliant feat of historical daring, Emma Darwin has recreated their world and their terrible, exhilarating story: the power struggles and passion that lay behind their birth; the danger into which they fell; the profoundly moving days before their imprisonment; and the betrayal of innocence.

Well loving the cover and with reading the back of the book we as a book club where totally intrigued ....... And I have to say that I was abit disappointed with it ...... With the books description I was looking forward to the story of the two princes and what happened to them ...... But that story is barely touched on during the whole book ........ The book itself is two stories one in Modern times with Uma and Mark ( Which to be honest you could have done without) and the story of Elizabeth and Edward ( Which I could have had more of ) ...... If the book had been described as the story of Elizabeth and Edward I think that I would have been satisfied by that but it wasn't .........

There is a historical history at the back of the book which I was advised to read by one of the book girls first ...... Which I am glad that I did but I felt that unless you know a little about the monarchy of that era you will be completely lost ....... Which sorry to say I was for the first 150 pages of the book ... I do realize that the book goes back into time to cover the two periods but there is no clear way that this novel does it ... One minute you are reading about Queen Elizabeth and then in the next sentence you are deported to modern times ..... Very confusing .....

The best pieces of this novel are definitely with Elizabeth her brother Anthony and her husband the King Edward ...... I just wished that there was more ........... I was waiting and waiting for the story of the two princes and was left abit flat as this story was never really mentioned ... It did make me curious to actually search out more books about Elizabeth and Edward to compare stories ......

Sad to say that is an average read for me ....... Could have been alot better and had so much potential ........

I rate this book 3 ***

Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast (3)

The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire--that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

Well recently I have been on a Vampire kick ....... Reading lots of Vampire books both adult and Teen ....... This book is a teen book but I was disappointed with the swearing and also some sexual references which kind of spoiled it for me abit ........ The story line is good and the characters are solid but just some of the language :( ............. This is the 1st book from a Series ( what is with series at the moment !!! ) called A House of Night.

I was in two minds on reading the next book in the series because of the language ... Which is a shame !!! ..... The main character of Zoey is a young 16 year old looking to find her place in life when she gets Marked by the Tracker to become a Vampire ......... She is then send to attend A special Vampire School which trains the new found Vampires on their new lifes :) ............. You have the usual crowd ...... The nerdy kids and the In Group ......... And of course no novel would be complete without the hunky men ( Eric )

If you love Vampire books then you are going to love this series ( A house of Night ) ......... I probably would have rated it higher if not for the use of language ........

I rate this book 3 ***

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan 3***

In Mary's world there are simple truths.

The sisterhood always knows best.

The Guardians will protect and serve.

The unconsecrated will never relent.

And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But, slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the sisterhood and it's secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future - between the one she loves and the one who loves her.

And she must face the truth about the Forest of the Hands and Teeth.

Well... what can I say... wasn't quite what I was expecting, but then I'm not really sure what I was expecting.It's a bit like the Village/I am Legend, wasn't really my cup of tea, but for those of you that like zombie type books you'll enjoy reading this one.

The concept of the story was interesting but I found the plot a little slow at times, yet I still had this morbid fascination to see how it all ended, and even then I was a little disappointed. It is a bleak kind of story, but also a story of humanities need to survive.

I personally wouldn't pick it up again... but I'm not into zombies either...!

Triskellion by Will Peterson 3***

Rachel and Adam are sent from their New York home to stay with their grandmother, following their parents' bitter divorce. But the quiet English village where their mother was born is a sinister and unsettling place. Is there a genuinely dark heart beating beneath the thatched roofs of the picturesque village of Triskellion?

Against a brooding background of very real danger, the two young outsiders follow an incredible trail on an archaeological adventure with a startling paranormal twist. In a community that has existed in the same place for centuries, many terrible secrets lie hidden, and the villagers of Triskellion have a great deal to protect...

The front cover of this young teenagers book is what drew me too it, beautifully done with bees over it. {11,12,13 yr olds}

While I enjoyed reading the story I found it was probably a little young for my taste. Well written and easy to follow the young teenagers will quite enjoy reading it. Apparently there will be two more that will follow on from this novel.

One for the kids...

The Conjuror's Bird by Martin Davies 3***

Journeys begin in many different ways. It was Cook, a man experienced in preparations for a long sea expedition, who persuaded Joseph Banks to return to Revesby before they sailed; so that summer of 1768, two months before they were due to depart, he made the journey back to Lincolnshire; back to the woods and fields that for the next three years were what he thought of when he thought of home.

It was an interesting first novel, not quite what I was expecting.

The author has mixed current day life with past historical intrigue.

He managed to intertwine both stories so that you never got lost in either. I did enjoy it

but It wouldn't be one of my all time favourites.

I rate this book 3***

The Spare Room by Helen Garner

Helen prepares her spare room for her friend Nicola, who is flying down from Sydney for a three-week visit. But this is no ordinary visit - Nicola has advanced cancer. She is coming to Melbourne to receive treatment she believes will cure her. From the moment Nicola steps off the plane, Helen becomes her nurse, her protector, her guardian angel and her stony judge.

The Spare Room tells a story of compassion and rage as the two women - one sceptical, one stubbornly serene - negotiate their way through Nicola's gruelling treatments. Garner's dialogue is pitch perfect, her sense of pacing flawless as this novel draws to its terrible and transcendent finale.

The story and author asks, "How much of ourselves are we willing to give up to help a friend?" I found this book quite real and sometimes hard going at times not in reading it but with the subject matter. There are moments of humour throughout the book as the two woman try and deal with the illness. But then there are moments which emphasises just how hard and trying it is to watch someone you love suffer.

The book really doesn't sugar-coat how this illness effects people ... And you could completely understand the characters if you have ever cared for someone with terminal cancer ... It takes you on a ride of different of emotions ... as a carer and also as the patient ..

.

There is some swearing in the book but it really is just an honest story of how two woman try to cope !!

I rate this book 3***