Scattered Figments

2013 What's in a Name Challenge

2013-06-27T21:40:00.000+01:00

This quirky li'l challenge is hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

Here's How It Works

Between January 1 and December 31, 2013, participants must read one book in each of the following categories:

A book with up or down (or equivalent) in the title

A book with something you'd find in your kitchen in the title

A book with a party or celebration in the title

A book with fire (or equivalent) in the title

A book with an emotion in the title

A book with lost or found (or equivalent) in the title

My Challenge Reads and Reviews

A book with up or down (or equivalent) in the title

To Be Read...

A book with something you'd find in your kitchen in the title

To Be Read...

A book with a party or celebration in the title

To Be Read...

A book with fire (or equivalent) in the title

To Be Read...

A book with an emotion in the title

To Be Read...

A book with lost or found (or equivalent) in the title

To Be Read...

2013 TBR Challenge!

2013-06-27T21:00:00.001+01:00

Welcome to 2013 TBR PILE Reading Challenge!

I'm confronted by two problems this new year. 1) I have a HUGE TBR pile. 2) I have an even bigger list of TBR eBooks!

Those seem like damn good reasons to participate in this great challenge!

Challenge guidelines can be found by clicking on the challenge logo above! Basically, it prohibits buying new books and there are monthly wrap-ups, mini challenges and giveaways to make things extra fabulous!

Now, I'm joining up in June as I've decided that it's time to get back to work on Scattered Figments. I wasn't blogging, but I was still adding to my TBR piles like a book-loving loon!

Levels:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake

11-20 - A Friendly Hug

21-30 - A Sweet Kiss

31-40 - Love At First Sight

41-50 - Married With Children

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

I'd be happy to just give this one a firm handshake while I dip my toes back into the blogging waters! Cross your fingers for me!

2013 Audio Book Challenge!

2013-06-27T21:00:00.000+01:00

How could I possibly not take part in this! I'm completely in love with Audio Books so the excuse to listen to a few more suits me just fine!

There are four levels to this challenge:

Listen to 6 Audio Books - FLIRTING

Listen to 12 Audio Books - GOING STEADY

Listen to 25 Audio Books - LOVER

Listen to +++ Audio Books - MARRIED

I'm joining this challenge more than half way through the year so I think I'll just "flirt" with it!

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
SUCCESS!

Remembrance Day Review: "Heroes", by Robert Cormier

2012-11-11T22:20:00.000+00:00

Title: Heroes

Author: Robert Cormier

Format: Paperback

Pages: 144

Publisher: Laurel Leaf

Published: February 2000 (First Published 1998)

Synopsis

Taken from Goodreads

Francis Joseph Cassavant is eighteen. He has just returned home from the Second World War, and he has no face. He does have a gun and a mission: to murder his childhood hero.

Francis lost most of his face when he fell on a grenade in France. He received the Silver Star for bravery, but was it really an act of heroism? Now, having survived, he is looking for a man he once admired and respected, a man adored by many people, a man who also received a Silver Star for bravery. A man who destroyed Francis's life.

Review

As it's Remembrance Day, I thought I'd do a (very short) post about a truly amazing book. Once upon a time, in my former life as a teacher, I had the pleasure of teaching this book as a GCSE text, and I loved the experience. The book follows Francis, a young man whose endeavours in WWII left him with a Silver Star and a dreadfully deformed face. The book begins:

"My name is Francis Joseph Cassavant and I have just returned to Frenchtown in Monument and the war is over and I have no face."

How's that for an opening line? In just one sentence, Cormier establishes setting, introduces character and creates a sense of intrigue. The lack of punctuation indicates Cassavant's loss of control and his somewhat desperate state of mind. It's in this style that Cormier packs so much into this fairly slim tome.

This is one of those books which demonstrates just how powerful writing for young adults can be. This book deals with love, war, betrayal, abuse, identity, heroism, community, youth... and so much more.

Like I said, this is a short post. I'm just dipping my toe in the blogging waters as I've been awayfor a while. Instead of a lengthy write up. I made this as an intro to the book, back in my teaching days. I hope you enjoy, for the song if nothing else!

REVIEW: "The Name of the Wind", by Patrick Rothfuss.

2012-10-12T18:12:00.000+01:00

Title: The Name of the Wind

Author: Patrick Rothfuss

Publisher: Orion

Narrated By: Rupert Degas

Audible Release Date: 6th March 2012

Runtime: 28 hrs and 9 mins
[Dead-Tree book release date: 2007, by DAW Hardcover]

Synopsis

Taken from Audible

'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me'

So begins the tale of Kvothe - now an unassuming innkeepter - from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, through his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In part one you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend-hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin.

Review

It is a rare thing to encounter a perfect book, but when you do it's a double edged sword. On the one hand, you've discovered a story which consumes you and characters who seem so real that you half expect them to walk into your living room, pour themselves some tea and muddy your carpets with the dirt from their adventurous boot-heels. On the other hand, when the story ends, you miss these perfectly-drawn characters as much as you would a friend. The perfect writing is so delicate and so clear that all other prose seems clunky and unrefined. Therein lies the rusty edge of the sword.

I suppose a perfect book is much like finding a perfect lover. While they may ... ahem... rock your world while you have the means to enjoy them; while they may inspire you, fill you with joy and show you what perfection means, once the torrid affair ends, all other lovers seem rather lacking by comparison. As far as this metaphor goes, listening to the audiobook recording of The Name of the Wind is like spending a long, languorous evening with Apollo. However, since finishing this book, I've read several others and, now that I've enjoyed perfection, I've found that other books seem awkward, elbowy, brief and... unsatisfying.

The narrative of the book is largely in the retrospective first person, from the point of view of Kvothe, the protagonist of the tale. There are also interjections of third-person narrative which focus on the events of Kvothe's immediate life. Both perspectives have much to offer. In the first person, Kvothe's story is a bildungsroman which details his humble beginnings and fellows his life through to his fame and notoriety as a hero of legend. In the third person, we see Kvothe as a man who is still young in years (he is described as being in his twenties), but who also seems aged and worn. He hides behind an alias and has assumed the life of a small-town inn-keeper. But there are still hints of strangeness and otherworldly goings on in his new, quieter life of obscurity.

The plot is dense and brilliantly crafted. The world is believable and its magic (known as "sympathy") is so excellently imagined that I'm almost surprised that it isn't a reality! The wealth of characters are all intimately drawn and unique. Even the more subordinate characters come to life in Rothfuss' pages.

As well as praising Patrick Rothfuss' superlative writing, I just have to give a shout-out to the narrative skills of Rupert Degas. He takes the vibrancy of Rothfuss' characters and gives them the final breath of life. He makes their hearts beat and gives each their own unique personality and voice. Even great books can be ruined by bad narration. Thankfully, Degas takes an already great book and manages to make it even better.

The Name of The Wind is book one in the Kingkiller Chronicles and its narrative details the first of a three day discussion of Kvothe's life to Chronicler, a historian sent to find out about the hero of legend. Book Two (detailing the second day) is also available and my review is coming soon! Unfortunately, there's no publication date available for the final part of the trilogy and I have no idea how I'm going to cope with the agony of waiting for news and for the book itself!

There are just some books in this world which must be read and I can't believe how long this one eluded me. While the fantasy genre comes with some stigma attached, please do not let preconceptions put you off. This isn't just a great book "for it's genre", but a great book full stop. If I could give it a million stars then I would. As that would leave my rating system otherwise meaningless, however, I'll settle on five stars!

REVIEW: "Into The Wild", by Jon Krakauer

2012-09-17T16:52:00.004+01:00

Title: Into The Wild

Author: John Krakauer

Narrator: Philip Franklin

Length: 7 hours and 9 minutes

Audible Release Date: 2nd August 2007

Publisher: Random House Audio

Synopsis

Taken from Audible

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. His body - along with a camera with five rolls of film, an SOS note, and a cryptic diary written in the back pages of a book about edible plants - was found six months later by a hunter.

Review

Into The Wild, by John Krakauer, was my second venture into the land of the non-fiction audiobook. My first was a disappointing expedition which you can read about here. This time, however, I was pleasantly surprised.

This book is a kind of semi-biography of Chris McCandless, a young man who was looking to get away from too-civilised society and wander into the wilderness. Krakauer's narrative of McCandless' last months is a piecing together of letters, postcards, interviews and notes scrawled in the margin of a book about edible plants. Despite the somewhat scattered threads, Krakauer manages to sew together a tale which is both incredibly inspiring and sadly cautionary.

Readers of this book will, I imagine, fall into one of two camps. One group will see McCandless as an ungrateful fool who didn't make the most of the privileged situation into which he was born. Yes, he gave his money to charity, but it could be argued that someone with McCandless' brains and education could have made more of a difference to the world around him if he had used his idealism and tenacity (and that $25,000) to benefit others instead of indulging his desires to be an intrepid explorer.

The other camp will admire McCandless' daring willingness to live a life less ordinary. He wanted to do something so he did it. He wanted a different kind of life and wished for a different kind of world, and did all he could to make these things a reality. That's a noble ideal, right? Brave even. But also, yes, undoubtedly selfish and somewhat foolhardy.

I find myself with a foot in each of the camps. I understand McCandless' thinking. He was looking for an adventure, for a new and more poignant existence in some untamed part of the world. Unfortunately, he was looking for the sort of adventure that just isn't possible now. There are no blank spots on the map. No "Here be dragons" marking the far reaches. McCandless' desire to explore was like that of a boy who's watched a lot of adventure movies...

You really need to read this to decide which camp you fall into. It might be easy to judge the man's notions and ideals based upon a few tabloid news reports and a movie, but Krakauer's narrative adds a depth and reason to the last days of final McCandliss' life. He could have chosen a better adventure. He should have taken measures to ensure that his need for change wouldn't have hurt those who cared about him. But he was also willing to "be the change". In my mind, that made him special.

A Triumphant Return And Some Great News!

2012-09-07T19:10:00.001+01:00

Hello there, my lovely readers!

I know, I know... it's been a while hasn't it? I've been a bit rubbish about updating recently and for that I apologise. Sometimes life has a way of taking over and forcing us to prioritise our to-do lists, doesn't it?

Lots of changes have occurred in Lauraland, but now I'm back on the blog and I fully intend to stay here! I've read a whole bunch of great books in my absence so will be blogging about them soon. I guess I'll have some updating to do with the different challenges I'm a part of too. If you're keeping score then have a gander at the Audiobook Challenge, the What's In A Name Challenge, and the TBR Challenge pages over the next few days.

Before I start writing and posting reviews, I have some great news! I now have a teeny-tiny book review column in the South Wales Evening Post! By-line and all! Woop! It's an opportunity I've been given in my shiny new job as a librarian and I'm thrilled with it. It's going to be a challenge as I have to submit four reviews each week and they can only be 80 words each! I'm so used to rambling on that whittling down the wordcount might prove difficult.

I always did talk too much...

REVIEW: "Blood Red Road", by Moira Young

2012-07-18T21:51:00.001+01:00

Title: Blood Red Road

Author: Moira Young

Format: Paperback

Pages: 492

Publisher: Marion Lloyd

Release Date: June 2nd 2011

Synopsis

Taken from Goodreads

In a lawless future land, where life is cheap and survival is hard, Saba has been brought up in isolated Silverlake. She never sees the dangers of the destructive society outside. When her twin brother is snatched by mysterious black-robed riders, she sets outon an epic quest to rescue him. The story's searing pace, its spare style, the excitement of its fabulously damaged world, its unforgettably vivid characters, its violent action and glorious lovestory make this a truly sensational YA debut novel.

Review

As I begin this review, I have no idea how many stars this book's going to end up getting off me! Let's see if we can work it out together...

This is a book which has received tremendous praise from many other bloggers and reviewers. On the one hand, there was something strangely powerful about this book. The dialectical spellings and the improper punctuation added something to the dark depth of this story. On the other hand, I found some of the characters to be too shallowly drawn to truly like them...

I loved the echoes of T.S Eliot's Wasteland in the early descriptions of the book. I also wondered if Moira Young might have ever come across Final Fantasy XII; her description of the Sandsea was very reminiscent of the location (of the same name) in that game. There was also a strong Western element to Blood Red Road. These days, (in spite of some valiant efforts from Hollywood) cowboy flicks have fallen by the tumbleweed-strewn wayside. But I grew up watching John Wayne movies with my parents and I still kind of want to jump on a stallion, kiss my favourite gal g'bye and ride off into the sunset with a gun on my hip! So, while some might see this element of the book as a negative, it actually appealed to me.

Now I think about it, given the dystopian and western elements of the book, I suppose it reminded me a little of Roland Deschain's world in Stephen King's Dark Tower series.* Moira Young's references to the "Wreckers" who ruined the world, was decidedly evocative of King's novels. Saba's world was one which had moved on. I suppose all books in the dystopia genre portray such worlds though, don't they?

Saba was a great kick-ass female protagonist, but I felt that there were times when she lacked depth. I loved her shaven-headed cage-fighting toughness, but also thought that she frequently seemed a lot younger than her eighteen years. She displayed a lack of empathy which sometimes seemed more like a serious psychological problem than a quirky character trait. She treated her little sister in a way which might have been more forgiveable if she was young girl, but which seemed like bratty selfishness in a young woman. While I believe Saba's immaturity and shallow proclivities were deliberate, (over the course of the book she does develop) even by the end of her journey she still didn't quite fit her eighteen years. And yet, it is her society has kept her young and ignorant...

Hmm... suddenly the character drawbacks of the book seem for more deliberate and meaningful. I'm seeing depth where I didn't before. It's that kind of book. It needs attention. It needs thought. And suddenly, I'm appreciating it a lot more...

The antagonist of the book was a loony-tunes self-proclaimed King who was keeping his subjects high on a substance called "chaal". Dystopian books often tend to portray "The People" as sheep who have lost their way under the thumb of an evil rule, which has the potential to either save or doom itself. This mass is often drugged in some way, whether it be through propaganda, indoctrination or funky Kool-Aid. Young literally drugs her society, so the symbolism wasn't subtle, but it was still effective.

The inevitable love interest of the book was a young rogue by the name of Jack. While I liked his witty banter and his confident personality, Jack also struck me as a bit of a player. His lecherous stare when he first met Saba put me off. I was actually far more intrigued by the leader of the brutal Tonton, DeMalo. Before you start, I'm not swooning over the bad boy. I think my curiosity stems from the fact that DeMalo was a character with secrets. I'm looking forward to learning more about this fella.

Right. It's time to wrap this up and try to come to a conclusion. And you know what? Any book which gives me so much to talk about evidently has power. I don't think I realised the layers that this book had until I sat down to write about it. The flaws I saw in the book suddenly seem like secret little gems to be studied and praised. Saba's journey is going to be one which will test the innocence of her character and force her to be wise beyond her years.

This is a book which has a strange power. It's kind of burrowed under my skin and I just know it's going to stick around! I'm really looking forward to following the rest of the series! I anticipated a four star review, but in discussing the book, I've come to appreciate it even more. Five stars! Gotta be!

*For more on my desire to be a gunslinger, read my review of The Wind Through The Keyhole, by Stephen King.

No Strings Attached Giveaway!

2012-07-16T21:05:00.002+01:00

It's time for a giveaway! Yay!

As always, the prize I'm offering is A BOOK OF YOUR CHOICE from The Book Depository. And, as the name of the giveaway suggests, there are no strings attached! All you have to do is click your free entry on the Rafflecopter form below. Simple!

Of course, if you're feeling particularly lovely, you could always become a follower too. I promise to be very entertaining!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

Hop along and enter more of the giveaways!

REVIEW: "Swan Song", by Robert McCammon

2012-07-11T06:00:00.000+01:00

Title: Swan Song

Author: Robert McCammon

Narrator: Tom Stechschulte

Length: 34 hrs and 22 mins

Audible Release Date: 15th November 2011 (Paperback release: June 1st 1987)

Publisher: Audible, Inc.

Synopsis

Taken from Audible

"We're about to cross the point of no return. God help us; we're flying in the dark, and we don't know where the hell we're going."

Facing down an unprecedented malevolent enemy, the government responds with a nuclear attack. America as it was is gone forever, and now every citizen - from the president of the United States to the homeless on the streets of New York City - will fight for survival.

Swan Song is Robert McCammon's prescient and shocking vision of a post-apocalyptic nation, a grand epic of terror and, ultimately, renewal.

In a wasteland born of rage and fear, populated by monstrous creatures and marauding armies, earth's last survivors have been drawn into the final battle between good and evil, that will decide the fate of humanity. They include Sister, who discovers a strange and transformative glass artifact in the destroyed Manhattan streets... Joshua Hutchins, the pro wrestler who takes refuge from the nuclear fallout at a Nebraska gas station... and Swan, a young girl possessing special powers, who travels alongside Josh to a Missouri town where healing and recovery can begin with Swan's gifts. But the ancient force behind earth's devastation is scouring the walking wounded for recruits for its relentless army, beginning with Swan herself.

Review

How is it that this book has been off my radar for so long!? Seriously. I love epic, post-apocalyptic tales of survival and so this book should have been on my list from the moment of its release. Okay... maybe not that far back as I was two years old when it was originally released. No. This book was so good that even then I should have had it on my wishlist.

This book is a must read if you are a fan of Stephen King's The Stand or Justin Cronin's The Passage. I happen to be a huge fan of both and Swan Song is a bit like the love-child of these works.

It has a whole bunch in common with The Stand. The survivors of the apocalypse (which takes the form of a nuclear strike instead of a government-engineered plague) fall into two camps of Good vs Evil. There's a "dark man" figure who is decidedly evocative of King's Randall Flagg, and there are many religious undercurrents to the narrative.

King's work was first published in '78 so it pre-dates Swan Song. Even though the argument could be made that McCammon's work is derivative, I actually don't care. I see it more as one great piece of fiction inspiring another. While King's work is definitely superior, McCammon's story is still a wonderful read. Whole bunches of books have been inspired by great predecessors, and just because they don't measure up to them, doesn't mean they can't be great in their own right.

McCammon's protagonists were well-drawn and likeable. His antagonists were deliciously dislikeable in a fashion that was again reminiscent of King. The young Roland was a particular favourite of mine. He was as mad as a hatter and I loved every evil inch of the narrative that followed him.

Another favourite character was Sister. She begins the book as a raving homeless woman on the streets of New York, but the nuclear catastrophe shocks her sane. One of the reasons I've always been drawn to post-apocalyptic stories is because such an event would offer every survivor a clean slate to work with. This clean slate allows Sister's soul to shine and I loved the underlying message of her character development.

Swan, the young heroine of the book, had a lot in common with Amy, the young protagonist of Cronin's The Passage. She was a little girl with strange powers who developed throughout the book into a beautiful young woman who held the fate of the world in her hands. I liked Amy so I also liked Swan!

I guess there was a lot about this book which reminded me of other books, and I know that's not necessarily a good thing. However, in this case I honestly enjoyed every aspect of the book. The situation was gripping, the characters were realistic and the premise was epic. This is one of those books that I'd recommend to people after they'd read and loved The Stand. It's not as good as that, but it's damned decent as a follow-up read! A fab not-so-little read!

REVIEW: "A Monster Calls", by Patrick Ness

2012-07-10T06:00:00.000+01:00

Title: A Monster Calls

Author: Patrick Ness

Original Idea: Siobhan Dowd

Narrator: Jason Isaacs

Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins

Audible Release: 21st June 2011

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Synopsis

Taken from Audible

The First novel to win both The Carnegie Medal and Kate Greenaway Medal

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming....This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.

Review

The first couple of paragraphs are going to be really girlie. Fair warning.

Okay, I think I have two new men in my life and they've ended up there entirely based upon their voices. The first is Patrick Ness. I've actually loved Ness as an author since reading his Chaos Walking trilogy. How can you not love that kind of imagination? However, I now have a bit of a fan-girl crush on him due to the introductory author's note which accompanied this recording. You kind of have to listen to the guy tell you to "Run with it. Make trouble." in order to understand the hotness of the guy's voice. I was wishing that he would narrate the whole thing.

And then Jason Isaacs stepped in. If you're thinking that you know the name but can't think where from, then Isaacs was the actor who played Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies. He did a fantastic job with his narration of this book and I could quite happily have listened to him for much longer than the four hours it took to read A Monster Calls.

This was a really touching story. Connor was a great lad and his situation was heartbreaking. His mother, who battles cancer throughout the narrative, was a brave and touching character. Connor's grandmother seemed cold and cruel at times, but was simply a woman trying to remain strong in the face of the inevitability that she would soon have to bury her daughter. Ness subverts expectations with this narrative. He highlights the often sad conclusions of so many real-life narratives, a theme that is all the more poignant given Siobhan Dowd's own untimely death due to breast cancer.

The eponymous Monster of the book was also a subversion of common conceptions. He wasn't scary in a conventional way. Even Connor wasn't scared of him at first. He didn't eat babies or terrorise villagers. He was scary because he made Connor face up to the unfairness of reality and made him see how frightening the truth can be. Sometimes the scariest thing about tragedy is how happy it can make us when it's over...

I enjoyed the tales told by the Monster as I've always enjoyed the sometimes dark-morality of fairy tales. Ness' monster captured this tone and atmosphere superbly. Yesterday I mentioned Stephen King's knack for capturing the perfect tone for dark bedtime stories and I have to repeat this praise for Ness today!

Overall, this was a moving story. It is impressive that such a short tale can have such depth and beauty, and it is also impossible to forget the circumstances that saw it being written. However, great stories live for a long time. It is a touching tribute to the imagination of a strong writer that this tale was given life by the incredible Patrick Ness. His skills breathed life into a tale that might have otherwise been left to dust.

There was just a teeny tiny drawback to this audiobook. There are definitely times when audios have the advantage over good, old-fashioned dead tree books. However, this is one of those rare occasions when I'm going to suggest that you get the hardback. In using my monthly Audible credit on this lovely story, I missed out on the absolutely tremendous illustrations by Jim Kay. Thankfully, I work in a library so I was able to check them out retroactively!

A tiny rant about genre stigmas and (eventually) a review of "The Wind Through The Keyhole", by Stephen King.

2012-07-09T15:50:00.000+01:00

Title: The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel

Author: Stephen King

Illustrator: Jae Lee

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 352

Release Date: April 24th 2012

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Synopsis

Taken from Goodreads

In The Wind Through the Keyhole, Stephen King returns to the rich landscape of Mid-World, the spectacular territory of the Dark Tower fantasy saga that stands as his most beguiling achievement.

Roland Deschain and his ka-tet—Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy, the billy-bumbler—encounter a ferocious storm just after crossing the River Whye on their way to the Outer Baronies. As they shelter from the howling gale, Roland tells his friends not just one strange story but two . . . and in so doing, casts new light on his own troubled past.

In his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt-ridden year following his mother’s death, Roland is sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape-shifter, a “skin-man” preying upon the population around Debaria. Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, the brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast’s most recent slaughter. Only a teenager himself, Roland calms the boy and prepares him for the following day’s trials by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother often read to him at bedtime. “A person’s never too old for stories,” Roland says to Bill. “Man and boy, girl and woman, never too old. We live for them.” And indeed, the tale that Roland unfolds, the legend of Tim Stoutheart, is a timeless treasure for all ages, a story that lives for us.

King began the Dark Tower series in 1974; it gained momentum in the 1980s; and he brought it to a thrilling conclusion when the last three novels were published in 2003 and 2004. The Wind Through the Keyhole is sure to fascinate avid fans of the Dark Tower epic. But this novel also stands on its own for all readers, an enchanting and haunting journey to Roland’s world and testimony to the power of Stephen King’s storytelling magic.

Review

Y'all know my love for Stephen King is vast. I consider him the Dickens of our age and believe that his works will prove to be as timeless as Charlie's, given time. King is known as a spinner of spooky stories by most. Some, like myself, consider him a literary master too. But strangely, even among his "number-one-fans", his prowess as a writer of fantasy fiction is often swept under the rug. This is a true shame, because books like those of the Dark Tower series, The Talisman and The Eyes of the Dragon, are some of King's most brilliantly imaginative.

What is it about fantasy fiction that has given it such a bad rep? It seems that when we think of fans of fantasy, we summon up the image of acned youths who would prefer to spend Friday nights alone in their basements learning Elvish, rather than out making friends.* A lot of people seem to assume that if you're into fantasy fiction (and hell, I'd argue that all fiction is a fantasy to some extent...) then you have one of the following issues:

- bad taste
- a fairy fetish
- a desire to meet a talking dragon
- a tenuous grip on reality

Come to think of it, if you don't want to meet a talking dragon then maybe you're the weird one.

For the writers among you, anyone who has explored the publishing markets will have no doubt noticed how many agents/publishers state that they are not interested in reading fantasy, unless it's for the YA audience. I find this distinction bizarre. Harry Potter wasn't just a hit with the kids, was it?

Why is admitting to enjoying this genre on a par with professing to enjoying the odd puff on a crack pipe? It is more acceptable to love a poorly-written fan fiction about a BDSM-loving chauvinist, than to admit that you like to read books about wizards. (Yes, Fifty Shades fans, that was a dig in your direction).

Come to think about it, maybe one of the few genres held in lower regard than that of Fantasy would be the Western, and this book also fits that category. Even I've never perused the cowboy shelves of the library... And yet I grew up loving cowboy flicks!

Should I stop ranting now? I probably should, shouldn't I? This is meant to be a review of a truly excellent fantasy book by a truly excellent author, so let's get to that!

Stephen King can really spin a yarn. I've always particularly loved it when he adopts the tone of fairy tales. He has a way of capturing the magic and the darkness that made the stories of most childhoods so enrapturing. He did this in The Eyes of the Dragon and he does it again in The Wind Through The Keyhole. The villains are monstrous and wily. The heroes are noble but flawed and have brilliant names like Tim Stoutheart. The world is...wow.

The Wind Through The Keyhole is a wonderful return to the world of Roland Deschain and his ka-tet. Now, I'm very familiar with Roland. I've read the Dark Tower series and adored it. However, I can see why the synopsis claims that you could enjoy this book even if you haven't ever visited the world of the gunslinger before. You don't really need much prior knowledge about Roland or his friends because of the way the book is structured.

The Wind Through The Keyhole begins with Roland and his gunslinger-pals seeking shelter from a ferocious storm. While they are hunkered down, Roland tells a story of his younger days which involves him telling a story to another young lad. So it's a story within a story within a story.** The two stories within the frame of Roland's larger narrative are what matter in this novel, so newbies shouldn't feel too put off.

The world in which the gunslinger lives has many echoes of our own, except it has "moved on". Technologies are failing (though some remain) and civilisation is becoming sparse. It's a world where science is dying and so magic is emerging once again. This is a world which is part post-apocalyptic wasteland, part spaghetti western and part Arthurian legend. Very few authors could weave such elements effectively and King is one of them.

If you're one of those people who casts negative aspersions on readers of the fantasy genre, then I recommend you give this book a go. It could be your "gateway" book! It will lead you to the magical darkness that is the journey to the Dark Tower. It will acquaint you with Roland Deschain, one of the most enjoyable protagonists I've ever come across. You'll fall in love. The only downside is that when reading on the bus, you'll have to hide your book inside a less shameful tome. Perhaps an issue of Jugs or Playboy...

* A note to acned youths who would prefer to spend Friday nights alone in their basements learning Elvish, rather than out making friends. No offence is intended here. Elvish is cool. But maybe you could make a friend to learn it with..? Otherwise I recommend memorising this phrase:

Translation: I'm going to die cold and alone.

** When one story is framed by another, the term is mise en abyme. This is pronounced "meez on ah beam". This made me chuckle. All things follow the path of the beam. (Book-related joke).

REVIEW: "The Boys Next Door" and "Endless Summer", by Jennifer Echols.

2012-06-25T15:23:00.001+01:00

Title: The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer

Author: Jennifer Echols

Format: Paperback

Pages: 279

Release Date: June 26th 2007

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Synopsis

Taken from Goodreads

Cute, available, and one cabin over....

Lori lives for summertime on the lake. She spends all season wakeboarding, swimming, and hanging with her friends—including the two hotties in the house next door. With the Vader brothers, Lori's always been one of the guys.

But while Lori and the "baby" brother, Adam, are inseparable friends, she can't deny a secret crush on Sean, the older Vader boy. This year Sean's been paying Lori a lot of attention, and not in a brotherly way.

But just as Lori decides to prove to Sean she's girlfriend material, she realizes that her role as girlfriend to Adam may be even more important. And by trying so hard for the perfect summer romance, she could be going way overboard....

Review

I won this book in a giveaway ages ago. It is actually a set of two books: The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer. Just so's you know, I would not actually purchase a book with the title, The Boys Next Door. I don't generally go for books in which the central conflict is whether a fella is interested or not! A book should be able to survive without love interests. Case and point:

However, I was looking for something light to read in my garden on a sunny day and as the title of the twin-set was Endless Summer and the cover was nice, it seemed like a good choice.

The first book in the duo was okay, but it really was just about a decidedly predictable love triangle. I enjoyed the bits about wake-boarding and rather fancy giving that a go, but the rest of it really was like a cheesy episode of some tween TV show.

Lori, the main character, was vapid and selfish. She was one of those characters who had an unrealistic amount of bad ideas, never thought things through and never explained her ideas and intentions with the people whom would be affected. Most of the conflict of the book was engineered by her own stupidity. There were times when other were hurting and all she could think about was how if the situation might help her chances with the guy she fancied! I found her kind of appalling at times.

The two brothers involved in the predictable triangle were Adam and Sean. Adam was the obvious partner for Lori and her crush on Sean was juvenile. I also disliked the way the brothers behaved towards each other and the way the parents were so forgiving of Sean, who was kind of an asshat. It made for irritating and unbelievable reading.

Overall, though I don't sound too positive about this book, it was simply because it was aimed at a much younger reader. I am a big believer in the idea that YA books translate well for readers of any age. Middle Grade books, however, do not.

I have included the second book within this review because it carries on right after the first. However, by the time I was done with The Boys Next Door, I had had about all I could stomach of Lori. A few chapters into Endliess Summer, I realised that Lori hadn't matured at all and that it was going to be another book of semi-conflicts which where of her own engineering. I gave up and decided not to bother.

This is a pleasant enough read for a much younger reader who never had the joy of groaning at the ridiculous schemes of the Saved By The Bell kids! For them, this might hold something a bit more original!

Blogger Of The Week!

2012-06-12T20:03:00.001+01:00

The very lovely Lisa of Turning Pages, has declared me Blogger of the Week! Yay! Click on the picture below to read the Q&A she did with me! And be sure to follow her lovely blog!

GUEST REVIEW: "Fifty Shades Freed", by E.L. James

2012-06-10T05:00:00.000+01:00

Today I'm delighted to welcome the lovely Catrin, from So Catrin Says. Catrin has very kindly agreed to review the final book in the Fifty Shades trilogy for me, as I just plain can't be bothered to read the third book!

You can see the review in its original context, as well as follow Catrin's amazing blog HERE. I wholeheartedly recommend it! As a quick warning: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MANY SPOILERS. If you don't want to know what happens, then move along, folks! Nothing to see here!

Title: Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades #3)

Author: E.L. James

Format: Paperback

Pages: 579

Release Date: January 19th 2012

Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House

Synopsis

Taken from Goodreads

When unworldly student Ana Steele first encountered the driven, damaged young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and ultimately repelled by Christian’s singular sexual tastes, Ana demanded a deeper commitment; determined to keep her, Christian agreed.

Now, together, they have more – love, passion, intimacy, and a world of infinite possibilities. But Ana always knew that loving her Fifty Shades would not be easy, and being together poses challenges neither of them ever anticipated. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own integrity, identity or independence; Christian must somehow overcome his compulsion to control, and lay to rest the horrors that blighted his past and haunt his present.

Just when it seems that together their love can conquer any obstacle, misfortune, malice and fate combine to make Ana’s worst nightmares come true. Alone and desperate, she must face down the poisoned legacy of Christian’s past.

Seductive, shocking, sad and funny, Fifty Shades Freed is the compelling final volume in the Fifty Shades trilogy.

Catrin's Review

As my sister put it "wow, good title". And the covers are pretty snazzy too, working the moody and mysterious vibe. This is the problem: NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER.

In a post exam haze I was perusing the books on Asda when I saw the huge display dedicated to The Biggest Best Most Amazing New Blockbuster Trilogy. They looked nice easy reading for lounging around, and as a bonus they were only £3 each. Bargain.

What I should have done was asked one of my internet savvy buddies if they'd heard of them, maybe then I would have heard of the BDSM scandal surrounding the 'novels'. Although in all honesty I probably still would have read them just to see if the hype was true.

Basically, so far, virginal Ana met screwed up Christian who introduces her into the life of Doms/Subs and they have kinky weird sex dispersed with huge arguments. In book three nothing much changes except that they are married, the arguments are louder, the danger greater and the sex... well it's still not exactly vanilla.

As far as story lines go it's pretty much identical to Twilight; we got the marriage, unplanned/unwanted pregnancy and psycho villains who are mega evil wanting to destroy the happy couple. We even get an emergency C-Section delivery, although thankfully not via Christian's teeth. Despite this, the books are genuinely better written than Twilight, the characters are more rounded and the back-stories better planned. I like that Christian is screwed up for a genuine reason, and that he doesn't just watch Ana sleep because he's a creepy stalker (you listening Edward Cullen?), but because he was abused as a child leading to massive control issues and nightmares. And I have to say I disagree with Laura's preferring Bella to Ana. I like that Ana balances her feelings to protect and obey with an independent streak, that she insists on retaining her career and that she fights for every concession but knows how to pick her battles. I still hate that every bloody guy she meets falls in love with her, that she looks beautiful all the time and that she is given everything on a plate, but she's DEFINITELY better than dull as dishwater Bella.

As for Laura's hatred of "when the love interest is 'broken' and in need of 'fixing'", if we're honest, most epic classic heroes DO need fixing. And we love to see them change (or at least I do). Think of Darcy and Mr Thornton with their pride. Rochester's dark past. Pip's obsession with class. Gwendolen Harleth and Dorian Grey and their vanity. Alec D'Urberville and his evil intentions. Cathy and Heathcliff and their wild natures. We love and hate these characters because of their flaws which we hope can be fixed. When they can't be we get some of the best tragedies of the nineteenth century. Not that Christian is AT ALL on par with ANY of these characters, but I can forgive him for being broken, so long as it is cohesive and well written, which I'll admit, he is.

We then come to three of my MAJOR issues with the book.

1) Jack Hyde. The villain. I'm sorry, but as soon as I read that name waaaaaaaay back in book 1 I knew he was going to be the bad guy. Not only a bad guy, but a psycho with two sides to his personality. Call me old fashioned or even demanding, but I like a bit of mystery. I don't like stock characters who are foreshadowed so far in advance that there is no surprise whatsoever. Literally, it's all in a name, especially in a series so concerned with it's meta-literaryness (yes I just made that up). The same with the pregnancy. They both state categorically on book one that they don't want kids YET. In book two she has a minor pregnancy scare that leads to them reaffirming their earlier conversation. In book three her cancelled appointments with the doctor are mentioned several times. I swear that I realised she was going to be pregnant two full novels before the event. Seriously, there's a lot to be said for a bit of mystery.

2) The whole everyone-must-pair-up-nicely thing. Ana marries Christian. Christian's brother (Elliot) marries Ana's best friend (Kate). Christian's sister (Mia) is dating Kate's brother (Ethan). It's just too... triangularly simple. And dull. And really expected. And in all honesty James is a better writer than that.

3) The epilogue flash backs to Christian's memories. I mean, retelling the same story through his eyes? That is LITERALLY lifted from Stephanie Meyer's whole Midnight Sun nonsense.

But essentially, what Fifty Shades is is a slightly embarrassing but nonetheless ok chic lit. God knows I wouldn't want my sister/mother reading it (wouldn't that be awkward) and it isn't interesting enough that I'd recommend it. It's ok, I won't be reading it overandover but that doesn't make it bad, just a bit cliche. Like a cross between a Mills and Boon and some kinky playboy.

A huge thank you to Catrin for reviewing this for me. It's nice to have an alternative viewpoint! I hope y'all check out her blog.

Happy reading! Lx

REVIEW: "Fifty Shades Darker", by E.L. James

2012-06-09T17:59:00.000+01:00

Title: Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades #2)

Author: E.L. James

Format: Kindle eBook

Pages: 532

Release Date: September 15th 2011

Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House

Synopsis

Taken from Goodreads

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

Review

A couple of days ago, I posted My Review of Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James. I gave it two stars and said that I might read the others, just to see if the fuss over this trilogy becomes justified. Eventually, I did decide to give the second book a go.

Fifty Shades Darker continues the re-imagining of the Twilight series, but this time James sort of merges ideas from New Moon and Eclipse within a volume. Mostly the negative aspects! I always hated ho Bella fell apart in New Moon when she was separated from Edward. It annoyed me that she needed her manly-man in order to feel whole.

In Eclipse, Edward was decidedly evocative of Emily Brontë's Heathcliff, from Wuthering Heights. He was domineering and chauvinistic and an all-round pain in the butt! With Christian Grey, James took these annoyances and exacerbated them. I can't understand why women all over the world are swooning over this complete ass-hat of a man. I can't help but feel like it laughs in the face of strong, independent women everywhere.

I'm not the only one who thinks that these books glorify emotional abuse. This was one of the anonymous comments I received on my review of Fifty Shades of Grey:

"i have read this book and having been in an abusive relationship for 20 years, i found it really really disturbing.

i could see the same behavior patterns in Mr Grey of an abusive partner.i think if the book ever revisits Ana in 20 years time she would have been completly destroyed by this man, jumping like a frightened mouse always trying to second guess what he wants to stop being beaten by him!!"

I found this comment very moving. I think it shows just how disturbing these books can be if you've a: had some bad experiences with having to "submit" to the baser desires of others, or b: have got your head screwed on properly.

While I didn't mind Ana in the first book, in this one she really got under my skin. Her worst moment involved her being naive and stupid where her boss was concerned. I just lost a lot of respect for her after one too many daft moments.

This was a book which seemed to get confused along the way. James began to blur the sterile lust of the first book, with more saccharine attempts at romance in this latest instalment. At the very end of the book, an attempt at establishing some conflict was made, but it was a tad weak. Too weak for me to bother buying the third book... at least not any time soon.
So, for Fifty Shades Darker, I'm awarding two stars yet again. Some things were better, some were worse, so I feel that I don't need to reduce or increase the star count I gave Fifty Shades of Grey.

I don't think I even need to read the final book in order to know exactly where this story is going. I might try eventually, but for now my curiosity has been sated. To that end, tomorrow I am happy to have the lovely Catrin, of So Catrin Says as a guest reviewer! She's a lot more positive about the books than I am so it will be nice to have a fresh perspective!

Until then, lovely readers!

REVIEW: "One Moment", by Kristina McBride

2012-06-07T06:00:00.000+01:00

Title: One Moment

Author: Kristina McBride

Format: eGalley from NetGalley

Pages: 272

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Expected Release Date: June 26th 2012

Synopsis

Taken from Goodreads

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.

Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below—dead?

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?

The latest novel from the author of The Tension of Opposites, One Moment is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.

Review

I requested this from NetGalley as I kind of liked the cover and the blurb had me intrigued. After reading the book, I'm in two minds as to how I felt about it. On the one hand, I read this book out in the sun with my toes wiggling in the grass. It was an easy read that was just right for a lazy nearly-summer's day.

On the other hand, I felt that this book was a little on the thin side. This is going to be a fairly short review as there really isn't much to say about the book. The characters were a bit too familiar and it was fairly obvious from the beginning exactly how the story was going to play out. I think I would have preferred this book and felt more conflict if the first chapter hadn't been present.

Maggie was a decent protagonist and the group of friends was, though perhaps a tad clichéd, quite realistic in some ways. I think many of us can look back on our childhood friendship groups and remember a time when the equilibrium was disturbed. I thought this book dealt well with the confusion and loss that comes when comfort zones become disrupted. The death of Maggie's boyfriend was a great vehicle to exacerbate this conflict.

The blurb for this book says, “One Moment is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.” Well, I think that's sort of overselling it. It's a fine little story with some thin, but reasonably engaging characters. Mostly, it was a decent afternoon's read on a sunny day. A three star read!

REVIEW: "Fifty Shades Of Grey", by E.L. James

2012-06-06T06:00:00.000+01:00

Title: Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1)

Author: E.L. James

Format: Kindle ebook

Pages: 514

Publisher: Vintage

Release Date: May 26th 2011

WARNING: Given the nature of the book, there is some adult content in this review. Nothing too drastic, but thought I'd let you know!

Synopsis

Taken from Goodreads

When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny.

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds?

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

Review
Do you ever find yourself disliking something without ever having given it a chance? Maybe you form an opinion about certain things before really experiencing them properly. Unfortunately, I sometimes find myself unjustifiably against something. However, when I feel this way I try to make a point of giving said thing a chance. That way, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised and have a change of opinion. Or, I'll be justified in my dislike and be able to back up my slating with truth.

Fifty Shades of Grey was one of those books which I would have been quite happy to never pick up. Ever. As far as I was concerned it was a fanfic/masturbatory aid for older women. But then people started raving about it. I kept hearing that the characters were actually very well rounded and the narrative was engaging.

So, I decided to splash out and buy the book. I felt like I was selling out when I pushed the "Buy" button, but also felt good about the decision to put aside my prejudices and try and read the book I was so ready to slate.

Honestly, it was just slightly better than I had anticipated. It wasn't hugely similar to the Twilight books, though the inspiration was evident. But it still wasn't great. There was a story there and conflict and all the necessary ingredients for a book, but it was just kind of ... meh.

Most of my concerns about the book were justified upon reading it. Many of the character-flaws which irked me in the Twilight books were magnified, especially where Christian Grey (Edward Cullen) was concerned. In Twilight, I often thought Edward was a domineering chauvinist. In Fifty Shades of Grey, this is exacerbated drastically as Grey is into BDSM in a big way and likes very much to be in control.

Now whatever your own kink might be, that's just dandy in the right circumstances. But when your control issues extend beyond the bedroom and result in subjecting women to what is basically abuse, then it's time to get some meds. Grey's "quirks" are explained away by saying he had an emotionally abusive childhood. But I don't think anything justifies sadism. A bit of kink is just fine, and if blurring the pleasure/pain boundary is your thing then knock yourself out (pun intended)! But emotional and physical abuse isn't sexy.

I've always hated it in fiction when the love interest is "broken" and in need of "fixing". I think too many real-life bastards end up having their every whim catered for because their lover thinks they can change them. I just felt like Grey was a glorified abusive partner in the first book of this trilogy. Perhaps things change, but even if love does fix him, is that a good message? Does that negate his dark proclivities? I might have to read the rest of the books to see how this plays out... but I just don't know if I can be bothered.

Ana, the first person protagonist, was okay. However, I actually preferred Bella. Bella certainly had her annoying moments and is forever soured by Kristen Stewart, but she was always able to come up with a plan when the going got tough. She had faith in Edward which was sort of justifiable because, even though Edward was capable of being a monster, he kept himself restrained. And what human being doesn't have the ability to hurt another?

The most irksome aspect of Ana's character was how often she says "Oh my". It is impossible not to read it in a George Takei voice, which made many of the love scenes unintentionally hilarious!

Christian Grey, however, indulges his darker desires and causes pain to others. He's big on charity work and sustainable technology, but then Hitler had his philanthropic moments too. To me, Grey was more of an animal than his vampire inspiration ever was.

Overall, this story did have its moments. The chemistry between the two main characters was tangible and, at times, enjoyable. It's a shame that there was little more to this book than just some fairly cheesy sex-scenes and characters who I felt as much empathy for as I might a soggy sponge.

This gets two stars. I read it, I might read the others to see if the fuss over these books becomes justified, but mostly I just didn't love or even like it much. I didn't hate it either, it was just okay. Mostly, I'm glad I read it because now I can eviscerate it justifiably! So there's a plus!

REVIEW: "Dearly, Departed", by Lia Habel

2012-06-05T15:07:00.000+01:00

Title: Dearly, Departed (Gone With the Respiration #1)

Author: Lia Habel

Format: Paperback
Pages: 470
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: October 18th 2011 by (first published September 29th 2011)

Synopsis

Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

In Dearly, Departed, romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.

Review

I've had this book on the TBR pile for over a year now. I've been putting it off mostly because of the cover. Now, the cover I included at the top of this blog post is not the one that adorned my copy of the book. The cover to the right is the one I was faced with.

Urg. Cheesy bad, right? Can you blame me for sort of avoiding this?

I've always been a firm believer that it is perfectly acceptable to judge a book by its cover. There are very few books that this approach hasn't worked for. If I'd had the alternative cover then I might not have waited so long before picking up this book.

I wish I'd had the alternative cover because I really loved this book! I wasn't sold on the idea of a love story that involved a zombie. The premise seemed... kind of icky! However, if the whole "vampire" thing can become a romantic phenomenon, then why not Zombies? The book puts this quite well when it says, "Vampires are just zombies with good PR". That made me laugh.

A Zombie love story isn't an entirely new thing. The very first book review I ever posted to this blog was on Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies, which is basically an undead-reimagining of Romeo and Juliet. I thoroughly enjoyed Marion's book, but the zombies in it were a lot closer to the traditional idea of shambling corpses. In comparison, Dearly, Departed is a lot less yucky. Habel's zombies are dead, but not rotting or slow-witted. They're very much like vampires actually, except they don't heal and they don't live forever. They get a few years of decent brain activity before finally becoming more like the traditional George A. Romero creatures. I'm sure this is going to up the conflict of the next book!

Dearly, Departed is told in the first person but from a variety of different narrators. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would at first. Usually when secondary characters are given too much focus, I find myself longing for the moments when I can get back into the thick of the main plot. However, in Dearly, Departed, this wasn't the case. Sure, I wanted to see more of Nora and Bram, but I enjoyed the other perspectives too.

I have enjoyed the recent trend of Steampunk in YA literature and Lia Habel weaves Victorian ideals and futuristic technology together with aplomb. I loved the juxtaposition of corsets and tablet-computers. It's a world I could rather enjoy! And...that made me sound a bit dodgy, didn't it? Oh well!

Overall this book was very enjoyable. The unusual world was built fluidly, without there being too much exposition. The characters were rounded and strong. The narration was engaging and excellently-paced. This is a story I was able to submerge myself in and I was beyond thrilled to get an ARC of the sequel from NetGalley earlier this week!

I'm going to award this book five stars. It was original and dark and funny all in a nice 470 page bundle! I whole-heartedly recommend this fabulous read to all fans of steampunk and distopia!

New To The Bookshelves

2012-06-03T15:01:00.001+01:00

If you read my post about Mailbox Memes in a Post "Sirengate" Bloggosphere, you'll know that the popular "In My Mailbox" meme has taken a bit of a battering recently, due to the allegations of plagiarism surrounding the hostess of said meme.

I've always enjoyed sharing my excitement about the new books I've received with you guys, so I'm really glad that so many other bloggers have taken it upon themselves to continue the premise. I've decided to follow two of these new features.

The first is Letterbox Love, hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking. This is a mailbox meme which focuses on UK bloggers. I want to show support for my fellows on this side of the Atlantic, but take a look at this:

Yes. I made a pie chart depicting where my blog traffic comes from. Geeky, huh? But it clearly shows that a whopping percentage of my traffic comes from across the pond (various ponds actually!). Therefore, I figured I'd be a bit of a meme-hussy and will also sign up for Stacking The Shelves, hosted by Tynga of Tynga's Reviews.

So! Welcome to New To The Bookshelves, or NTTB!

I've got a whole BUNCH of new additions to share with you today as I haven't posted an update on my new books in over a month! Therefore, I'm just going to post a few pictures and link up to Goodreads, instead of the usual synopsis for each book!

New Paperbacks

One Day, by David Nicholls

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

Fated, Alyson Noel

The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Blood Read Road, by Moira Young

Slated, by Teri Terry

New Audiobooks

Insurgent, by Veronica Roth - Read my REVIEW

Swan Song, by Robert McCammon

Freebies from NetGalley

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, by Kristin Cronn-Mills

Circle of Silence, by Carol M. Tanzman

Dragon Age: The Silent Grove, by David Gaider - Read my REVIEW

One Moment, by Kristina McBride

Prison Nation, by Jenni Merritt

Pushing The Limits, by Katie McGarry

Special NetGalley Mention

Dearly, Beloved, by Lia Habel

I am still in a state of super-excitement about this one! So effing happy!

New on my Kindle

Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James

Fifty Shades Darker, by E.L. James

Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens

A whole bunch to be excited about, eh? Let me know your thoughts and your own hauls too!

Later days! Lx

Fun In The Sun Giveaway!

2012-06-03T12:22:00.000+01:00

Summer is my favourite time of year. I love it when everything is green and warm. So what better way to celebrate the approaching season than with another giveaway?

I'm offering one random winner A BOOK OF THEIR CHOICE from The Book Depository! All you have to do is fill in the rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the other great giveaways on this hop!

Announcing the winner of the Splash into Summer Giveaway!

2012-06-01T20:22:00.002+01:00

The Splash Into Summer Giveaway has drawn to a close and the lucky winner of a book of her choice is:

Entrant 843:

Tiffany!

A huge thanks to everybody for entering!

Don't feel sad if you missed out on the prize this time. My next giveaway begins on June 3rd so you will soon have another chance to win!

NOTE: Tiffany has been informed of her awesome victory. If she does not get back to me to claim her prize in 48 hours, then another winner shall be chosen.

REVIEW: "Insurgent", by Veronica Roth

2012-05-28T14:35:00.000+01:00

Title: Insurgent (Divergent Book 2)

Author: Veronica Roth

Narrator: Emma Galvin

Runtime: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Audible Release Date: May 1st 2012

Publisher: Harper Audio

Synopsis

Taken from Audible

One choice can transform you - or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves - and herself - while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable - and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Review

Everybody knows that anticipation can be both wonderful and terrible. When you spend a long time wanting something, sometimes when you get it, it fails to meet all those high expectations. That was not the case with Roth's sequel.

INSURGENT LIVED UP TO MY EVERY HOPE!

The dystopia in which Tris lives becomes even more vivid in Insurgent. The politics and power-struggles are more fierce, the themes of control and rebellion are more poignant. I loved the direction that this book took.

Tris and Four's relationship hit some speed--bumps in this book, which is common in sequels. However, I'm glad that this remained a background conflict. Both Divergent and Insurgent keep the love interest as a pleasant aside, instead of making it the heart and soul of the story.

I particularly loved the exploration of each faction in this book. While we saw a lot of the Abnegation and Dauntless factions in the first book, there were more situations involving Amity, Erudite and also The Factionless in Insurgent. I also really enjoyed how much more we learned about Tobias/Four's family.

In my opinion, the book had only two teeny-tiny little drawbacks. Nothing so big that I'm going to give this any less than five stars! The first was that Tris kept shutting Tobias out. I always find it irksome in books when characters don;t just talk about things which are blatantly going to cause trouble. Still, it did up the conflict. The second thing was something which always annoys me about sequels...

You know when you watch a TV show which ends on a big cliffhanger and then you have to wait a week for the second part? Well, before part two airs there's always a catch up, right? A quick 'n' dirty thirty-second recap which just refreshes the ol' noggin. Well, the older I get and the more books I read, the more I think all series books should have a paragraph or two at the start which reminds people like me what the hell is going on! Like I said, I'm not gonna take a star off because I get confused easily! He he.

All in all, this rocked. I can't wait for book three to come out. The ending of this book promises BIG things and it's going to be an agonising wait!

Read my review of Divergent here.

The Splash Into Summer Giveaway Hop!

2012-05-24T18:00:00.000+01:00

As I write this, I'm so sunburned that I can barely move. Even typing makes my knees sting! However, in spite of the pain, I have a couple of reasons to be chipper! The first reason is that sunburn means Summer! Woop!

You see, I have a LOT in common with this little fella:

I require a certain amount of solar power in order to function. This can sometimes be difficult in Wales, so when we get sunny days I have to make the most of 'em!

The second reason for my chipperness is that IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME AGAIN! Yay!

The Splash Into Summer Giveaway Hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Page Turners Blog. Check them out!

All you have to do to enter is fill in the simple li'l Rafflecopter form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

Announcing the winner of a copy of "The Green" by Karly Kirkpatrick!

2012-05-22T18:44:00.001+01:00

The lucky winner of a copy of The Green, by Karly Kirkpatrick is:

Alicia Marie Ezell!

A huge thanks to everybody for entering.

Don't feel sad if you missed out on the prize this time. My next giveaway begins on the 25th May so you will soon have another chance to win!

NOTE: Alicia has been informed of her awesome victory. If she does not get back to me to claim her prize in 48 hours, then another winner shall be chosen.