Top 5 Wednesday - Red Covers

Well it's that time of the week again.  Time to delve into the mysterious, and often forgotten, depths of my bookshelves to find my Top 5 books of the week.  This week we are looking for our favourite books with RED covers. 

 

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

 A striking cover even though the cover art has nothing to do with the story.  Love the

fonts and it has a raised text which feels nice against the glossy background.

 

Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones 

Love this series, and the cover is gorgeous.  It's things like the tennis shoes, sexy dress,

skull ring with the scythe that make it memorable.  Is just so Charlie ;-D

 

 Playing with Fire by Katie MacAlister

This is the first book in the Silver Dragons Trilogy (set immediately after Aisling Grey series finishes), and I just love it.

Very simple graphics that are represent the book.  Love the colours.... love dragons ;-D

 

Undead and Unpopular by MaryJanice Davidson

This is the 5th Book in the Undead series about Betsy Taylor, a woman who loses her job on

her 30th birthday and is killed on the same day only to wake up in a funeral home - in cheap knock-off  clothing!  

Turns out that Betsy is the foretold new Queen of the Undead.

Funny series, quick and uncomplicated.  Love the simple vector graphics which are very

much a representation of the Betsy.

 

A Girls Guide to Vampires by Katie MacAlister

While I wasn't in love with this series, these covers are just amazing.  I love the simplicity

of the woman in her Asian dress.  The small intricate details such as the laces on her shoes, or

the bow and arrow in her hand, are just gorgeous.  This has to be my favourite red cover to date.

So, that's it for yet another week.  Hope you enjoyed my favourite red covers.  I'd love to hear what you think of them.

This series was created by the lovely Lainey at GINGERREADSLAINEY and I'll include a link to the Goodreads group {here} if you would also like to participate.

Until next time,

 

Book Review: Maplecroft

Maplecroft
The Borden Dispatches, Book 1
Cherie Priest

Published: September, 2014

ROC, paperback, 435p.
ISBN: 978-0-451-46697-6

The people of Fall River, Massachusetts, fear me.  Perhaps rightfully so.  I remain a suspect in the brutal deaths of my father and his second wife despite the verdict of innocence at my trial.  With our inheritance, my sister, Emma, and I have taken up residence in Maplecroft, a mansion near the sea and far from gossip and scrutiny.

But it is not far enough from the affliction that possessed my parents.  Their characters, their very souls, were consumed from within by something that left malevolent entities in their place.  It originates from the ocean's depths, plaguing the populace with tides of nightmares and madness.

This evil cannot hide from me.  No matter what guise it assumes, I will be waiting for it.  With an axe.

As an avid reader and book lover, I understand the effort, blood, sweat and tears that the author puts into their books.  I hate it when I come across those rare few that really rub me the wrong way, but I feel that I have to be honest in my opinions as I review these books.  I say this because as much as I wanted to, I really did not find any redeeming qualities to Maplecroft.

This was the final book from my book club's Sept/Oct/Nov selections and I was looking forward to reading this paranormal retelling (with gothic overtures) of the acquited American murderess, Lizzie Borden - it being Halloween and all.  However I was so disappointed with Maplecroft that I actually had to put it down half way through.  I needed an few hours to get myself out of this book - and that rarely happens!

Sadly, the very inviting and mysterious cover art could not save Maplecroft.  I just was not a fan of the multiple POVs.  Yep, there are over six voices that each take turns in telling us exactly what happened to Lizzie, and how the evil menace was created/found, and set loose on the town of Fall River.  Now one or even two POVs would be okay.  The synopsis on the back cover made it seem like it would be from only Lizzie's POV, but having all those characters was so confusing.  It just ended up as one big mess as I couldn't differentiate between most of the characters - and by the half way mark, I didn't really care either.

All the characters were so annoying.  Even our main character, Lizzie Borden, was nothing special.  She's in her early 30s (32yo I think).  Average height, sturdy, strong - a lesbian in this retelling - with no qualities to recommend herself by.  Her manner is short and sharp and I found nothing in her that engaged me as a reader.

Dr Seabury was also not an engaging character, let alone one of heroic proportions.  He's in his early 60's and more often than not spends part of his chapters pondering the possibility that he has been lax in his professional care of the community.  He dithers and flounders and unfortunately after Lizzie, he also has the most chapters.  Even Emma (the sister), and Gertrude, aka Nance (the lover), were flat and un-engaging.  Nance is a sneaky cow that sees nothing wrong in drugging her lover so that she can satisfy her curiosity and spy on what is happening behind door to the basement.  A door that Lizzie keeps locked.  I felt absolutely no sympathy for Nance when she got her comeuppance.  Even Lizzie's total devotion to her didn't evoke a reaction in me other than indifference and a wish for this book to be over.

Be aware that although there is a lot of axe swinging and body disposal in this book, gore does not make up the majority of the content. 

I wanted to like this book so much as the basic premise was quirky and twisted and dark (hmmm, perhaps Tim Burton should consider a Lizzie Borden retelling ;-D).  However, the reality is that I won't be buying any more of the books in this series.

 

Mystery of the late book order solved!

 

Just a quick update as 2 boxes arrived in the mail just a few minutes ago... however one of them - the late Book Outlet box - had been violated by Australian Customs!  Yes, that's right my lovelies.  Customs has deprived me of a true unboxing as what arrived on my doorstep was a battered box held together with sticky tape and extra stickers ;-D

I know that for the security of the country items are screened, x-rayed, sniff tested by dogs, blah, blah, blah.  But I really don't like it when my books arrive in even a slightly battered condition (mainly around the top/bottom of the spine as you can see).   There is nothing I can do about this however -  but if they'd been truly damaged though?... grrrr

On a happier note, the second box was from Book Depository and contained a boxed set of the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness (US Hardcover!) that I've been lusting over for ages now.  It arrived in perfect condition, nestled amongst the new chunky bubble wrap they're using, and I've already put them up on my shelves to be admired by all {grin}.  Now I just have to find room for the other new books on my already cramped shelves.

I'll have better pics up when I review them, so watch out for them in the near future ;-D

 

Top 5 Wednesday - Halloween Recommendations

Happy Halloween, my lovelies!

Welcome once again to another Top 5 Wednesday.  This week we are looking at our top 5 Halloween recommendations.  Whether or not you like to have the fright of your life, or just want to get into the Halloween spirit, books can play an important role in getting your inner-imp all fired up.  So here is a list of what I plan to be reading in the coming days leading up to Halloween...

Wicked as They Come  by Delilah S. Dawson

With steampunk hunks and a twisted atmosphere it's a winner - plus it's got Blud-bunnies!!

The Woman in Black - Susan Hill

 OMG!  So good.  This is a Victorian Gothic/Haunted House deal.

{PS, the movie of this is way creepy ;-D }

 The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman

Such a fabulous book.  Eerie and mysterious.  A fast, action packed story.

 Maplecroft - Cherie Priest

 Just arrived in the mail, and can't wait to read for Halloween ;-D 
Lizzy Borden and demons... hmmmm

Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
This is the first book in the series, but it has everything!  Vampires, zombies, shapeshifters,
witches, necromancers, fae - and not the nice kind! - and anything else you can think of ;-D

WARNING
 Not for children or readers under 18!
Seriously, this series is full of MATURE CONTENT and does have graphic violence
 - and from book 6 there is are sex scenes (very graphic icky scenes from book 10 onwards)

So these are the books I'll be reading this Halloween.  I hope you found something you might like to try this spooky season.  Leave a link to your favourite Halloween Reads in the comment section below, I'd love to see what you're reading this Halloween.

And remember, this series was created by the lovely Lainey at GINGERREADSLAINEY and I'll include a link to the Goodreads group if you would also like to participate {here}

Until next time,

Book Review - Illusions of Fate

Illusions of Fate
Kiersten White

Published: 9th September, 2014

HarperTeen, Hardcover, 275p.
ISBN: 978-0-06-213589-6

If I had stayed on the thoroughfare that day, not taken the alley, I would never have met him.  For some reason the though of never knowing him leaves me feeling restless and aching.

I sit, defeated, and shuffle the cards for the hundredth time.  I cut the deck, close my eyes, and draw a card at random.

FATE

I always draw fate.

What can I say?  I was so disappointed In Illusions of Fate that I just had to jump back onto the trusty laptop - it's now after 10pm - and put pen to paper so to speak, to decompress and let out just how disappointed in Illusions of Fate I am.

Okay, so a few minutes ago I uploaded this review on Goodreads:

I was really looking forward to this book, so when the postman dropped off a parcel from Book Depository I couldn't wait to dive in...

and instead of an amazing story I was left feeling very disappointed. There were a few redeeming qualities to this book - and the cover art is gorgeous - but not enough to make this live up to the hype that has been surrounding it.

I found the main characters annoying, stubborn and quite thoughtless and vain. For most of the book I just wanted to give Finn a really swift kick in the rear, and it pains me to say this, but my favourite character was the Crow that Jessamin finds herself befriending. What I read was only okay, but it had the potential to be so much more. Such a short book for the $15+ that I paid for the hardcover.

Oh, and a map would have been nice too!

I even begrudge this book the 2 hours it took to read it. There was so much potential here and all we got was a quick and predictable read. Jessamin, Finn, Eleanor, Kelen, Lord Downpike, Melei, Jacabo, and even Professor Miller - Jessamin's horrible father - are just one dimensional characters. They have no depth, and there is little to no character development. The ending was rushed. Jessamin, who has been hunted the whole book by our antagonist, finally confronts him yet the identity of the person she battles comes way out of left field! What the...?!! Then, when she is left to mourn what happened, it was over within a couple of pages. The ending was very abrupt and gave the reader no chance to get back on their feet after having the rug pulled out from under them in the previous chapter!

The few redeeming qualities, for me, were the use of Sir Bird - and his relationship with Jessamin - as well as the hints of political intrigue. However, once again it wasn't exploited as much as it could have been - and isn't that a shame.

For such a beautifully presented book - and the naked cover is also very striking - the contents didn't live up to expectations. I won't be recommending this book to anyone but a true YA Fantasy fan. And even then, borrow it from the library!

Until next time,

 

Top 5 Wednesday - Books you didn't think you'd like

Just a really quick post to answer the T4W question for this week. . .

"what were the books that you didn't think you'd like?"

Okay, here we go - and in no particular order

Gladiatrix by Rhonda Roberts (AUS author)

Although it sounded great (and I love the cover) I was just so hesitant about buying this book.  I kept putting it back on the shelves and after about 5 weeks of looking at it I just decided to buy it and take the risk.  Thankfully it was great, and I've now read the following 2 books in the Kannon Dupree: Timestalker series.

 

Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich

This is the first book I read in the series, and I never used to read 'chick-lit', or contemporary books.  However I really needed something to take with me to work as I'd forgotten my book, so the cover looked quirky and a book about a bumbling bounty hunter sounded interesting.  Loved it, and now have all the books in the series, as well as the Diesel and Lizzie books.

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb

Out of all the books in this list I'd say that this was the one I was most dubious about.  I'd read Nora Roberts books, but I was never much of a police/detective story-goer.  My mum on the other hand loved this series (I think only 8 books had been published then) and I was really hesitant about reading a book that my mum thought was great.  I 'borrowed' it from her bookshelf one afternoon and darned if she wasn't right.  I loved it.  I then started to buy my own copies so I wouldn't have to keep borrowing hers.  Book 40 is due out next year, and I still enjoy the series ;-D

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Like Stephanie Plum, I was a tad hesitant to get this book.  I had no idea that it was part of a trilogy - and although I usually like all things paranormal and fantasy - I just wasn't sure about this book.  I ended up caving after a few weeks of staring at it on the shelves (and because it was the second last copy on the shelves) and when I got home I was nearly going to put it on my TBR bookshelf, but something made me just dive right in.  I loved it, and couldn't believe that I'd almost self-sabotagued myself into missing out on such an interesting book/trilogy.

White Tiger by Kylie Chan (AUS author)

Another along the lines of ADoW (above) where I found the concept interesting, but just was so hesitant about buying it.  I bought this book a few weeks after it was first published, but had no one to either recommend or discourage me from picking it up.  Once I'd read it, I fell in love with the main characters, and couldn't wait to read the rest of what I thought was a trilogy.  Turns out it is now a trilogy of trilogies, and book 8 was released a few months ago.  Can't wait to get my hands on the paperback binding and look foward to the ninth - and final - book in the Dark Heavens saga.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you enjoyed my top 5 books I didn't think I'd like, and if you have any questions or comments you know what to do down below ;-D

This series was created by the lovely Lainey at GINGERREADSLAINEY and I'll include a link to the Goodreads group if you would also like to participate {here}

Until next time,

 

Book Review - A Matter of Magic

A Matter of Magic
Patricia C. Wrede

Mairelon the Magician - 1991
The Magician's Ward - 1997

ORB, paperback, 448p.
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2632-4

TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TRADE PAPERBACK

When a stranger offers her a small fortune to breeak into a traveling magician's wagon, Kim doesn't hesitate.  A hard life and lean times as a waif on the streets of London have schooled her in one lesson: steal from them before they steal from you.  But then Kim is caught in the act and to her dismay discovers that magic isn't just smoke and mirrors.

If that weren't bad enough, the magician seems to like her and suggests she become his apprentice.  That's when the real trouble begins.  Kim finds herself entangled with murderers, thieves, and cloak-and-dagger politics, all while trying to learn how to become both a proper young lady and a magician in her own right.

Magic and intrigue go hand in hand in Mairelon the Magician and The Magician's Ward, two delightful tales of mystery and romance set against the intricate backdrop of Regency England.

Hi there all you lovely readers!  Today I'm just going to do a very quick round-up of a book that has taken me oh so long to finally get through (but actually took about 5 hours in total).  First let me just say that the cover is absolutely gorgeous - and part of the reason that I caved and bought it! - but once it was in my hands.... it feels soooo good ;-D.  It's got an almost suede feel to it which I do love and I've caught myself more than once just rubbing my fingers on the cover while I'm reading.

But onto the review.  I did have trouble getting into this book.  Perhaps I was just not in the mood for this genre but I read up till page 99, put in a bookmark, and the book then sat on my TBR bookself until last night when I decided enough was enough.  After getting in a funk about re-aquainting myself with the world, character and the slang used, I found much to my chagrin, that I really enjoyed the last half of the first story.  It is not the fastest paced story out, but it does set up the second book, The Magician's Ward, beautifully.

I enjoyed the use of the Regency era, and there is just something about mixing 19th century English settings with magic that really works for me.  It doesn't have to be Steampunk per se, but I do love the juxtapositions {yes, I know big words too!} of fantastical elements being found in the seedy underbelly of London.

In Wrede's version of Pygmalion, Kim is a girl who has taken on the guise of a boy so as to move around unfettered, and not to fall prey to the unpleasant elements of her home streets.  Orphaned, and with the woman she looked upon as a mother-type figure dead, Kim has found her niche in the local hierarchy as a thief for hire.  Until the night she is caught red-handed by a magician.  This starts a series of events - oh, how Lemony Snickets ;-D - that will take Kim away from the only life she's ever known and into the drawing rooms and ballrooms of London's elite.

I really did enjoy this bind up of both books.  The language is very easy to digest once you get into the rythm of things, and with no graphic violence, sex or very salty language, it is a refreshing change.  The world building is minimal, relying I think on the readers knowledge of this time period to construct there own ideas of the cityscape.  In all, I can't believe that it took me 4 or so weeks to pick this book back up and finish it as it is a great bit of escapism.

If you love paranormal romance, Regency romance, or like your historical fiction spiced up with a little bit of magic, then A Matter of Magic might just be what you're looking for.

I hope you've enjoyed this review.  If you have and questions or comments you know what to do.

Until next time,