BOOKS AND GOOFY

Frogkisser! by Garth Nix My rating: 3 of 5 stars Poor Princess Anya. Forced to live with her evil stepmother’s new husband, her evil stepstepfather. Plagued with an unfortunate ability to break curses with a magic-assisted kiss. And forced to go on the run when her stepstepfather decides to make the kingdom entirely his own. Aided by a loyal talking dog, a boy thief trapped in the body of a newt, and some extraordinarily mischievous wizards, Anya sets off on a Quest that, if she plays it right, will ultimately free her land—and teach her a thing or two about the use of power, the effectiveness of a well-placed pucker, and the finding of friends in places both high and low. My thoughts 3.5 stars... This fairytale with a twist is a wonderful tale for a younger audience. I think I would've rated this a bit higher as a younger reader because it at times felt too childish for my liking. That being said, I love Arya, the main character. I also liked the references to various fair...

Stars of Fortune by Nora Roberts My rating: 3 of 5 stars Blurb (from Goodreads): To celebrate the rise of their new queen, three goddesses of the moon created three stars, one of fire, one of ice, one of water. But then they fell from the sky, putting the fate of all worlds in danger. And now three women and three men join forces to pick up the pieces…  Sasha Riggs is a reclusive artist, haunted by dreams and nightmares that she turns into extraordinary paintings. Her visions lead her to the Greek island of Corfu, where five others have been lured to seek the fire star. Sasha recognizes them, because she has drawn them: a magician, an archaeologist, a wanderer, a fighter, a loner. All on a quest. All with secrets.  Sasha is the one who holds them together—the seer. And in the magician, Bran Killian, she sees a man of immense power and compassion. As Sasha struggles with her rare ability, Bran is there to support her, challenge her, and believe in her.   Bu...

All That I Am by Anna Funder My rating: 5 of 5 stars Blurb (from Goodreads): All That I Am is a masterful and exhilarating exploration of bravery and betrayal, of the risks and sacrifices some people make for their beliefs, and of heroism hidden in the most unexpected places. When eighteen-year-old Ruth Becker visits her cousin Dora in Munich in 1923, she meets the love of her life, the dashing young journalist Hans Wesemann, and eagerly joins in the heady activities of the militant political Left in Germany. Ten years later, Ruth and Hans are married and living in Weimar Berlin when Hitler is elected chancellor of Germany. Together with Dora and her lover, Ernst Toller, the celebrated poet and self-doubting revolutionary, the four become hunted outlaws overnight and are forced to flee to London. Inspired by the fearless Dora to breathtaking acts of courage, the friends risk betrayal and deceit as they dedicate themselves to a dangerous mission: to inform the British govern...

Healthy Brain, Happy Life by Wendy Suzuki My rating: 3 of 5 stars Blurb (from Goodreads) : Dr. Wendy Suzuki one day woke up and realized she didn’t have a life. As an almost-40-year-old award-winning college professor, world-renowned neuroscientist, she had—what many considered—everything: tenure as a professor at New York University; her own very successful neuroscience research lab; prizes for scientific discoveries on cognition and memory; articles published in prestigious scientific journals. As a woman and a scientist, she was the envy of her peers and lauded by her superiors. On paper, she had a stellar career and an impeccable record. What could she possibly be missing? Everything else. Suzuki was overweight. She was tired. She was lonely, had strained work relationships, and for the first time in her life, completely without direction. So she resolved to change her life. The first step--get moving. Everyone knows that exercise makes you feel better—that when you hit the ...

Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer My rating: 4 of 5 stars Blurb (from Goodreads):   On his own. Thomas Bellweather hasn’t been in town long. Just long enough for his newlywed mother to be murdered, and for his new stepdad’s cop colleagues to decide Thomas is the primary suspect. Not that there’s any evidence. But before Thomas got to Garretts Mill there had just been one other murder in twenty years. The only person who believes him is Charlotte Rooker, little sister to three cops and, with her soft hands and sweet curves, straight-up dangerous to Thomas. Her best friend was the other murder vic. And she’d like a couple answers. Answers that could get them both killed, and reveal a truth Thomas would die to keep hidden… My thoughts: Halfway through this book, I was feeling disappointed. I thought I was reading some cheesy teen romance - the genre said 'paranormal romance'; where was the paranormal ! But then things started to fall into place and I started to...

Present Danger by Stella Rimington My rating: 3 of 5 stars Blurb (from Goodreads): MI5 intelligence officer Liz Carlyle has just been despatched to Northern Ireland to monitor the brutal breakaway Republican groups who never accepted the peace process and want to continue their 'war'. The situation becomes perilous when her informant turns tail. My thoughts: This was a pleasant thriller/crime novel to read. I would give 4/5 for plot. I think what let me down a bit was the characterisation. Sometimes the characters felt stiff and a little too clichéd for my liking.

Time and Again by Jack Finney My rating: 3 of 5 stars Blurb (from Goodreads): Transported from the mid-twentieth century to New York City in the year 1882, Si Morley walks the fashionable "Ladies' Mile" of Broadway, is enchanted by the jingling sleigh bells in Central Park, and solves a 20th-century mystery by discovering its 19th-century roots. Falling in love with a beautiful young woman, he ultimately finds himself forced to choose between his lives in the present and the past. A story that will remain in the listener's memory, "Time and Again" is a remarkable blending of the troubled present and a nostalgic past, made vivid and extraordinarily moving by the images of a time that was...and perhaps still is. My thoughts: I didn't quite like the writing style of this book but the storyline was alright. I always pictured time travel to include a time machine but the method employed in this book seemed feasible enough. In reference to the plot...

Cover from Goodreads Blurb (from Goodreads ): In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet which will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question the meaning of being "human". Words like "provocative" and "compelling" will come to mind as you read this shocking novel about contact with a race that creates music akin to both poetry and prayer. My thoughts: This was another interesting book to review. The story transitions back and forth between the 'current time' (2059 - 2060) and the 'past' (2019). [Come to think of it, I have been reading a few books lately that use this writing style!]  ...

Cover from Goodreads Blurb (from  Goodreads ): Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer. This is the twelfth expedition. Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself. They arrive expecting the unexpect...

Book cover from Goodreads Blurb (from Goodreads ): The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called "Le Cirque des Reves", and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway - a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from t...

Blurb (from Amazon): After a long and eventful life Allan Karlsson is moved to a nursing home to await the inevitable. But his health refuses to fail and as his 100th birthday looms a huge party is planned. Allan wants no part of it and decides to climb out the window... Charming and funny; a European publishing phenomenon. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, Allan Karlsson is waiting for a party he doesn't want to begin. His one-hundredth birthday party to be precise. The Mayor will be there. The press will be there. But, as it turns out, Allan will not... Escaping (in his slippers) through his bedroom window, into the flowerbed, Allan makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving a suitcase full of cash, a few thugs, a very friendly hot-dog stand operator, a few deaths, an elephant and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, Allan's earlier life is revealed. A life in which - remarkably - he played a k...

Blurb (adapted from Amazon): If you had a second chance at first love… would you take it? It's been three years since Adam's love saved Mia after the accident that annihilated life as she knew it… and three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever. Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Julliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other. My say: Oh-My-Gosh… I LOVED this book! It just drew me in like no book recently has. I actually am quite perplexed because this style of writing wouldn't normally be my cup of tea. But Gayle Forman really went all out in this sequel to If You Stay. Where She Went is written from A...

Blurb (adapted from Amazon): For seventeen-year-old Mia, surrounded by a wonderful family, friends and a gorgeous boyfriend, decisions might seem tough, but they're all about a future full of music and love, a future that's brimming with hope. But life can change in an instant. A cold February morning… a snowy road… and suddenly all of Mia's choices are gone. Except one. As alone as she'll ever be, Mia must make the most difficult choice of all. My say: I picked up this book after seeing the movie trailers on tv. I'm always intrigued when popular books are made into movies. But weird as it maybe, instead of enticing me into watching the movie, the movie trailer made me want to read the book! And I'd have to say I was happy I did. I thought the story writing was unique. The present day follows Mia's accident and her time in hospital. But while she is unconscious, she has an out of body experience, be...

Blurb (adapted from Amazon): Avicenna Crowe's mother, Joanne, is an astrologer with uncanny predictive powers and a history of being stalked. Now she is missing. The police are called, but they're not asking the right questions. Like why Joanne lied about her past, and what she saw in her stars that made her so afraid. But Avicenna has inherited her mother's gift. Finding an unlikely ally in the brooding Simon Thorn, she begins to piece together the mystery. And when she uncovers a link between Joanne's disappearance and a cold-case murder, Avicenna is led deep into the city's dark and seedy underbelly, unaware how far she is placing her own life in danger. My say: This review will be a little disjointed. I read The Astrologer's Daughter a while ago but haven't had the time to write this but here goes… "Only the strong-willed can change what's in the stars. It's always, and only ever, up to you". I liked thi...

Brief blurb: The Husband's Secret  follows a few characters intrinsically linked by a secret from the past. Cecelia Fitzpatrick finds a letter addressed to her by her husband, John Paul, which is only to be opened after his death. Cecelia is curious but John Paul's reaction is even more bewildering. What is he hiding?  To read the Goodreads blurb, click here . My say: I really wanted to like this book. But it just didn't click for me. In the beginning, I thought this was because I couldn't make the connection between all the characters. What does Cecelia have in common with Rachel? How does Tess fit in? Needless to say, it is John Paul's secret that link the three women in a way that they wouldn't have dreamed of. When everything starts to fall into place, I however started to feel even more disconnected. While I understood why the story unfolded like it did, it just felt like all rationality broke loose. None of the characters had the strength or res...

Brief blurb:   The Messiah Code by Michael Cordy is a thriller that brings together science and religion. On one hand you have an ancient brotherhood awaiting a new messiah. On the other side of the spectrum, you have Dr. Tom Carter who is revolutionising the science world with his new DNA technology. In an assassination attempt gone wrong, these two worlds are brought crashing together. Can Tom's work help find the new messiah? Can Tom discover a miracle to save his dying daughter? To read the blurb on Goodreads, click here . My say: I like a good thriller.  While there were a few parts of the story that had me thinking " really? ", I was happy in the most part to ignore those little holes and enjoy the story-telling. I really enjoyed the science side of the story. There has already been a great leap in understanding the human genome and the part certain genes play, but is it possible that miracles aren't random, that they are due to your genetic make...

My say: I first heard of this book from one of Ingrid Nilsen's  monthly favourites and I was curious to learn more. Read the blurb on Amazon and bought this for my Kindle right away! Sam Kingston is popular. She's 18 years old, loves to party, has a popular/cute boyfriend. Then on a rainy Friday night in February, she dies in a car accident. "They say when you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that's not how it happened for me." Like a recurring nightmare, Sam "wakes" up on the morning of her accident. Each time she does something different, changes an outcome, but each day ends the same. Initially, I have to admit, I didn't quite like Sam. I found her shallow and irresponsible. But perhaps that was Lauren Oliver's plan all along because as the story moved along, I came to like and even admire Sam. Each time she relives that fateful day, she learns more about herself and the people around her. She come...

My say: I had read many good reviews of the book and I told myself I'll buy it when I've gone through my stack of to-reads, which realistically could have taken forever. Then the movie came out. While I knew the basic analogy, the advertisements for the movie moved me - I wanted to watch this. "But, in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying." I'm not sure about you, but I find it difficult watching a movie after reading the book. Often, the book is so much better than the movie. The plot. The portrayal of the characters. You build a picture in your mind of what the characters look like. You take to heart the storyline. Then you watch the movie and everything falls to pieces. The characters are nothing like you imagined. The movie is missing bits and pieces of your favourite scenes (I understand some things or feelings cannot be portrayed the same way in a movie but don't you still feel betrayed?!). So...

My Rating:  3/5 Finding Emma is about 3 year old Emma being taken from her family. Without giving away too much of the storyline, Finding Emma  essentially follows  Emma's family as they deal with her loss. It is now 2 years since Emma had been taken. Her mother, Megan, won't give up hope, seeing Emma everywhere. Her dad, Peter, is trying to find peace by, what I personally perceive, as giving up. One sister is regretful, believing Emma's disappearance is her fault. The other is struggling to find attention. The story also follows Emma (or Emmie) and the older couple she's been living with. Whilst guilty of taking her, you cannot help but feel for the older couple as their circumstances unravel. Regardless of the circumstances, they really do love her and have taken good care of her. The story ends with Emma being reunited with her family. While I found myself immersed in this book, there were a few things that bugged me. The relationshi...

Book 1 of the A Song of Ice and Fire  series down and onto the second volume! My rating:  5/5 My say : This really was a surprise. With all the hype behind the tv series, I thought I would read the books before I watched the series. I always feel a little apprehensive reading a hugely popular series. One part of me is so keen to jump onto the band wagon while the other me is very critical. Just because it is so popular, doesn't mean it's for me... The first book however didn't disappoint! It was well written and not too difficult to follow, despite the complex and layered storyline and the many characters. The characterisation itself was wonderful. There's a character for everyone - someone to hate, someone to love, someone to admire. Personally I loved young Arya Stark, who is feisty and strong-willed, and her step-brother Jon Snow, a strong character who is an outsider despite being of Stark descent. Also can't help liking Tyrion Lannister. A warning to...