Friday, April 29, 2011

April Montly Recap

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Books I have brought:

1. Radiant Shadows- Melissa Marr

2. Girl from the South – Joanna Trollope

3. House Rules- Jodi Picoult

4. Mama’s Italian Cook Book – Love Food Range

5. I ingredient, 4 Ways- Love Food Range

6. The Writer’s Journey – Christopher Vogler

7. Pink- Lill Wilkison

8. Which Lie Did I Tell- William Goldman

9. The First Five Pages -Noah Lukeman

10. Beautiful-Katie Piper

11. Promises to Keep- Jane Green

12. Desires of The Dead- Kimberly Derting

13. Ruthless Game – Christine Feehan

14. Murder Game – Christine Feehan

15. Afterlife- Claudia Gray

16. The Princess Diaries – Meg Cabot

17. When Horse Became Saw – Anthony Macris

18. One Hundred Candles- Mara Purnhagen

19. Tithe – Holly Black

20. Generation Dead – Daniel Waters

21. The Demons Lexicon – Sarah Rees Brennan

22. The Poison Garden – Sarah Singleton

23. Dark Secrets 1 – Elizabeth Chandler

24. Lopsided – Meredith Norton

25. What Kate Did Next- Liza Heidke

26. Every Day Around the World Cooking – Love Foods

27. Curse the Dawn –Karen Chance

28. Claimed by Shadow- Karen Chance

29. Embrace the Night – Karen Chance


Books I have Read in April

1. Ink Exchange – Melissa Marr

2. Another Me- Cathy Macphail

3. Flower Essences – Clare G. Harvey

4. Men I’ve Loved Before- Adele Parks


Sneak Peak Book Reading for May – BLOG TOUR BOOKS

Voices on the Waves- Jessica Chambers – Review Date May 16th

Love Struck – Chantelle Simmons – Review Date May 29th

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Men I've Loved Before - Adele Parks

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Pages: 384

Published: 2010

Date Finished: 28th April 2011

Rating: 4 Stars

Neil and Nat are a match made in heaven. They hate marmite and opera, they love reality TV and the missionary position. And they both absolutely do not want children.

At least that’s what Nat thought. But now Neil has made a U-turn and no longer dreads the prospect of dirty nappies and sleepless nights; he’s practically begging her for a baby. Nat, however, has no intention of swapping her independence and career for a life of endless self-sacrifice. She won't budge and can't explain why. As the cracks start to show, Nat wonders if Neil really is the man of her dreams. Or is it possible that someone from her past could actually be ‘the one’?

Nat’s got a little black book, filled with the names and addresses of previous lovers, could it hold the answers she’s looking for. Or it could be a one-way ticket to all kinds of trouble.

How do you know when you’ve met the one you’re meant to be with? And is the perfect match too much to ask for? – Good Reads Synopsis

Review:

When I began reading this book I think I expected to find another female character that followed the norms, and while her journey throughout the book hit a few core elements of a traditional woman, I did enjoy Natalie’s adamant nature and her career driven ambitions. In a modern world where women have more choices and freedom Nat’s is one of many hundreds of women who choose not to have children.

This is a rough topic for me, and throughout the novel I was challenged with her reasons, her actions and the world around her. When I learned the truth about her choices I had mixed feelings and those carried with me throughout the rest of the novel.

What I didn’t like about Nat was her need to keep secrets from her husband and their ‘perfect relationship’. Throughout the novel, while knowing its need for the conflict I often got frustrated with her lack of honesty and it helped me lean more towards Neil, the main male character. Who while during the last half of the book makes me question his personality, still remained fairly genuine throughout the novel.

Add to this mixture the minor characters, who for the most part came together beautifully. I connected with them on so many levels and I enjoyed getting a peak into their lives- past and present as well as the main characters. Each of the men in the little black book caused me to cringe and smile, often causing me into a fit of giggles or an excitable state where all I felt like doing was reaching into the novel to get to know them.

To begin with I thought her Adele’s writing was strange and a little over descriptive, but when I searched my mind I knew it was the unfamiliar that was stilting. While it took a few chapters to overcome my main concern was too much introspective information. However, when the story really kicked off I found myself enjoying getting to know the characters and their situations more deeply.

Overall it was a fun and provoking read, one that will challenge. I will be seeking more of Adele’s novels in the future, as Men I’ve loved before was a brilliant book to curl up with. I would certainly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a good chick-lit novel to add to their collection and challenges.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Non-Fiction - Flower Essences - Clare G. Harvey

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Pages: 127

Published: 2006

Date Finished:20th April 2011

Recommend it: Yes

Remedies & Inspirations for Well-Being

Discover the profoundly effective benefits of flower essences and how they can enable you to optimize your health and well-being.

Choose from more than 25 flower essences from around the world, including remedies from the Australian Bush, the Amazon, Egypt, China, India, Central Asia, the UK and USA.

Understand how to harness the potent therapy of flower essences with remedies, creams and spritzes. Synopsis - http://www.flowersense.co.uk

Review:

There is not much that the synopsis doesn’t cover, and much like the previous Live Better book I read, this is one that I would recommend on many levels, but before I do so I would like to tell you a little bit about it.

This book is divided into chapters and details not only what the flower is, where it is native and how to use it in essences, but shares stories, legends and what the flower denotes. It goes into how you can incorporate it into your everyday life and expands of a variety of flowers, from Isis to Roses, Sage and Cherry Blossom. Clare shares the healing qualities of each one and even explains how to create the best blend to suit your needs, from sprits, oils and even petal baths.

I found it helpful, insightful and strangely calming, not to mention it explained why I am attracted to certain flowers for the color and smell and why some make me happier than others.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes new age spirituality, healing and who wants to learn a more natural way to cope with the stresses and experiences of life – both good and bad. It is a brilliant reference book to have on one’s bookshelf.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Another Me- Cathy Macphail

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Pages: 176

Published: 2009

Date Finished: 15th April 2011

Rating: 3 Stars

It was as I was walking into the drama class that I remembered the girl I had bumped into and the green sweater just like mine. That was what had got Mrs Watt mixed up. She had seen the girl in the green sweater and thought it was me. That was the simple explanation. Wasn't it? Fay can't help thinking it odd that people start remarking on conversations she knows she hasn't had, or saying they have seen her when she knows she was somewhere else. But then she starts hearing muffled footsteps behind her, the flash of fair hair just like hers around the corner. Is she imagining things? A gripping, spooky thriller from the acclaimed story-teller Catherine MacPhail – Synopsis from www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

I must admit I wasn’t as excited to read this novel when I found out it was a middle grade /early high school book, [they aren’t really my style] and I always get the feeling that they are going to be vague and lack the intensity I need and get with young adult and adult novels. But Another Me wasn’t so bad and I found myself enjoying it.

While through most of the novel it did lack the language I like, Cathy’s writing style and her building of suspense made it an interesting read. I did want to know what happens to Fay, but I also found myself putting it down a lot of time because it didn’t provoke me enough to continue reading page after page.

The characters lacked what I would call extreme motive. Most of them felt flat to me, and I don’t want to judge this on the merit of the age group, but even still much like Alyson Noels Radiance, I needed more from the characters to want to care about them. Even Fay was a flaky character.

I did enjoy Another Me for what it was worth. The cover was what really drew me in and I might be interested to read one of Cathy’s other novels, granted, I hope that the next one I choose has more depth to it.

I would totally recommend this book if you want a really light read, and by light I mean big words, simple language and enough suspense and excitement to just about carry you through. If you are looking for a short read between more intense books, this also would be a great book to pick up.

Ideally, I am going to recommend it for younger readers because it reads better for a younger audience [11-15.] It does deal with elements of horror, but I don’t think it affects to age group it will affect a middle grades reading experience.