Cut Short - Leigh Russell

I don't usually read crime fiction, but I was delighted to receive a review copy of Leigh Russell's deput novel, Cut Short.

When D.I. Geraldine Steel relocates to the quiet rural town of Woolsmarsh, she expects to find her new home to be somewhere where nothing much ever happens; a space where she can battle her demons in private. But when she finds herself pitted against a twisted killer preying on local young women she quickly discovers how wrong she is...

By day, the park is a place for children's games, for people walking their dogs or taking a short cut to avoid the streets. But in the shadows a predator prowls, hunting for a fresh victim. When an unwitting bystander comes forward as a witness she quickly becomes the next object of his murderous obsessions - someone whom the killer must stop at all costs.

D.I. Geraldine Steel is locked into a race against time, determined to find the killer before they discover yet another naked corpse . But can she save the lives of the town's young women - or will Geraldine herself become the killer's ultimate trophy?

As I said, I'm not a reader of crime fiction but I have to say I found Cut Short a quick read. The novel has a 'law and order' feel to it, as we see the steps, dead ends and eventually success of the detectives in their pursuit of a serial killer. I really enjoyed being able to see things from different perspectives and really enjoyed some of Leigh's characters, namely D.S. Peterson and can't wait to see how their stories develop further as the series progresses.

In regards to the crime side of the story (which obviously is the main part), Leigh doesn't hold back and gives us a very gritty view of the characters' (both victims and minor characters) lives. That being said, I enjoyed the fact that through the bantering relationship of Geraldine and Peterson, and the focus on Geraldine and her sister Celia, or Craig, there was a lightening of the plot.

Overall, I think crime readers will really enjoy this book, and I look forward to reading more about Geraldine Steel and the other characters in Cut Short

Death of the Necromancer

I've been neglecting this blog for too long, but things have been really chaotic with moving, my husbands deployment, and raising my son. But alas I've come to review a book I've been wanting to share here, Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells.

The synopsis on Amazon.com: "Nicholas Valiarde is both a nobleman and a thief, perhaps the greatest thief in the kingdom of Ile-Rien, where magic is a part of everyday life. Around him he has gathered an unparalleled band of criminals, including a well-known actress, an ex-military officer, a hardened killer, and a sorcerer with a bad drug habit. Valiarde, in the guise of criminal overlord Donatien, is amassing a small fortune in gold and jewels with one purpose in mind: to take his revenge on Count Montesq, the man who leveled false charges of necromancy against Nicholas's beloved godfather Edouard, leading to Edouard's execution. But Nicholas's band of ne'er-do-wells isn't the only force stalking the dark streets of Vienne, and Nicholas is about to face a real necromancer in a battle whose outcome will affect all of Ile-Rien. Wells has created a fast-paced action-adventure story with a wonderful cast of characters and a twisting, turning plot that will keep you flipping pages well into the evening hours."

This book was incredibly good, but when people ask me to explain it I'm at a loss for words because so much is packed into this book. Much like the review stated, it really did keep me up reading until late hours at night, especially when certain intense chapters came and I couldn't put the book down because I had to know what happens.

This book takes place in the 18th or 19th century Italy in a place called Ile-Rein. It has a very Gothic undertone and is filled with Fantasy and Magic. Nicholas is not the only start character in the book. There is Madeline who helps him out and forms the disguises. It is also suggested that they are in a relationship. There is Crack, the very loyal assistant to Nicholas. There are also several others, but at the moment I am unable to recall them all. However, I must say that the downside of having so many well written characters is that I ultimately got a few of them confused towards the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and hated having to put it down. I found a couple of the scenes a bit disturbing, but it fit the tone of the book and didn't stop me from reading on. I found the ending to be quite clever and well done as well. All in all, I'm going to give this book 9 stars! A few of the characters could have done better with more explanation or filling in. However, it was still an excellent read and I suggest it to anyone who likes a good Gothic adventure and mystery.

Books to review, and books to give away

Hey! Ailsa here again, and once again I'm having to apologise for not being here much. I'm sorry. I'm now going to attempt to post at least once a week, and hopefully being able to auto-post will help a little bit with that.

So, I'm home for a wee while, and I've been looking through my bookshelves, trying to organise them and see if there's anything that I can put out. This is a horrible job, I'm pretty useless at putting books out.

I did, however, organise a big pile of books that I need to write reviews for, and I have a lot of books to offer to you guys as give aways. Yes, these books will be ones that I've owned and read, but I'm a careful reader - I'm only going to offer things that are still in perfect condition.

I'm going to kick off my new 'post at least once a week' goal with a give-away, then - my 'Sorry I haven't been posting' giveaway!

Winner gets the book of their choice from either 'Ill Wind' by Rachel Caine (author of the Morganville Vampire novels), 'Night Life' by Caitlin Kittredge, or 'Kiss of Midnight' by Lara Adrian. Each of these is the first book in a series, so great if you are looking for something new to read.

So, what do you have to do to enter? Easy - just leave a comment telling me something interesting you've been up to in the last couple of months, or something you're looking forward to, or both! It can be book related or personal, anything really!

Closing date is a week today, Sunday 9th May, and winner will be chosen at random and announced as soon as I get internet access after that.

An Announcement!

Okay, so I was curious to find out when the next book for the Blue Bloods Series by Melissa De La Cruz would come out.

I found out!  The author did an interview with Entertainment Weekly which also features the cover for the new book, Misguided Angel, which will be released on October 5, 2010. If you have read these books and find them intriguing as I do, then you will love this article.

Melissa De La Cruz Interview

My own opinion, this is my favorite cover of them all.  The most beautifully crafted anyway.  And she is one author that I want to walk up to and say, "Where did these ideas come from?"

Enjoy!

The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa De La Cruz

The Van Alen Legacy is the book that was lately published in the Blue Bloods series.  I expect at least one or two more to come of it.  I have really enjoyed them.  And just to warn you--to give a summary, there will be spoilers!  I really try not to, but this one cannot be helped.

This story continues straight on from the end of Revelations, a year later.  There are new wardens--all mostly old and raggedy--to replace the ones that have been killed when the demon, Leviathan, was released in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Schuyler and Oliver are on the run from the Wardens and Venators (truth finding vampires--much like their own FBI), all over the world they have fled them.

Bliss isn't herself, and her little sister, Jordan is missing.  What is mysterious is how Bliss can't really remember the last part of her trip to Brazil.  Or how she got home.  Or whatever happened to the last year of her life?

Mimi is on one of the Venator teams with Kingsley Martin as lead.  They are on the search for Bliss's missing sister who can lead them to what is really going on in their world.

Everything is amiss and everyone is scrambling to find truth in everything else.  But as Revelations seemed to be more of a "character building" story, The Van Alen Legacy is more of the "plot building" story.  I had a harder time reading through this one, possibly since it wasn't as character driven as the last one.  However, there were times when I wanted to know what happened next.  But not like the last book where I read it in a day.  This one took me about three weeks to complete.

Sorry, this is a short review.  I don't want to spoil more of this story, but this one does leave its' mark on the whole of the storyline of the Blue Bloods.  I suspect the next one will be character driven once again and I'm thoroughly excited for it.  Melissa really did a number on this story leaving a cliffhanger in her epilogue.  Squeeze every ounce of yourself to get through this story, but really, just remember it is not going to be as great as the last book.  Moreover, it is important to the whole of the storyline.

Revelations by Melissa De La Cruz

I've reviewed the first two books of the series already, Blue Bloods and Masquerade.  But here comes Revelations.

This continues the story of Mimi Force, Schuyler Van Alen, and Bliss Llewellyn in their socialite society and learning more and more who they were in their past lives and fighting those who seek to destroy the New York Coven of Blue Bloods.

The search for the Silver Blood is on as a new boy shows up at school, Kingsley Martin.  He's a knockout, a competitor for Mimi's twin brother and soulmate, Jack Force.  Unlike the blond, respectful, Jack, Kingsley likes to play on the wild side.  His dark looks give him away as possibly the one who is behind all the attacks on young Blue Bloods at Duschesne.

What I love is the character development in this book.  This one has shown us more into Schuyler and her learning the ways of the vampire life, although she is just a half blood.  Half human/half vampire.  Her grandfather teaches her quickly and efficiently because he knows something she doesn't.  Her feelings get in the way of everything as she is conflicted between loving her best friend and conduit, Oliver, more than she ought to, and having a relationship with the forbidden one, Jack Force.  When I read Schuyler's point of views, I really feel sorry for her that she is stuck in the middle of everything and the weight is all on her to live up to her family name.  But I also feel like she doesn't really care much for what is going on and who she is.  She just doesn't want any part in it and that part makes me angry at her character.  But we are all like that in some way aren't we?

I don't know why, but I always love reading Bliss's point of view.  It's more mysterious than the rest of them.  She can't remember who her real mother is, she can't focus on who she was in the past.  So she really is searching and wanting to learn who she is.  I love the self discoveries that characters go through.

For this book, I really suggest you start at the beginning to get the full throttle of this storyline.  But this one, really gets you sitting on the edge of your seat.  I read it in a day.  I couldn't put it down.  This is just one part of the climactic point of the story.  There is more.  That's in another review.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I've been meaning to review this for a while now.  I have been reading other books and can't take my mind off of this one.

Here is what the back cover says.  (And I will only put what the back cover says and then let you read what you want to in this review to let you decide if you'll want to read it or not.)

"And then I opened my eyes and it was just Grace and me--nothing anywhere but Grace and me--she pressing her lips together as though she were keeping my kiss inside her, and me holding this moment that was as fragile as a bird in my hands."

There you have it.  Now if you haven't read it yet, there will be some spoilers possibly (I try not to do that--but it can slip up somewhere). 

Shiver is about a girl named Grace who lives by the woods in Minnesota.  But this story is also about a boy named Sam who lives in the woods every winter as a wolf and in the summers as a boy.  Things only get complicated when shy, wolf Sam saves Grace from an attack and then and there had fallen in love with her, and she with him.  But how can they be together if he's only human for four months of the year--if that? 

What I really loved about this story as a whole is how romantic it is.  I was talking to my husband about it and telling him the difference between Twilight and Shiver.  Well, one has vampires and werewolves, the other--just werewolves.  Two, one is set in the Northwest of the United States while the other is set in the Midwest of the United States.  And three, one is more "teenage angsty" while the other one really sets the "romantic tone" more for the story than the "Oh my there is my Romeo" love at first sight deal.

The romance in the story is sweet and touching.  From day one, although he's a wolf in the winter time, Sam loves Grace and watches her from a distance in the woods behind her house.  And Grace, in turn, just keeps an eye out during the winter for her "wolf".  What is so fantastic about the romance in this story is that you get to peek inside both Grace's mind and Sam's mind.  Maggie Stiefvater--I believe--did a fabulous job showing both sides and where they both come from and what they are both thinking during scenes.  I love how more "classicly" romantic it is.  Sam always making up song lyrics and songs for and about Grace and having a love of poetry (what girl wouldn't LOVE that?)  But also with Grace being the empathetic girl who would do anything for Sam.

When a boy from Grace's high school goes missing, things in her life really take a twist and the story gets its momentum from this point and just keeps it building.  Sometimes when I would start to read it, I would want to go further into the story each time to see what I could figure out.

As for the characters, I'm actually always picturing Sam as the more "plain-ish, punk rock" look of a kid which for me, is the disheveled kid who looks like he has no home to go to.  But the more I read about Sam's personality in the story--the more I like him.  Grace is the typical single child, young adult who has very distanced parents (for this type of story anyway) who also took care of herself.  That kind of character--to me--is cliche these days.  Yes, we love seeing stories about kids taking care of themselves, but where are the parents in all of this?  We do see Grace's parents in and out of the storyline, and it's true that the character may not get in trouble if she thinks she can take care of herself most of the time.  But really?  I just wish for once I could read a story about a headstrong heroine that was close to her parents and they were actually involved in the story. 

The storyline for this book--I liked.  I thought it was well driven, well thought out and well put together.

And if you really like the paranormal romances these days--go for it!  This one is so touching of a story that the ending will make you love it more!  Also, the sequel for this book is called, Linger, and it will be released on July 20, 2010.  I've already got it on hold from the library.  I'm very curious to where it will go.