Book Review - Exit Kingdom by Alden Bell

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Tor
Publication date: November 8th 2012
ISBN13: 9780230766747

First Line - "And so the living persist, stubbornly, and the memories, and the crumbling road, and the stories."

In a world where the undead outnumber the living, Moses Todd roams the post-apocalyptic plains of America. His reprobate brother, Abraham - his only companion - has known little else. Together, they journey because they have to; because they have nowhere to go, and no one to answer to other than themselves.

Travelling the bloody wastelands of this ruined world, Moses is looking for a kernel of truth, and a reason to keep going. And a chance encounter presents him with the Vestal Amata, a beguiling and mysterious woman who may hold the key to salvation. But he is not the only one seeking the Vestal. For the Vestal has a gift: a gift that might help save what is left of humanity. And it may take everything he has to free her from the clutches of those who most desire her.

I loved 'The Reaper's are the Angels' so much, I thought it was wonderful. Great book! I was sad at the end though as it seemed to indicate that it was destined to be a stand-alone novel. It didn't seem to leave any openings for further books.

When I saw that there was to be a sequel I jumped on the order button and could not wait to get my hands on it!

This story is told by Moses Todd (from the first book) and he is now traveling with his adopted charge Maury who he inherited by default from Temple. Things seem to be much the same in the world as when we last saw it, the zombies are still out there and the people are still getting by as best they can.

Although this is a sequel it feels like a prequel at times due to the story being told from a mostly 'flashback' Point Of View. We learn Moses' history as he traveled the zombie infested lands with his brother Abraham, and at the same time we see the over-run world become a little more fleshed out in the telling. There are a lot of new characters to meet and their story's are mostly interesting but it just didn't move me the same way the first book did.

For two books set in the same world they seems so different.

It's not a terrible book....it's just not as likeable as the first one. It would take something quite epic to fill the gap left by Temple, I think, so it had a lot to live up to. It was an ok read but not one I'd go back to.

Book Review - Winter Wonderland by Belinda Jones

Paperback: 297 pages
Publisher: Hodder
Publication date: November 8th 2012
ISBN13: 9780340994467

First Line - "I'm lying on a bed of ice."

Imagine waking up in a snow globe. . .

That's how travel journalist Krista feels when she arrives in magical Quebec to report on Canada's glittering Winter Carnival.

Over ten sub-zero days Krista's formerly frozen heart begins to melt as she discovers an enchanting world of ice palaces, husky dog-sledding and maple-syrup treats galore. And then she meets Jacques, a man as handsome and rugged as he is mysterious. . .

The two share a secret that could bond them forever, but can they find a way to break through the protective layers around their hearts to warm up this winter wonderland?

. . . let the snow-spangled adventure begin

This was so fabulous!! I loved every second of it!

It's got a Travelogue feel to it and that's one of the pluses for me. Krista runs a travel itinerary website and visits the destinations so she can deliver a first class low-down for the prospective vacationers. She's been unlucky in love and is mending a broken heart so she wouldn't say no to the chance of a holiday romance to cheer her spirits, if it presents itself. On this trip she is visiting Quebec and throughout the book we get to go with her and see first hand all the 'must see/do' things that Quebec has to offer. We also get to tag along on her romantic endevours and misadventures and it's all just so wonderful.

I wasn't sure of the location accuracies while I was reading, but since finishing and Googling everything that was in the book I've found out that it's a all exactly as she tells it - The places, the food, the customs, the activities - it's all there! Bonhomme and the annual carnival sound like so much fun and the restaurants Krista visited sound so yummy. The people sound wonderful, the weather seems inviting and just everything about the book/place drew me in.

The story/romance side of the book was done to perfection too and had all the usual setbacks, misunderstandings and obstacles that comes with good chick-lit. It was funny, it was touching, it had a bit of mystery and it had just the right mix of will they/won't they to keep it interesting.

I just loved it all! It's a keeper and a favourite and I really wish there was a website called Va-Va-Vacation! to see all the wonderful photo's and reportage from Krista's trip! I spent a good couple of hours after finishing the book going over all the travel websites I could find, trying to find the best deal on a package trip to Quebec for next year. Seriously, as soon as I find the best deal I'm booking up!!! :D

Book Review - The Collaborator by Margaret Leroy

Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: Harlequin (UK)
Publication date: May 20th 2011
ISBN13: 9780778304593

First Line - "Once upon a time there were twelve princesses..."

A forbidden love...a private war. There's a sudden scatter of birds in the sky. I flinch. Little things seem violent to me. And in that moment my decision is made. It's 1940, Guernsey. Vivienne de la Mare waits nervously for the bombs to drop. Instead comes quiet surrender and insidious occupation. Nothing is safe anymore. Her husband is fighting on the frontline and the facade of being the perfect wife is cracking. Her new life is one where the enemy lives next door. Small acts of kindness from one Nazi soldier feel like a betrayal. But how can you hate your enemy when you know his name, when he makes you feel alive, when everything else is dying around you? Vivienne is fighting her own private war. On one side, the safe, secret, loving world she could build with her captain; on the other, virtuous loneliness and danger. It's time for Vivienne to choose: collaboration or resistance...Margaret Leroy explores a forbidden friendship in a frightening world. In the darkest hours in history, no choices are simple.

Nazi occupation on Guernsey during WWII. Doesn't really conjure up images of a lovely romance for me but I think this is considered Historical Romance. The only thing I found romantic about it was the language and the setting but I did enjoy it. While reading it the star rating swung from 4 to 2 to 4 and finally settled on 3 but then just at the last page jumped it back to 4 again, at the last second. I didn't like the ending particularly but I didn't see it coming so it got an extra star for the shock factor.

Vivienne, a soldier's wife, is living on Guernsey with her 2 daughters and her mother-in-law while her husband is away fighting for his country. When the German army come to occupy the island she learns to come to terms with restricted living. When a few Nazi soldiers commandeer her empty neighbour's house she's drawn to one of them in particular (Gunther), and so begins the 'romance'. Vivienne's marriage is an unhappy one and I get the impression that her marriage was over a long time before her husband left to fight but to be honest I still have no clue what she ever saw in Gunther. He didn't strike me as romance material but I think Viv was just miserably unhappy and lonely and whichever of the Nazi's had shown an interest in her would have had just as much chance to get with her.

I didn't feel that the romance was actually the focal point of the story for me. It was always there in the background but I was more interested in the Historical aspects. The Resistance from the Islanders, the Prisoners of War, the shortages and rationing...in general the results of the Occupation on the island. There were some really touching moments and some harrowing moments, as you'd expect from a war-time drama and all the characters were really well written and I really cared what happened to them.

I was frustrated with the ending though. I was all set to give it 3 stars overall and file it under 'a good read' but then I got to the end and I lost my footing. I'm still not sure how to deal with it. Not sure if I liked the ending, neither am I sure I disliked it. It took me by surprise and when I read it I wanted to know more and was annoyed that I'd never find out...then back pedalled and thought the shock ending was the right way to deal with it. Argh! I don't know. I'll just say it was a surprising end to a good book. Not sure if it was good or bad ending but it was surprising.

It's a nice gentle read, despite the war theme and the occupation and I'd maybe read more by this author.

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Review - This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: St Martin's Griffin
Publication date: July 9th 2012
ISBN13: 9780312656744

First Line - "Lily, I woke up and the last piece of my heart disappeared"

It's the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won't stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn't sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she's failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she's forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group's fate is determined less and less by what's happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life and death inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

I'm not really sure what to make of this one. It was a good read and it was well written but maybe I was expecting more zombies? Or explainations? Or a resoloution? I'm torn.

I really liked the story and couldn't put it down until I found out what happened to them all... but I didn't get closure. I'm not saying all endings have to always be neatly tied up but I just feel that there's too much has been left unsaid.

A handful of kids end up in a school, sheltering from the zombie hoards outside which roam their town relentlessly. Why are there zombies? I have no idea and I suspect the kids don't either but since they never ask each other those simple question's, "Why?", "Where?", "How?" I'm left wondering if maybe they do know, in which case - why don't I know too?

Sloane is the narrator and we get an insight into her life before the zombies came although I felt that I never really knew the whole story of what went on there either. It's frustrating. There's only one viewpoint really and I only found out what Sloane wanted me to know. Since Sloane herself was mostly fixated on her sister and her need to end it all I didn't get to know half of what I needed (wanted) to know. Enquiring minds need to know.

So, accepting that I didn't find out all that I wanted (needed), how was the story? It was good actually. Dark and sinister and creepy and scary and all the stuff you come to expect from a zombie book...just without many zombies. One or two popped up every now and then and they were the jacked up crazy kind but because I didn't see much of them they were more of a psychological fear than a physical fear. It was scary wondering where they where going to come from...if they were going to come...when they were going to come. Sometimes that's scarier than the actual event of them coming. It's the not knowing.

Anyway, it's a good story which is well told. Sloane's voice is right for the telling of it but I just wish she'd been a little more forthcoming with the stuff I needed to know...

I'd even be happier if I knew there was a follow on book which might fill in some of the details for me (there's not, is there?).

*Sigh* It's a hard one. Good story, well written I just wanted...I'm not sure what I wanted. More? Better? Fuller?

Review - Heaven Can Wait by Cally Taylor

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Orion
Publication date: Oct 15th 2009
ISBN13: 9781409103233

First Line - "What would you do if you thought you were about to die?"

'What would I do without you, Lucy Brown?' he said, and kissed me softly. I held his face in my hands and kissed him back. I felt that life just couldn't get any more perfect. And I was right, it wouldn't. By the end of the next day, I'd be dead.

Lucy is about to marry the man of her dreams - kind, handsome, funny Dan - when she breaks her neck the night before their wedding. Unable to accept a lifetime's separation from her soulmate, Lucy decides to become a ghost rather than go to heaven and be parted from Dan. But it turns out things aren't quite as easy as that. When Lucy discovers that Limbo is a grotty student-style house in North London she's less than thrilled. Especially after meeting her new flatmates: grumpy, cider-swilling EMO-kid Claire; and Brian, a train-spotter with a Thomas the Tank Engine duvet and a big BO problem. But Lucy has a more major problem on her hands - if she wants to become a ghost and be with Dan she has to complete an almost impossible task.

How the hell does a girl like Lucy find a girlfriend for the dorkiest man in England? IT geek Archie's only passions are multi-player computer games and his Grandma. But Lucy only has twenty-one days to find him love. And when she discovers that her so-called friend Anna is determined to make a move on the heart-broken, vulnerable Dan, the pressure is really on...

My newly found love of chick lit has brought me to this one by Cally Taylor and I loved it so much! I think maybe I still have one foot in the 'Paranormal' camp though because I seem to be drawn to the one's that have something magical about them. This one has ghostly going's on and despite the fact that the leading lady dies within the first few pages it's really funny. I especially loved the other characters. Stinky Brian was my favourite I think. Bless. He's got a rug in his room that smells like boiled cabbage and a Thomas the Tank engine duvet cover. Loved him!

Anyway, as mentioned Tess dies (on the eve of her wedding) and is given a choice - go straight to heaven or go back down to earth and become a ghost so she can hang around her husband-to-be Dan. She chooses to become a ghost so needs to pass her 'task' first and she's got 21 days to do it in. She shares a grotty bedsit in London with a couple of other Wannabe ghosts who also have their own 'tasks' to complete and it's impossible to not get dragged in to their respective dilemma's and feel for them. The characters are so well written that I pictured them clearly in my mind and couldn't put the book down until I knew how their stories ended. I really felt like I knew them.

Trainspotter Brian has his work cut out for him with his task and has some fantastically funny moments trying to solve it. Damaged Claire's has attitude and has erected a shield of bitchiness around herself to mask how vulnerable she really is (I felt really sorry for her). The IT guys are suitably geeky and it's like watching an episode of 'The IT crowd' when they get going (the boss especailly reminds me of the IT crowd boss). Even the secondary characters are fleshed out and Sandwich Sally is like a little powerpuff girl - cuteness and sass all rolled into one. Love them all.

The only bit I wasn't overly fond of was the last chapter. I didn't care for how it ended. Really, given that this is chick lit it was the only way it could have ended but that doesn't mean I like it. The options were probably limited and another ending would have given a whole different feel to the book but I still wasn't keen on that last chapter.

That said though, I wish this was a series so that I could read more about other wannabe ghosts. I'd auto buy all the others if it was. I might even go back to this one for a re-read some time. I'd definitely LOVE to see this made into a movie!!

Book Review - Don't You Forget About Me by Alexandra Potter

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date: July 19th 2012
ISBN13: 9781444712117

First Line - "What's on your mind?"

After a bad break up, doesn't every girl want the same things?

* For her ex-boyfriend to stay single forever...
* Or maybe emigrate, to a remote, uninhabited island?
* Better still, that she'd never met him in the first place!

But what if one of those wishes came true?

Tess is heartbroken when Seb breaks up with her and can't help blaming herself. If only she'd done things differently. If only she could make right all her regrets... But she can't. It's over. She has to forget about him. Drunk and upset on New Year's Eve she wishes she'd never met him.

But when she wakes up to discover this dream has come true, she realises she has a chance. To do it all over again. And to get it right this time...

First, a disclaimer: I'm a newcomer to Chick Lit. I read quite a bit but not in this genre so don't have a lot to judge this against.

That said, I thought this was a great read. My usual reads are urban/paranormal and come in black covers or apocalyptic fiction which have slavering zombies on the cover and as a rule anything with a pastel coloured covered doesn't even register when I'm scanning the shelves at the book shop or library. Lately though I'm getting burned out on the whole vampire/werewolf/demon thing and when I was offered a pastel covered book a while back I thought I'd give it a whirl to see what I was missing (that book was Out of the Blue by Belinda Jones) and I really enjoyed it so started checking out other pastel covers. I find that I really like the ones that have cartoony covers and that's what drew me to this one by Alexandra Potter. That, and the fact that Tesco's had it for under £4.

Anyhoo, the book... I liked it. I wasn't sure at the start and got a bit lost with the mechanics of the wish fulfillment but by the end I was hooked and couldn't wait to see how it all came together.

It's the story of Tess who has recently been dumped by her boyfriend and she's heartbroken. She makes a wish on New Year's Eve that she'd never met him so that she doesn't have to suffer the pain of losing him and her wish comes true! It's as if they didn't meet. However, it's everyone else who forgets she ever met him, Tess herself doesn't forget and when she's given a second chance to do it all again, with knowledge of all the mistakes from before she's thrilled.

I have watched my fair share of 'RomCom' in movie form and this book is just like watching one of those. (I think this would transfer really well onto film and I'd definitely pay to watch it). All through the book there are little clues dropped and loose ends and it's not until the very end that they all fit together and tie up and along the way there's plenty of laughs and misunderstandings.

I did guess the ending within the first 3 chapters but that didn't spoil anything for me, I just looked forward to it happening. There are a few other twists throughout and I guessed a couple of those too but it was still a great read. I liked that all the loose ends were tied up nicely.

Some of the characters were hateful and I loved how they were dealt with in the end, likewise I liked how the underdogs were treated too. I just liked it all around really. As a newbie I'm a fan of the genre so far :)

I hope all the pastel covers I read from now on are as good as this!

Book Review - Undead by Kirsty McKay

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Chicken House
Publication date: Sept 1st 2011
ISBN13: 9781906427870

First Line - "I would rather die than face them all again."

It was just another school trip... When their ski-coach pulls up at a cafe, and everyone else gets off, new girl Bobby and rebel Smitty stay behind. They hardly know each other but that changes when through the falling snow, the see the others coming back. Something has happened to them. Something bad...Soon only a pair of double doors stand between those on the bus and their ex-friends the Undead outside. Time to get a life.

Two words - Scotland. Zombies. I was all over it! Zombies on my home turf?! I'm in!

 What I didn't realise going into this was that it's probably what's known as a 'middle grade' read (I think) and that definitely had a bearing on how I was feeling towards the book before I figured it out. I had wrongly thought this was at least a YA so when the zombie's were few and far between and there was a general 'tameness' to it overall I was feeling unsatisfied. But then it clicked...it's for kids. Or is it? I think so...I'm conflicted...I'd say it's for roughly age 12+

Okay, so my uncertainties aside I'll be assuming this is for kids and that being the case I thought it was great! It's scary enough without being too scary. For the intented age group that is.

I don't like including synopsis in my reviews but just a quick overview would be - School bus trip to Aviemore, Scotland and a handful of teens are left to survive after making a rest stop at a cafe where almost everyone in the vicinity drop's dead and rises again as a zombie.

I loved the characters and they were really well written and believable. What really brought them to life for me was the dialogue. The dialogue was spot on and the intereaction of the mismatched band of survivors really worked. I had no problem 'hearing' their voices in my head as I was reading. The characters are stereotypes 101 but I loved them all anyway.

If you've ever watched 'The Breakfast Club' there's a line at the start that goes, "We're a princess, a jock, a brain, a basket case..." or something like that and Undead's characters reminded me of those. They're all so different but they're thrown together in something that none of them asked for or wanted and they're getting along and getting though it as best they can.

Considering it's a zombie book it's actually quite a funny book too. It's not a joke a minute type thing but the characters can find humour even in terror. For example they give names to the zombies (booby woman springs to mind, ha!) and there is lots of observational humour and wise-assery scattered about too. I like that.

The only downside I found was that I wasn't overly fond of the ending. It felt a bit rushed compared to the rest of the book and left me wonedering what just happened but I 'think' there's another book to follow so I'll be checking that out and looking forward to continuing the story, and maybe getting some more answers to the questions I have about the ending.

I'm not the target audience but I do love a zombie book and this one is still a 4 star for me, regardless of whether or not I'm in the correct age bracket for it.

Book Review - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Century
Publication date: August 18th 2011
ISBN13: 9781846059377

First Line - "Everyone my age remembers where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the contest."

It's the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place. We're out of oil. We've wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty, and disease are widespread.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality: OASIS founder James Halliday, who dies with no heir, has promised that control of the OASIS - and his massive fortune - will go to the person who can solve the riddles he has left scattered throughout his creation.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that the riddles are based in the culture of the late twentieth century. And then Wade stumbles onto the key to the first puzzle.

Suddenly, he finds himself pitted against thousands of competitors in a desperate race to claim the ultimate prize, a chase that soon takes on terrifying real-world dimensions - and that will leave both Wade and his world profoundly changed.

Back in the day I was a bit of a girl gamer. A 'tiny' bit. Ok, quite a lot actually but it was the 80's and I was a teen and geeks were cool back then and Summer lasted 10 months of the year...ok, some of that was probably made up but the rest is true.

As soon as I saw that Ready Player one was about game geeks with strong links to the 1980's I was all over it and from start to finish I couldn't put it down. It's fantastic. I don't know if it's because the 80's are my era and games are in my blood and but I suspect it would be just as epic a read for anyone who doesn't share my history. It's just fantastic. The story telling is spot on and there are so many twists and turns that it's hard to put down.

The 80's references are everywhere, since the whole idea of the contest in the book focuses on the 80's but the author has either done his homework very well or was in fact a geek boi himself. I'm guessing it's the latter and he probably still is. I'm still a big game geek at heart too. I'm a high 100+ lvl warrior on a popular MMORPG which I've played for almost 6 years now and not ashamed to admit it...well, not here anyway :D

Although it's set in the future the story took me right back. The music references were like a trip down memory lane and the author has kindly compiled a mix tape for listening to alongside the book. Epic soundtrack!

Apart from all of that, I really, really liked the hero Parzival and cared about what happened to him. Total geek but that's the point of the book - they're all geeks. Even the non-geeks are geeks. Everyone plugs into the virtual reality known as the Oasis, it's the norm for just about everyone on the planet. Even Parzival's elderly neighbour plugs in for hours and hours on end so she can sit in the pews of her virtual church and sing hymns and listen to sermons. Business meetings take place in the Oasis where attendee's don't even leave thier own office/home if they don't want to, they just sign in to the Oasis, put on their virtual reality goggles and gloves and thier avatars do their business dealings in the comfort of virtual rooms/workplaces, with collegues who live on the other side of the planet. Kids don't go to school much, they just plug into the VR school's in the Oasis. Everything is done via the Oasis, even the very poor homeless people have access to free VR goggles and gloves so that they can hook up via free wireless and imerse themselves in a reality that's favourable to thier own. There's nothing that can't be done on the Oasis and nowhere that can't be visited.

I barely know where to start with this one. It's really hard to say much about it without ruining the plot. And the good bits that aren't about the plot are just too many to single out one or two to write about. It's all good. It's just...really, really good and I'd recommend it. It brought back to mind lots of things from my youth that I thought I'd forgotten and for that I'm grateful. Plus, I got a fantastic story to immerse myself in so all-in-all it was moeny well spent.

Ah, the 80's. It's like I never left :D

Back then we lived in a house by the beach and there was a permanant Carny just 10 minutes walk from us on the beachfront. Arcade games aplenty! Nothing could beat the thrill of seeing your own three initials on the scoreboard and achievments like that took a LOT of practice (and a lot of cash.) We spent a LOT of time huddled round those machines. Boys really seemed to sit up and take notice of you when you kick their butt and replace their initials with your own...

Happy days.

Oh, and one of my favourite games at the time, that I played in the privacy of my own room on my ZX Spectrum was....'My name is Uncle Groucho, you win a fat cigar'. Seriously. Catchy game name, huh?!



Don't laugh, the game's designer Mel Croucher went on to be better known for his later works Deus Ex Machina so he got a bit better with the game titles - and the gameplay.

Geek out!

Book Review - The Reapers are the angels by Alden Bell

Hardback: 302 pages
Publisher: Tor
Publication date: September 3rd 2010
ISBN13: 9780230748644

First Line - "God is a Slick God."

God is a slick god. Temple knows. She knows because of all the crackerjack miracles still to be seen on this ruined globe...Older than her years and completely alone, Temple is just trying to live one day at a time in a post-apocalyptic world, where the undead roam endlessly, and the remnant of mankind who have survived, at times, seem to retain little humanity themselves. This is the world she was born into. Temple has known nothing else. Her journey takes her to far-flung places, to people struggling to maintain some semblance of civilization - and to those who have created a new world order for themselves. When she comes across the helpless Maury, she attempts to set one thing right, if she can just get him back to his family in Texas then maybe it will bring redemption for some of the terrible things she's done in her past. Because Temple has had to fight to survive, has done things that she's not proud of and, along the road, she's made enemies. Now one vengeful man is determined that, in a world gone mad, killing her is the one thing that makes sense.

I have a love hate relationship with zombies. On the one hand I hate them because they scare the bejeesus out of me. On the other hand though, I love them because as soon as the zombies arrive I'm 99% guaranteed that the story takes a turn towards one of my most favourite genres. Apocalyptic. I LOVE end of the world scenario's!

It's catch 22. I WANT to read about the fall of civilisation but I'm not so keen on the resulting nightmare's which usually involve me fending of a pack of stinky dead guys who are keen to disembowel me and are smacking their lips at the prospect. I'm usually a bit wary of starting a zombie book. However, I'd read a lot of reviews for The Reapers are the Angels that mentioned that the zombies were not the focus of this book so I gamely gave it a whirl.

Soooo glad I managed to man-up! LOVED it! So much!

It's true, it's not about the zombies. They're there, and they're just as stinky and dead as you'd imagine but I felt 'safe' walking amongst them because I had Temple with me. Temple is so amazing. From now on in my nightmare's I'm going to take Temple with me. Temple has fear of nothing and/or nobody and despite being just a little girl, a teen, she's one of the most kick-ass heroine's I've read about in a long time.

She hasn't known any other way of life as she was born after the dead started rising and has been pretty much alone her whole life. We're told that she spent some of her early life in an orphanage and that she's had a few companions on her journey through the wasteland but when we meet her she is on her own. Having Temple as a guide made me just relax and enjoy the ride. She's Street-Smart and infinitely capable. She takes everything in her stride, doesn't freak out and above all get's the job done. Always. In a way she's even more deadly than the zombie's.

Along the way she meets two men who are to become central to her story. Maury is a grown man with the mental age of a very young child and Temple takes him under her wing and looks after him (initially unwillingly), and their relationship is very touching. Moses is an older, male version of Temple herself and their relaionship is based on friction but there's some grudging respect there too.

I'll be honest, I thought I was going to hate this book for the simple reason that within the first 2 pages I spotted my pet hate in written text. THE WORST TEXT CRIME. The word 'of' instead of 'have' - "I should of known that was wrong" instead of "I should have known that was wrong". I kept going though and quickly realised that it's mostly told from Temple's point of view and is written exactly as if spoken, text crimes and all. Having said that though, the story was so good and I was so engrossed in it that I was halfway through before I noticed there's nothing to indicate speech. Sound's crazy but I honestly didn't even notice that to begin with and when it suddenly dawned on me I didn't even miss a beat. It's weird but I didn't have a problem with it...which in itself is weird because that sort of thing usually rubs me up TOTALLY the wrong way.

Anyhoo, it's a fantastic story and I really, really wish it could be the first in a series. I know that's not possible though, due to the ending and I'm quite sad about that. I'd happily have read more of Temple's adventures.

I'd recommend this as a great read if you're into zombie apocalype, road-trip type books. I really, really liked it.

***I'm very pleaseed to count this as my first book read as part of my 2012 TBR Challenge ***

2012 reading challenge's

2011 isn't even over yet but I already know how my 2011 reading challenges will end....MADE OF FAIL!

I know I won't complete any of them as I'm too far behind and it's too late in the day to catch up but it doesn't matter. Well, not to me anyway. It's not the winning that's important, it's the taking part. Right? Right. At the end of the year I can say I read some books. Can't say fairer than that.

Sooo, that being said I've got my eye on 2012 already. I chose a few new challenges yesterday that I liked the look of and only picked ones where I'd already decided to do that particular thing anyway, even before knowing there was a challenge for it.

There are 5 altogether (so far). Two challenges are similar to each other, another two are things I try to do every year anyway, with varying levels of success so maybe the official challenges will be that nudge I need to succeed, and the last one is an idea that I was toying with to try and achieve in 2012 so I've taken the challenge as 'a sign' that I'm supposed to do this :D. All of the challenges can be overlapped with other challenges so I'm all set.

The first challenge is being run by The Lit Bitch and involves the series of books I use to judge all others...

Rules: Read all SEVEN (7) books in The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

Books in Series Order:

1. Cross Stitch
2. Dragonfly in Amber
3. Voyager
4. Drums of Autumn
5. The Fiery Cross
6. A Breath of Snow and Ashes
7. An Echo in the Bone

Easy. (famous last words?) Read all the books in the series. I had planned on doing this anyway as Diana has her new book 'The Scottish Prisoner' published next week (here in the UK) and I want to get up to speed and have a total series re-read before I get to it. I re-read them all in order roughly every two years (usually to co-incide with the release of the newest book) so I'm looking forward to this challenge as it's been a while. Do-able I'd say, on the 'how-likely-o-meter'

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This next challenge is being hosted by Literary Escapism and is an extension really of the above challenge. It too involves re-reading the whole Outlander series BUT also includes the additonal Lord John series which I also plan on reading as the aforementined 'The Scottish Prisoner' is the next title in that series and has links to the Outlander series.

Again, do-able on the 'how-likely-o-meter'

Books in series order:

Lord John and the Private Matter
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade
Lord John and the Hand of Devils
The Scottish Prisoner

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This next challenge is definitely Do-able... but just how do-able will depend on how I get on with the final challenge below. At the moment this challenge all hinges on my success rate with challenge number 4.

Here's what the hosts have to say about the TBR challenge:
"We all have those books. We buy them, win them, they're gifted to us.. Then we put them up on a bookshelf and there they stay, collecting dust, waiting for the time when we'll finally decide to pick them up..

Join us on a quest to dust off your TBR Pile and read all the books you've been telling yourself you'll read next time you'll get a chance.. This is your chance! And we've got PRIZES!!! :D"

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'm signing up for the 'Freindly Hug' as I can move up a lvl but not down one and thought that even if I only manage one a month that would fall into the 11-20 category.

Sign up at any of the host's blog's below -

Evie from Bookis
Nicole from All I Ever Read
Bonnie from Hands and Home
Donna from Book Passion For Life
Caitlin from WatchYA Reading
Rie from Mission To Read
Vicky from Books, Biscuits & Tea
Christa from Hooked On Books
Jenna from Fans Of Fiction
Angel from Mermaids Vision

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I might need all 12 months to get this one in the bag. The Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) books are a bit of an enigma to me. I like them, I enjoy them and I have them pre-bought and sitting on the shelf but I just can't seem to conjure up any kind of love for them. Doesn't really make any sense. I like them enough to have read the first six books but not enough to WANT to read the ones that follow. Any other series by the time I've made it though a half dozen books I'm desperate to see where it all leads. These one's...not so much. BUT, I do like them. Can't explain. Anyhoo, the challenge...

The 2012 Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge is being hosted by Darlene's Book Nook.

There are four levels for this challenge:

a. Level 1: Read 1-4 books in the series.
b. Level 2: Read 5-8 books in the series.
c. Level 3: Read 9-11 books in the series.
d. Level 4: Read all 12 books in the series!

Since I've already read the first 6 books I'm signing up for Level 1: Read 1-4 books in the series. As the year goes on I'll know better if I'm able to up that estimate and read all the remaining 6 books but for now I'll stick with Level 1.

That means I'll be reading from books 7 to 12. Or hoping to...

Maybe this challenge is the push I need to get the series finished.

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And finally... This challenge, hosted by Butterflyometer Books is going to be my toughest challenge ever, I think. EVAAARR!

My resoloution is to challenge myself to not spend a penny on buying books for the 12 months from 1st Jan 2012 to 31st Dec 2012! Do-able? Who knows, but I'll give it a whirl.

Sounds scary!! I hope I'm up to the challenge. I can recieve books as gifts (which is not so bad..I've got a birthday during the year), I can WIN books (so entering a gazillion comps for me then), I can swap my books with friends etc for other books and I can even borrow books from people and/or the library BUT I'm not allowed to buy a single book. Doesn't matter if it's brand new or used I MUST NOT BUY!!

That's going to be easier said than done and I think it might impede on my other joy (other than books and reading) which is rumaging in charity shops for things to tart up for my house, either by recyling or upcycling or just general things to give a makeover to. Those sorts of shops invariably have a book section so I'll either have to go in wearing blinkers or not go in at all :(

MUST STAY STRONG!

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I'll particularly need all the help I can get with that last one, so please wish me luck! :D

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