Review - The Three by Sarah Lotz

Kindle: 480 pages
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date: 22 May 2014
ISBN: 978-1444770360

First Line - "Come on, come on, come on..."

They're here ... The boy. The boy watch the boy watch the dead people oh Lordy there's so many ... They're coming for me now. We're all going soon. All of us. Pastor Len warn them that the boy he's not to­­--

The last words of Pamela May Donald (1961 - 2012)

Black Thursday. The day that will never be forgotten. The day that four passenger planes crash, at almost exactly the same moment, at four different points around the globe.

There are only four survivors. Three are children, who emerge from the wreckage seemingly unhurt. But they are not unchanged. And the fourth is Pamela May Donald, who lives just long enough to record a voice message on her phone. A message that will change the world.

The message is a warning.

I had heard that this was a cross between Lost and The Passage so I went into it with a little trepidation as I loved Lost and hated The Passage. Now that I've finished I'd have to say that it's probably more like the former rather than the latter (but only loosely) and I'm glad because I got a great read.

The Three is an epistolary novel and is told through a series of electronic documents (blogs, email, skype transcripts and recordings), letters, newspaper clippings etc. It's a book within a book. When it's done well the epistolary format adds a feeling of realism to the story, it mimics how events would be documented if it were to actually happen. I don't always enjoy this style of writing (World War Z springs to mind) but Sarah Lotz is very talented and played the style to perfection

In some circles it's being touted as Horror but apart from being a bit chilling and having creepy kids in it it's not what I'd class as Horror. I'm struggling to know what genre it should be be in though. It's got apocalyptic undertones but that's not close enough either. It's a tough one. It's also a frustrating one. At the end I had no idea what it had all been about. Not. A. Clue. I think that's the point though, nobody has a clue what happened and nobody can agree.

I had read somewhere that it takes about 100 pages to get going so when it was struggling to hold my interest in the beginning I kept at it and ploughed on. So glad I did, it turned out to be gripping, interesting and very well executed. It was sometimes hard to keep all the characters straight in my head because the chapters are really short and whip about in time and place but that just adds to the urgency and suspense of it all.

It's very hard to write anything about the storyline without spoilers so it's not easy to put into words what I most liked about this one. It's a bit surreal, if I'm honest. That part at least is very similar to Lost. The downside would be that I didn't really get any closure on the story as it's very ambiguous and that was a cause of frustration for me, I got to the end of the last page and wondered what on Earth I'd just read. I needed answers and I didn't get all of them.

LOVED the story though. If this isn't made into a movie soon then there is something wrong with the film-makers. If ever a book was crying out to be made into a film, this is it. I can't wait.

I will definitely read more by this author. The lady can write!


*Note - I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher*

Review - Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Corgi childrens
ISBN: 978-0552546126

First Line - "Her laugh turned to a moan at the first ripple in her bones."

Vivian, at 16, is a beautiful young werewolf with all the young wolves in her pack howling for her. But then she falls in love with a human. If she reveals herself, will he be able to relish the magic of her dual nature? Then squabbles with her pack lead to a brutal murder.

I've bypassed this book quite a few times and it's been overlooked because of one thing....I didn't realise it was about werewolves. Had I known that, I'd have snapped it up long before now. How I missed this one I'll never know.

I was drawn into this within a few pages and the story just grabbed me. It's a story about teen angst and love and decisions and betrayal and loyalty and just generally growing up and coming of age.... but with werewolves. I very easily got caught up with the story of Vivian, who has as many problems, if not more, then your average teen.

This book may be geared towards a young adult audience, but it can definitely be enjoyed by those of us who are young at heart and can still remember their youth. Klause pulls off a sensual story about the supernatural without making it seem cheesy. The characters are believable, the shape shifter culture is well rounded and Vivian's world comes alive on the page.

I've got the film on DVD here too but I haven't watched it yet. I don't know the first thing about the film, I've avoided reading anything about it so I'll be going in blind :D

Review - Mrs Sinclairs Suitcase by Louise Walters

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Hodder paperbacks
Publication date: 14 Augst 2014
ISBN: 9781444777451

First Line - "My Dear Dorothea"

Forgive me, Dorothea, for I cannot forgive you. What you do, to this child, to this child's mother, it is wrong...

Roberta likes to collect the letters and postcards she finds in second-hand books. When her father gives her some of her grandmother's belongings, she finds a baffling letter from the grandfather she never knew - dated after he supposedly died in the war.

Dorothy is unhappily married to Albert, who is away at war. When an aeroplane crashes in the field behind her house she meets Squadron Leader Jan Pietrykowski, and as their bond deepens she dares to hope she might find happiness. But fate has other plans for them both, and soon she is hiding a secret so momentous that its shockwaves will touch her granddaughter many years later...

This is a dual timeline story and I liked it quite a bit. Told in alternating parts from the point of view of Roberta, a thirty something single woman working in an independent bookshop in present times, and her grandmother Dorothy during the WWII.

I find with most dual time period books that I'm drawn to one era over the other and this was partially true with this one. I really liked Dorothy's sections set in the early 1940's. I liked Roberta's parts a bit too but really felt that it was secondary to the real story. There's a bit of mystery, tragedy, hopefulness, regret and at the heart of it a love story, of sorts. There's a lot of heartbreak here and it seems like a lot has been packed into less than 300 pages.

I would never have guessed that this was a debut book, it's very well written and I'll probably look out for more by this new author


*Note - I was sent a copy of this title by the publisher*

Review - Blood Red by Jason Bovberg

Kindle: 276 pages
Publisher: Permuted Press
Publication date: 07 April 2014
ASIN: B00JK1UW4E

First Line - "Rachel!"

Rachel is 19. She doesn’t know how to handle her new stepmother, let alone the end of the world. But after finding her stepmother dead, Rachel is suddenly racing against time—and terrifying, unnatural forces—to survive a gruesome apocalyptic event. Outside her door, the college town of Fort Collins, Colorado, is filled with corpses, and something unfathomable is happening to those bodies. And it’s only just begun. As Rachel struggles to comprehend her horrible new reality, she’ll need to find answers to questions she never thought she’d ask—all while desperately searching for her lost father, on whom she pins all her hopes for coming out of this phenomenon alive and intact. But nothing will be as it seems.

Well now, here's an interesting one. End of the World? Yes. Zombies? No. Plague? Not really. Aliens? Hmmm, might be. Maybe? Possibly? It's not obvious what caused The End but the story kicks off right at the point of things turning nasty and we're off and running from the get-go.

This is quite a tough one to review because most of what I want to say is likely to be riddled with spoilers. I'll have to try and skirt round the spoils...

So, Rachel is 19 and wakes up early one morning to a town littered with corpses. It looks as though whatever caused the mass demise of the population happened instantly to everyone at the same time but what that 'something' is isn't clear. So far, so good. Very quickly she becomes aware that there is something unnatural happening to the bodies. Something creepy. Now, what I _want_ to do here is say what I think has happened to them all but that would be one of the spoils I mentioned having to skirt around so I'm going to just going to say that it all seems a bit 'otherworldly'.

The whole story takes place in just over 24 hours(ish) so there's a lot packed in but because Rachel has no clue what is going on we don't have a clue either. Part of the fun of this is speculating possible (probable) cause but with no answers forthcoming it's a bit frustrating too. But in a good way.

Luckily Rachel finds she's not the only survivor and as with all good apocalypse stories she teams up with the random mix of people she meets. I like the characters, it's a nice mix. Cop with firearms, crazy unhinged one, new friend on the same wavelength, stable older person... the usual stuff.

What I'm not fond of though, is that even at the end I can't seem to grasp what the corpses have become. Despite having it spelled out for me plenty of times I'm still not clear on even the basics - what they look like, how they move... I just can't picture them. The fault may lie with me because it's mentioned plenty throughout, but I'm just not getting it. I hope it's turned into a movie so I can get a better idea.

The best bit and the worst bit (for me) was right at the very end. How it ended was brilliant, a twist that makes me want more...but it made no sense. Why? How? I..he...but...huh? I will definitely read the next one, I have to find out what that was all about. It was a gut-punch ending.

The story was a good one and the guy can definitely write but I'm compelled to mention the narrative style. It really rubbed me the wrong way. It's a bit different to what I'm familiar with and sometimes different can be a good thing but it just didn't work for me here. There was a dis-connect for the first few chapters while I tried it on for size but even when I got accustomed to it I never really warmed to it. Third-person present. I'm not a fan. Reading tastes differ but it just seems weird and unnatural to me to read in that tense.

Don't let that put you off though there's a decent story here.


*Note - I received a complimentary copy of this title from the author*

Review - Meant to Be by Terri Osburn

Hardback: 308 pages
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Publication date: 21 May 2013
ISBN: 9781612183084

First Line - "Why did this Godforsaken Island have to be in the middle of the damned water?"

Lifelong people-pleaser Beth Chandler will do anything to make a good impression on her future in-laws, including defy her fear of boats to make the ferry crossing required to meet them. Lucky for her, a lovable mutt and his tall, sexy, blue-eyed owner provide enough distraction to subdue her paralyzing panic attack. But Beth’s human tranquilizer turns out to be her future brother-in-law, Joe Dempsey, and their instant attraction is both unwelcome and undeniable.

Joe expects his brother’s fiancé to follow the materialistic, blonde-bimbo stereotype that is Lucas’ usual fare. Wild-haired, sweet-natured Beth doesn’t fit the part, but she does fit Joe and his island better than any woman he’s ever met. Though the men haven’t been close for years, Joe would never put the moves on his brother’s fiancé. That means Beth is off limits, no matter how much he wants her.

When a demanding case pulls Lucas back to the city, Beth realizes her fiancé is already married – to his work. Are solitary nights and mind-numbing dinner parties really what she wants? Torn between loyalty to Lucas and her growing feelings for Joe, Beth rethinks her choices and contemplates a future different from the one laid out before her. One that includes an island, a dog, and a man she can never have.(

I've been reading a lot of small town romances lately and this one is really good. I liked it a lot. It's more of a 'small island' romance but it has all the hallmarks I've come to expect. This is the first in the Anchor Island series and it's so good.

It's very predictable, right from the first chapter it's clear what's in store but with these kind of romances that doesn't phase me, it's the journey rather than the destination that's important.

I loved the two main characters and their chemistry was believable, I felt a little bit uncomfortable at first with the 'choosing between two brother's' thing but actually it's not as skeevy as it sounds. The secondary characters are really endearing too, all the islanders. Sid, I love. I can't wait to read more about her in the next book. I hope Lola is mentioned somewhere too because she such a big character and I didn't get to find out enough about her.

All of it is just a really nice romance. Nice characters, nice setting and a great start to to a new series. I'll definitely be reading more of this one.



*Note - I was sent this by the publisher

Review & GIVEAWAY - The Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh

Hardback: 336 pages
Publisher: Crown
Publication date: 17 March 2014
ISBN: 9780307461605

First Line - "The night before the worst day of my life, I dreamed the sun went dark and ice cracked every mirror in the house, but I didn't take it for a warning.."

A poignant and mesmerizing novel is a moving tale of family, love, and the power of stories. After their mother's probable suicide, sisters Olivia and Jazz are figuring out how to move on with their lives. Jazz, logical and forward-thinking, decides to get a new job, but spirited, strong-willed Olivia, who can see sounds, taste words, and smell sights, is determined to travel to the remote setting of their mother's unfinished novel to say her final goodbyes and lay their mother's spirit to rest.

Though they see things very differently, Jazz is forced by her sense of duty to help Olivia reach her goal. Bitter and frustrated by the attention heaped on her sunny sister whose world is so unique, Jazz is even more upset when they run into trouble along the way and Olivia latches to a worldly train-hopper. Though Hobbs warns Olivia that he's a thief who shouldn't be trusted, he agrees to help with their journey. As they near their destination, the tension builds between the two sisters, each hiding something from the other, and they will finally be forced to face everything between them and decide what is really important.(

I loved this one! So much. I was offered this one by the publisher, Crown, and I'm so thrilled I accepted because it's my favourite book so far this year. I barely laid it down from start to finish. I'm a REALLY slow reader usually but I just rattled through this one.

It's hard for me to write a review of something I loved over one I hated as it's all about the 'feels' for me and I can't put it into words sometimes. (Just an FYI - with this one I have a lot of feels and chances are that this review is going to be all over the place because of it.)

I don't read very much in this genre (is it Women's fiction? Family drama? Coming of Age?...I'm not sure) but the thing that drew me to accepting this one was the mention of Synesthesia. It's a condition I've heard of before but don't really know anything about. It's fascinating. No two people who are affected by the condition have the same experiences and it varies from person to person but Wiki describes it as -

"A neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report such experiences are known as synesthetes.

Loosely explained, it's the ability to hear colours, or smell sounds, or even taste words. It's fascinating to me.

Anyway, the story. It's just so interesting! Told in alternating chapters from Jazz and Olivia's points of view with some chapters interspersed with letters written by the girls' mother to her father when she was alive. Is it fate or luck that leads someone to make a certain decision over another? Is life all mapped out for us or is it just being in the right place at the right time? Maybe it's a bit of both?

I really cared about the characters, I loved them, both the main two girls and their family and the interesting people they meet on their journey (and their stories which run alongside Jazz and Olivia's are equally wonderful). Brilliantly written, evenly paced and satisfying to the end.

I'm not doing this justice at all, I'm all over the place. I can't find the words. I just loved it all and everyone needs to read it!

If you'd like to be in with a chance to win your very own copy, consider entering my giveaway HERE Winner will be drawn on March 16th 2014.

Good luck if you decide to enter!!

Review - The Orpheus Descent by Tom Harper

Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date: 01 July 2013
ISBN: 9781444731354

Today, twelve golden tablets sit in museums around the world, each created by unknown hands and buried in ancient times, and each providing the dead with the route to the afterlife. Archaeologist Lily Barnes, working on a dig in southern Italy, has just found another. But this tablet names the location to the mouth of hell itself.

And then Lily vanishes. Has she walked out on her job, her marriage, and her life -- or has something more sinister happened? Her husband, Jonah, is desperate to find her. But no one can help him: not the police and not the secretive foundation that sponsored her dig. All Jonah has is belief, and a determination to do whatever it takes to get Lily back.

But like Plato before him, Jonah will discover the journey ahead is mysterious and dark and fraught with danger. And not everyone who travels to the hidden place where Lily has gone can return.

This was a great story AND I learned some stuff. I haven't read anything else by this author and I wasn't really sure what to expect with this, I had just heard that it was an ancient mystery thriller type story and had a Dan Brown feel to it so I was looking forward to it. I'll admit I wasn't immediately hooked and I was feeling a bit lukewarm towards it until I got three or four chapters in but from then on I could hardly put it down.

It's a dual timeline story and a lot of the time it felt like I was reading two separate tales but they were both great tales so it was win/win. One aspect I was a bit worried about was that one storyline was told from the point of view of Plato, and his part of the tale is filled with Greek God's and philosophers and in truth I thought a lot of it might go over my head as the closest I've come to anything remotely like that was the time I watched Disney's Hercules... My fears were unfounded though, Plato and his contemporaries were a joy to read about. Interesting, puzzling, fascinating...I loved all of it. When we first meet Plato he is setting off from Greece by ship to meet his friend in Italy who has asked him to bring funding for a special book he has found but can't afford. The rendezvous hits a setback from the very start and Plato's task is to try and find his friend and solve the mystery surrounding the book he wanted to buy.

Plato's modern counterpart in alternating chapters is Jonah, a band member who has recently come off tour and is keen to reunite with his archaeologist wife who he hasn't seen for the 6 weeks he's been off touring Europe. Like Plato his meeting doesn't go smoothly when his wife goes missing and as he tries to piece together the mystery that surrounds her disappearance we see the parallel's to Plato's story start to unfold.

The two stories are set more than 2000 years apart but by alternating chapters we see how closely they are intertwined and riddles posed in Jonah's chapters were usually answered in Plato's chapters and vice versa. It's very well done.

The only thing I wasn't keen on was the ending. The book held my interest right up to the conclusion but I found the ending unsatisfying. It just seemed a bit rushed and I just wasn't as enamored with it as I was the rest of the story.

All in all a great story though and I plan to read all the other author's works too.