Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine - Review

I received a copy of this book as a giveaway from Goodreads, and I'm really pleased that I did. 

It tells the story of Eleanor who is an eccentric but loveable character, she leads a very simple, routine led life that is very lonely and requires a lot of vodka! This changes for the better but in getting to that better place she needs to face the past. I must admit that I very quickly figured out what the background story was.... BUT there was a little twist in the very last chapter that I hadn't seen coming until I was reading it!

It is well written and I quickly found myself engrossed in the story and Eleanor's world and couldn't wait to pick the book up again to read more. I loved the other characters featured in the book especially Raymond who is a true gent and his mother who sounds adorable. It's one of those books where I wish there would be a sequel as I'd love to find out what happens next.... fingers crossed!

Review - Finding Gobi

I work at Tesco (it's not a secret) and had seen the 'Finding Gobi' book on the shelves in store, I considered buying it but a lovely colleague had already got it and said I could read her copy.... I'm so glad that she did....... WOW!

So I after reading the book I must admit that I was slightly concerned.... The book was based upon a true story which had been widespread across the media last year and I genuinely have no recollection of hearing about it... its very unique so I'm sure I'd remember if I had, I'm disappointed that I hadn't heard about it at the time as its most definitely a story that I would have followed.

Finding Gobi is based on a true story of a little dog finding an ultra marathon runner during a race and then the marathon runner finding the dog.

I couldn't put this book down, I had no idea of the background to this book but from partway through the first chapter I knew it was a story that I couldn't wait to find out the ending to and I had to read it over two nights as sadly I had to go to work in between reading and it was all that I thought about for days after, I loved the way it was written and loved that there was so much love between the author and the gorgeous Gobi. It also showed the difference between the cultures and the laws about transporting animals between different countries. 

I don't want to giveaway any more spoilers but must say it's well worth reading even if you did see coverage of the story in the media as it is a brilliantly written book and I'm convinced that it will also make a great film at some point in the near future too.

Review: Then and Now: The Harmony of the Instantaneous All by Randy Attwood

I enjoyed this book, It tells the story of Stan Nelson and his time at KU in Lawrence, during winter and spring 1969 - 1970, Stan was like the central character in the middle of everyone that was involved in the scenes.

I loved the fact that we were hearing it in Stan’s narrative and the fact that we were going back in time to hear about his experiences and also other characters stories of that time period. I even enjoyed when Stan had to improvise certain characters parts. I particularly enjoyed Charlie’s parts of the story and his romance with Betty. We also had the use of diary extracts from Melvins diary which almost made it feel like you were reading a true story.

There were several romance’s in the book, the main one being with Stan and Yen-Li which then grew into an obsession, and then how he dealt with that. But this book isn’t just all romance, we see riots with police caught in the middle and also causing more trouble!

We also hear about the play that Stan decided to participate in, this was almost like another story in the story and I was glad that we got to ‘see’ the play being acted out. I thought the way the book ended was lovely and was glad to see that Stan would be ok at last.

Review: Family Jewels by N.L.Wilson

Absolutely Brilliant - A MUST Read

I enjoyed the first book of this series - The Case of The Flashing Fashion Queen and to be honest although I was eager to read the next instalment I was hesitant as I sometimes find that the second one just isn’t as good.

I’m glad to say that I was wrong - this book was brilliant!! I was up until 4am reading this as I just needed to see Dix Dodd our wonderful Private Investigator unfold the mystery.

We start off with Dix in her new office with all new modern gadgets, still with the delightful Dylan as her trusty sidekick. Her new fax machine brings news that her Mother, Katt Dodd is a person of interest in recent jewel thefts at the Wildoh retirement community!! Not to mention the disappearance of Katt’s boyfriend Frankie!

Dix and Dylan set off for Florida - with Mrs P in tow - I laughed so much at the car journey to Florida with Mrs P and her ‘crossword’ clues. There was lots of wit in these scenes, very well written. And also a theme which re-occurs later on in the book.

Once we meet Katt and some of the other resident’s of the Wildoh things really started to get good - plenty of undercover work from both Dix and Dylan - although Dix wasn’t expecting to go undercover on this occasion, I think she did well! There are some great scenes in this book - one of my favourite one’s is Dix in the restaurant with Deputy No Nuts - just brilliant!

As I was reading I was convinced who the jewellery thief was, then changed my mind, and then changed it again!! Maybe its just me assessing each and every one of the new characters with scrutiny but I could see motives in them all!! I did however guess correctly how they were disappearing (once I knew who it was!) So I felt a bit better for that!

I loved the fact that Dix and Dylan get close in the book - I really do hope that they get together soon!!

I was literally laughing out loud towards the end - and at 4am in the morning you know that it’s a good book!! The only problem I have is that I have to wait for the next book in the series - I hope I don’t have to wait long because I’m missing Dix Dodd already!

Go and buy yourself a copy now: http://www.amazon.com/Family-Jewels-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B005DRWOEK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323993660&sr=8-1

A Look Back at November

I just thought I'd put together a little post to have a look back at November.

November saw me discover The Kindle Book Review and I'm really glad that I did, it has helped feed my love of reading and has renewed my love of blogging too. I have read some fantastic books, met some great authors that otherwise I may of taken years to find - and I have a reading list as long as my arm! I love it!!

So just a little recap - in November I was lucky enough to read:

• Montana Dawn by Caroline Fyffe
• The Bastard by Brenda Novak
• Misconception by Christy Hayes
• In The Presence of Gods by Vincent Alascia
• The Case of The Flashing Fashion Queen by Norah Wilson
• Steps to Heaven by Wendy Cartmell
• Broken Promise by Laura Landon
• Chill Run by Russell Brooks
• Henry Wood Detective Agency by Brian Meeks

November also saw me start my first giveaway on my blog - with special thanks to Tom Raimbault for offering a bundle of some of his great books - if you haven't entered already then visit my giveaway post:  Here and enter now.

I'm not sure if I'll manage to read as many books this month as things get a little hectic for me at work but I will try to read as many as I can and will hopefully continue adding to my reading list as I go along - after all you can never have enough books :-)

Early Review & Contest: Russell Brooks - Chill Run

This book has a great storyline which gets going right from the start. I instantly liked the characters and I thought that Eddie and Corey made a great duo, I very often found myself chuckling at them!

I loved the fact that Eddie was a writer who was trying to get published, I think that the desperation he felt at trying to get published was very true to life and came across as realistic.

I really felt for him when everything started going wrong following the plan that they had come up with. It seems to snowball more and more out of control and keeps you wanting to read more to see how he’s going to get out of it.

I enjoyed the story more and more as it developed but didn’t quite manage to guess the ending, which was a nice surprise.

This book has everything in it: action, drama, humour and romance! It is well written and well worth a read

Russell is giving 10 lucky readers the chance to win a copy of Chill Run - just leave a comment with your email address before November 30, 2011 at 8PM EST
Every email address will be put in a basket and to be sure that the contest is fair and impartial, Clinton (Russell's cat) will select the 10 winners for a free eBook copy of CHILL RUN!

Giveaway has now ENDED please visit Russell's blog to find out who the winners were here: http://www.russellparkway.blogspot.com/2011/12/russell-show-chill-run-contest-winners.html


To purchase a copy visit: http://www.amazon.com/Chill-Run-ebook/dp/B006GIYK42/

Exciting News!!

Ok, I know that I have neglected my blog of late, I've still been reading lots but just haven't seemed to of found my way onto here to tell you all about them.

However all that is about to change, I've now become one of 'The Kindle Book Reviewers' so I will be keeping you all up to date with the books that I'm reading. Also I'm hoping to backtrack and do some reviews on some of the fantastic books I have read recently

To find out more about The Kindle Book Review please visit: www.thekindlebookreview.blogspot.com/


Hales
xx

Review: Amber The Death Mask by Tom Raimbault

This book is Fantastic!!

I love the way that Tom - as always explains where the idea of the book came from and his thoughts and insights into the character.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Amber - I have avoided anything 'Amber' related on Tom's blog purposely!! So at midnight last night I started to read - well I was awake until 3am reading - I couldn't stop! I woke up this morning and just HAD to carry on reading!

The way Tom has written this just grabbed me straight into the story and I was soon in 'Amber's World' I felt as though I could feel the emotions that the characters were feeling.

The storyline itself had me needing to find out more and had the perfect balance of background information without going off track. It really is a brilliantly written book which I found to be a real page turner

The only complaint I have is that I have to wait for the next installment!!!

Review: Tego Arcana Dei ~ Keeping God’s Secret by A.Man

I found this book really intriguing – the storyline is gripping. I enjoyed the fact that the book was set in lots of different locations and felt as though I was literally travelling to those locations alongside James.  I found it real food for thought as some of the aspects and points made in the book are very relevent and some just get your mind thinking! I am unsure if parts of the book are actually based on real life facts but it has made me want to find out!

If I’m honest there was too much sex in the book!! I understand that it was also part of James’s journey but felt at times it was taking away from the main storylines of the book, It is a fast paced book and I liked the way it explored different times and flicked between these times. I don’t know if A.Man has written any more books but I would definately like to read more from him.

To purchase a copy please visit: http://www.amazon.com/Tego-Arcana-Dei-Keeping-Secret/dp/1452053200/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1298674262&sr=1-1

Review: Dead Game by Claire Kinton

I didn’t think it was possible to love a book this much!! Well worth every penny

Ok, so when I opened this book to start reading it I had no idea what it was about, I’d seen Claire tweeting about it and told her I’d buy a copy which I did, when it arrived I didnt even read the blurb, so two nights ago I settled down to make a start reading it – after the Author’s Note I found myself intrigued, The first chapter got straight into the story – it started off how I’d imagined it would however by the end of the chapter I was as confused as Archie!!

The novel then continues flowing perfectly between current day and Archie’s past, I found I needed to read more and more as I wanted to know what had happened and what was happening, I found the characters were very easy to like and found myself easily immersed inbetween them, it was as if I was actually there alongside them all. I could barely put the book down, the time seemed to just fly when I was reading it, it was like I was lost in with them.

The book is the perfect mix of things that we can relate to and this mythical world where nothing is quite as it seems – the only way I can think of to describe it at the moment is – an adults fairytale. However upon saying that -  in most ‘fairytales’ the story and characters aren’t very believeable – however I found all aspects of this story believeable and not only that but it really did intrigue me as I was reading it I found myself wondering what else there was out there and in fact I still am even after I’ve finished it.

Dead Game is beautifully written and is a unique story it is a very positive book, and draws on the positives even when the situation or topic isn’t, alot of that comes from the author herself though I think, It really is a fantastic read and I’m very excited as I don’t have long to wait until the sequel is out as ‘Waiting Game’ is coming this year – I already have an inkling what it’s about – I’ll have to wait and see whether I’m right or not!!

Dead Game is a MUST read for everyone – even if Fantasy isn’t normally your preferred genre I would definately give this book a try – it reaches out to your soul and pulls at your heartstrings and reassures you that Hope is always with you

One more point to note – Claire supports SSAFA Forces Help and Help For Heroes and a donation from every book sold goes to both Charities

To find out more about Claire and her wonderful writing – and to purchase the book please visit www.clairekinton.com

My First Review

So I’ve decided that seen as I’ve discovered blogging thanks to my friend it’s only fair that my first book review should be of his book.

Now you may think that because he’s my friend and because I’m helping to promote it that my review is going to be more of a ‘sell’ than a review, however when he first gave it to me to read it was purely as a reader and that is what my review will be; a review of a book by a reader