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Today I finally finshed Pastworld – Ian Beck. It was a good book but I just couldn't get into it, I think however that this was more because I went back to work halfway though and kinda lost the flow. from Fantastic Fiction What if all of London were really an amusement park - a whole city returned to Victorian times to entertain visitors from the twenty-first century? That's the wildly original premise of Ian Beck's Pastworld, a high-stakes mystery set in a simulated past. Eve is a lifelong resident of Pastworld who doesn't know she's living in a theme park until a mysterious threat forces her to leave home. Caleb is a visiting tourist who finds the lawlessness of the past thrilling - until he suddenly becomes a fugitive from an antiquated justice system. And in the midst of it all, in the thick London fog a dark and deadly figure prowls, claiming victim after victim. He's the Fantom, a creature both of the past and of the present, in whose dark purpose Caleb and Eve will find their destinies combined. Page-turning, complex, and haunting, Pastworld masterfully exposes the human experience of the past, of violence, of technology, and of entertainment.

I have a copy now so once I finish my lastest read I can get started

Hey Frankie any luck yet getting hold of it? I'm excited to start reading it, it will be the next one after my current read

I'm keeping my eye out for it Rose. I'm so glad you liked it so much - it's good to have such a positive review on such a chunky book it seems to make it less scary to take the plunge. It looks to me that we have very similar taste in books so I look forward to following what you're reading too (more for the wishlists! )

Well I don't have kids of my own so this is a stab in the dark for me. There is a death or two near the ending so if kids are sensitive to those things maybe read it yourself first, but I would aim it at maybe 8 years and up. Again it's a guess.

Very early this morning I finished Shadow forest – Matt Haig. What a delightful little book. Just before lunch I started reading Pastworld by Ian Beck. It sounded intriguing here's an excerpt from fantastic fiction What if all of London were really an amusement park - a whole city returned to Victorian times to entertain visitors from the twenty-first century? That's the wildly original premise of Ian Beck's Pastworld, a high-stakes mystery set in a simulated past. It got me hooked!

Very early this morning I finished Shadow forest – Matt Haig. What a delightful little book. I loved Haig's writing style, and whilst this book and it's humour are aimed at a much younger group of readers I enjoyed it immensely. All the characters were well written and I could see this as a book to help get young boys into reading, but it would entertain girls too. There is a lesson to be learnt within this story and I've learnt it well, and I look forward to reading more of Haig's work in the future. From Fantastic Fiction Aunt Eda's Rule #9: NEVER--UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES-- GO INTO THE FOREST. Samuel and Martha have just moved to Norway to live with their aunt Eda, and she's taking some getting used to. She has too many rules, no TV, and insists that they eat local delicacies like brown cheese and reindeer soup. And then there's the most peculiar thing about her--her irrational fear of her own backyard. Sure, Uncle Henrik hasn't been heard from since he disappeared into it ten years ago, but that can't be the forest's fault . . . can it? Samuel is skeptical, until he disobeys Rule #1--Never go up to the attic--and finds an unusual book: The Creatures of Shadow Forest, which gives scary descriptions of the fantastic creatures supposedly living in the forest. So when Sam starts seeing strange things venture past the treeline after dark, he can't help wondering . . . could Aunt Eda be right, and what really happened to Uncle Henrik? This highly inventive fantasy is full of amazing characters and unexpected twists that will elicit both laughter and chills.

It was just boring. Plus I found myself really disliking the 'voice' of the book - Tatiana. Granted Tatiana was a Grand Duchess but she just came across as extremely bratty and snobbish. I have read a few books about the Romanovs and this is one I would unrecommend to anyone thinking about giving it a go, but thats just my opinion. I have moved on to Shadow Forest by Matt Haig which I am enjoying so far.

Late last night I finished The Tsarina's daughter - Carolly Erickson. I am so glad to be through with this book. I am normally into anything surrounding the topic of the last russian royal family but this was just so boring. From Fantastic Fiction It is 1989 and Daria Gradov is an elderly grandmother living in the rural West. What neighbors and even her children don't know, however, is that she is not who she claims to be - the widow of a Russian immigrant of modest means. In actuality she began her life as the Grand Duchess Tatiana, known as Tania to her parents, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. And so begins the latest entrancing historical entertainment by Carolly Erickson. At its center is young Tania, who lives a life of incomparable luxury in pre-Revolutionary Russia, from the magnificence of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to the family's private enclave outside the capital. Tania is one of four daughters, and the birth of her younger brother Alexei is both a blessing and a curse. When he is diagnosed with hemophilia and the key to his survival lies in the mysterious power of the illiterate monk Rasputin, it is merely an omen of much worse things to come. Soon war breaks out and revolution sweeps the family from power and into claustrophobic imprisonment in Siberia. Into Tania's world comes a young soldier whose life she helps to save and who becomes her partner in daring plans to rescue the imperial family from certain death.

Late last night I finished The Tsarina's daughter - Carolly Erickson. All I can say is I'm glad it's over and now I can move on!

No I'm in Adelaide, have Borders and angus and Robertson joined forces up your way too?

Kylie you are so right in everything you've written. I love going into the Dymocks city store all the staff there are friendly and actually know about the books they're selling. On the other hand the Borders (which is where I got the book in the end) in the city is hopeless. The staff are rude and know nothing about books and the store layout is crap now too. Frankie that's exactly what the Borders staff are there for I just missed the memo I didn't go back as I was already on my way home, but I won't be going back in a hurry either. I'm looking forward to reading Flowers for Algernon with the reading circle next month - not only can I cross the group read off bit it will count as a Rory read too.

Well today I felt like spoiling myself so I went book shopping. I went to 2 of my usual stores and was so disappointed. Not only did I get blank stares when asking for help but there was just no selection. I came away with one book - Flowers for Algernon By Daniel Keyes. Then when I was waiting for the lights to change I happened to see a barcode on the inside front cover - $8.99. Well I paid $18.99 for it! Now granted this is the American price but a $10 mark up, no wonder I shop online now. Needless to say I came home and sent the order I had waiting at the book depository - yes I spent over the $100 a month but I was fuming! So for $109.55 I picked up 9 books. The Lies of Locke Lamora By Scott Lynch Valley of the Dolls By Jacqueline Susann Going Postal By Terry Pratchett Dragon's Child By M.K. Hume Before the Gods By KS Turner Baba Yaga Laid an Egg By Dubravka Ugresic The Demon King By Cinda Williams Chima The Children of the Lost By David Whitley Inside Out By Maria V. Snyder Now I feel better

Added more books to my wishlist The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis The Complete Book of Oz By: L. Frank Baum Noonshade By: James Barclay Nightchild By: James Barclay Ingenue By: Larkin, Jillian Wintercraft: Blackwatch By: Jenna Burtenshaw Plague Child By: Peter Ransley Huntress By: Malinda Lo Faerie Winter By: Janni Lee Simner Frogspell By: C.J. Busby Princess of Glass By: Jessica Day George Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales By: Brothers Grimm The Perks of Being a Wallflower By: Stephen Chbosky Pilgrim By: Sara Douglass Crusader By: Sara Douglass Shadowcry By: Jenna Burtenshaw Flowers for Algernon by Keyes, Daniel Dawnthief by James Barclay Baba Yaga Laid an Egg by Dubravka Ugresic

Thanks I like yours too!

I'd be happy to send it on to you after SueK if it's any good, I'll keep you posted.

I finished The wonderful wizard of Oz by Frank Baum last night. I only wish I'd read it sooner. Today I'm starting on The Tsarina's daughter by Carolly Erickson.

I am a little sad that I've finished my next read The wonderful wizard of OZ – Frank Baum already. What a lovely little book I was floored to find that the famous ruby slippers were actually silver but happy with the bits the movie cut out. I feel better knowing what happened to Dorothy's 3 companions after she left Oz and I look forward to getting hold of the other books in the Oz series. As the first Rory read for me this year I'd say it's a winner and only that I'd read it sooner.

I started reading The wonderful wizard of OZ by Frank Baum which will be my first Rory read for the year. So far I've had two ups and a down with this book. Up was when I remembered reading (and watching) another book called Return to Oz so I rang mum and she still has it so I'm picking it up Thursday. Plus after going over one of the many Rory lists out there I found out there is a series of books written by Frank about Oz, so needless so say they are now on my wishlist. The down was discovering that the ruby slippers are silver in the book which makes me kinda sad.

I fnished reading Reckless by Cornelia Funke this morning. It's gone to the top of my list as best read so far this year, and I'll be hoping for a sequel!

This morning I finished Reckless by Cornelia Funke. I only started it late last night and just HAD to finish it today. This is my favourite read so far this year and I'm even hoping for a sequel. For those that read and loved Inkheart this will be another winner. From Fantastic Fiction: For years, Jacob Reckless has been secretly disappearing to another world, a world behind a mirror, a world for which his father abandoned his family. The mirror world is Jacob's escape from reality. It's a place for treasure hunts and magnificent quests. A world where witches haunt the forests and giants and dwarfs roam. A world locked in a deadly war. Jacob's secret seems safe, until one day his younger brother Will follows him, with disastrous consequence. Faced with a curse that is quickly turning Will to stone, the Reckless brothers are thrust into a race against time to find a cure before Will is lost forever. Inspired by the Brothers Grimm, master storyteller Cornelia Funke introduces a lush, enchanting world where fantasy meets reality. Reckless is a thrilling adventure, a tale of heroism and loyalty, filled with danger, mystery, and magic--with fairy tales and legends re-imagined as never before.

I finished reading Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw today and have started Reckless by Cornelia Funke.

Today I finished Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw. I liked the concept of this book and it was an easy read, but it was lacking something for me. There are two more books slated in this series but as one of my goals this year is not to buy whole series just for series sake I will be thinking twice about getting them. Synopsis from Waterstones Ten years ago Kate Winters' parents were taken by the High Council's wardens to help with the country's war effort. Now the wardens are back...and prisoners, including Kate's uncle Artemis, are taken south on the terrifying Night Train. Kate and her friend Edgar are hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane -- the High Council's most feared man -- recognises Kate as one of the Skilled; a rare group of people able to see through the veil between the living and the dead. His spirit was damaged by the High Council's experiments into the veil, and he's convinced that Kate can undo the damage and allow him to find peace. The knowledge Kate needs lies within Wintercraft -- a book thought to be hidden deep beneath the graveyard city of Fume. But the Night of Souls, when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest, is just days away and the High Council have their own sinister plans for Kate and Wintercraft.

I started reading Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw this morning. Frist few pages were good so I looked up the author again to see if she had anything new out and surprise surprise this book is the first in a series

Today I finished Princess of the midnight ball – Jessica Day George,it was such a beautiful story. I look forward to reading the companion novel Princess of glass when it is released. here is the rundown of Princess of the midnight ball from fantastic fiction: A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn. Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all - true love - to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above. Captivating from start to finish, Jessica Day George's take on the Grimms' tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses demonstrates yet again her mastery at spinning something entirely fresh out of a story you thought you knew.