Kell

All that makes a difference is if you're interested in the subject matter, at least, that's what I think.

Your list doesn't cross over with mine at all and I've never read any of them before. Hope you enjoy them. My third book, Crippen by John Boyne, arrived this morning, so I'll be starting it this evening before I start work.

Merging the two threads.

Title: Blood Feud The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Book 1) Author: Steven A. Roman ISBN: 978-0984174102 Publisher: Starwarp Concepts First Published: June 2011 No. of pages:320 Rating: 4/5 Synopsis (Amazon): Sixteen-year-old Goth girl Pandora Zwieback has a major problem: she’s just discovered that her New York City hometown is the stalking ground for every monster and ghoul out to raise a little hell (literally!) . . . BUT she’s apparently the only one who can see them. That means she can’t tell her friends or family about the dangers around them–not unless she wants to spend the rest of her life locked up in a psychiatric ward. But before Pan has a chance to make sense of her increasingly weird life, she finds herself in the middle of a war among rival vampire clans. Elegant Gothic Lolitas from Japan on one side, silk-suited London vamps on the other, leather-clad hunters from Eastern Europe in the middle, and all after the same prize: a mysterious crate recently delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father. What is the terrifying secret of Item #179? How do its contents tie into an incident from the blood-drenched past of Pan’s new friend, a 400-year-old, shape-shifting monster hunter named Annie? And, more important, will Pan survive long enough to get any answers? Review: Attention all monster maniacs, vampire victims, Goths, fans of the macabre and all-out urban fantasy, paranormal and supernatural snapper-uppers – there’s a new series on the market and you’re gonna love it! Pandora Zwieback is such a regular kinda gal (well, apart from her “monster vision”, that is) that you can’t help liking her. As teens go, she’s one of the good ones and although she can pack a punch and is a little troubled, she’s not the kind of kid you want to slap every five seconds and that can make all the difference when you’re reading a novel where she’s the star of the show, so to speak. She’s grounded enough that one can readily accept the concept of her having what she calls “monster vision” as she’s so sceptical of it herself. It’s written in such a way that the excitement kept me riding high the length of the novel, and it wasn’t till the end that I realised there was no sex (and, in fact, no romantic scenes at all), which makes a nice change from all the soft-focus, mushy, vampires-just-want-to-be-loved stuff that’s flooded the market after the unaccountable popular Twilight saga. There is also surprisingly little violence, considering we’re battling legions of the undead here, and minimal gore, which means it’s safe for readers from the mid-teen range upwards. Actually, it’s one of those fabulous books that manages to straddle the young adult / adult fiction divide without doing the splits and ending in a prat-fall that would ruin many others, catering equally for teens and more, ahem, “mature” readers alike with a light touch that makes it a joy to read. To top it all off, it’s left wide open for the sequel and then doesn’t give any teaser chapters at the end, which is great because, and here’s where it triumphs, it doesn’t need them! Yes – I already know I want to continue reading The Saga of Pandora Zwieback and I didn’t have that horrid let-down when I realise that, far from having several chapters left, the story has been cut short to make way for an introduction to sucker you into the sequel. Thank you Mr. Roman! I know the cover art might put some people off buying it (I’ve heard several comments along those lines, but personally, I love the cover!). Please don’t let that prejudice you against it. I promise you that if you ignore the art at the beginning, you’ll be so engrossed in the pages between the covers that you’ll forget you ever disliked the picture in the first place. I, for one, can hardly wait for the next installment to be published!

I usually have more traditionally masculine tastes in books - crime thrillers, war-based historical fiction, and occasionally, lad-lid. But overall my tastes are quite eclectic and I do occasionally read a bit of chick-lit too.

I'm really hoping to get a Kindle for Xmas... I just hope Santa thinks I've been a good girl this year!

I kinda like the cover to Blood Feud - it was one of the things that clinched it for me (I read the synopsis then checked out the cover and thought to myself, "Yup, that'll do for me!").

W... W... W... Wednesdays * What are you currently reading? * What did you recently finish reading? * What do you think you’ll read next? What are you currently reading? Simon Scarrow – Young Bloods (Revolution 1) I’ve read all the Romans series to date and thought it was about time I gave the Revolutions quadrilogy a try, since I’ve had the first three books on my shelf waiting to be read since they were first published! Steven A Roman – Blood Feud (Saga of Pandora Zwieback vol 1) I was sent this one for review by the author. See yesterday’s Teaser Tuesday for a brief taste of this urban supernatural Goth-chic adventure. What did you recently finish reading? Lee Carroll – Black Swan Rising (Transworld Book Group) See my full review HERE. What do you think you’ll read next? Transworld Book Group John Boyne – Crippen Michael Cordy – The Colour of Death From the library: Julia Golding – Black Heart of Jamaica (Cat Royal 5) YS Lee – A Spy in the House (The Agency 1)

LAST NIGHT: Attack the Block - Brilliant! Low budget urban horror creature feature that really pays off! Great full-on entertainment from a mostly unknown cast (the only "name" is Nick Frost!). The Green Lantern - Utter dross. The worst by far of the super hero movies I've seen in recent years. Yet another example of why marvel is so much better than DC - because Marvel had originality on their side! The Green Lantern was always a cheap knock off of Superman, but this film is just awful despite a great cast. TONIGHT: Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll - The Ian Dury biopic. It was pretty good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would and I didn't feel I learned anything new about Dury. The performances were marvellous though, especially Andy Serkis in the lead role, but then, he's always brilliant.

Has anyone had a third book from them yet? I posted my review of my 2nd book last week and emailed them to show them were it was, but I've not even had an acknowledgement from them yet. Anyone else?

TEASER TUESDAYS 1. Grab your current read 2. Open to a random page 3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 5. Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Goth girl Pandora Zwieback has a major problem: she’s just discovered that her New York City hometown is the stalking ground for every monster and ghoul out to raise a little hell (literally!) . . . BUT she’s apparently the only one who can see them. That means she can’t tell her friends or family about the dangers around them–not unless she wants to spend the rest of her life locked up in a psychiatric ward. But before Pan has a chance to make sense of her increasingly weird life, she finds herself in the middle of a war among rival vampire clans. Elegant Gothic Lolitas from Japan on one side, silk-suited London vamps on the other, leather-clad hunters from Eastern Europe in the middle, and all after the same prize: a mysterious crate recently delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father. What is the terrifying secret of Item #179? How do its contents tie into an incident from the blood-drenched past of Pan’s new friend, a 400-year-old, shape-shifting monster hunter named Annie? And, more important, will Pan survive long enough to get any answers? What I think of it so far: I’m about half way through now and I am loving it! Just the right balance of reality and supernatural. And I love Pandora – she’s so quirky and, well, human! I can hardly wait to see how this one pans out. (Did you see what I did there? Pan? I’m so sorry, I just couldn’t resist the pan pun!)

I tend to go for carrots, peppers, onions, baby sweetcorn, beansprouts, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. They all taste great in this sauce, with or without meat. I agree with this - both the cashew nuts and the sesame oil are a staple part of my stirfry "entourage" - fabulous! Ooh, it's SUPPOSED to have some crushed garlic in it, I forgot to add that in the post! So you got the right recipe after all by sheer chance - LOL! Glad you enjoyed it.

Can I ask if you are in any way connected with this book, or if you are a "sock puppet" (ie the author under an assumed name)? It's just unusual for a genuine member to sign up and immediately rave about very recently published book as their first post...

Title: Black Swan Rising (Black Swan Rising Book 1) Author: Lee Carroll ISBN: 978-0553825572 Publisher: Bantam First Published: 2010 No. of pages:400 Rating: 3/5 Synopsis (Amazon): New York jeweller Garet James has her fair share of problems: money, an elderly father, a struggling business. One day she comes across an antiques shop she’d never noticed before. The owner possesses an old silver box that’s been sealed shut. Would she help an old man and open it, perhaps? She does…and that night strange things begin to happen. It’s as if her world – our world – has shifted slightly, revealing another, parallel place that co-exists without our knowledge: the world of the Fey… Garet learns that one of her ancestors was ‘the Watchtower’: an immortal chosen to stand guard over the human and the fey worlds – a role that she has, it seems, inherited from her mother. But the equilibrium between these two existences is under threat. The 16th-century magician and necromancer Dr John Dee has returned, the box has been opened and the demons of Despair and Discord released. In a race against time and impending apocalypse, it is Garet who must find Dee… and close the box. Review: I desperately wanted to like this more than I did. I love dark urban fantasies, especially where vampires are involved, but I found I wanted this to be darker and edgier than it was. That’s not to say it’s not good – it is good. There’s a fascinating blend of fact and fiction, with real historical figures borrowed from their own times to lend credence to those from folklore and legend. And the characters are pretty solidly written too. I really liked Garet - she’s fallible and real – but there was something missing for me. She just didn’t come across as a take-the-reigns kind of girl and I wanted her to be more forceful. Garet’s training also seemed to happen very quickly with not much happening as a result of it, which is a shame, because I felt it was a trick missed. Perhaps (and I can only hope I’m right) her newfound skills will come into play a bit more in the sequel. Overall, Black Swan Rising is a nice bit of escapism and if you like urban fantasy, this could be just the ticket for you. There’s certainly enough to keep one entertained and maybe just enough to hook you for the second installment.

A great sauce is to mix freshly grated ginger, honey and a little soy sauce so that the consistency is about half as thick as the honey started out. It's great with pultry, pork or veg and makes a lovely sweet sauce. You can add some chilli flakes too for some extra kick if you like.

I only ever shop in Waterstones if I have a voucher, but I loved the 3 for 2 offer - I never had any problem finding 2 books I wanted anyway and if I couldn't find a third from my "desperately want" list, I would take the opportunity to try something completely different for free. The individual discounts sounds great, but they'll have to seriously reduce their prices to compete with the likes of supermarkets and The Works and Amazon. I'm all for supporting authors with fair prices, but I just can't afford Waterstone's prices, especially in today's economic climate.

I very recently read and loved that book and would LOVE to visit Pen Selwood! On another note, I'm originally from Northumberland which is the setting for, like, ALL Catherine Cookson's books. I've not read any of them, but my Mam is an avid fan of her works. One of the Northumbrian Castles was used for some of the shots of Hogwart's in the Hary potter films, but I can't remember which one.

From Wikipedia:

I live in Aberdeen - the locale for Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae series. I used to live on Marischal Street (where Logan McRae lives) and used to be a regular in The Archibald Simpson pub (where all the coppers drink). I always get a kick out of recognising the locations!

W... W... W... Wednesdays * What are you currently reading? * What did you recently finish reading? * What do you think you’ll read next? What are you currently reading? Simon Scarrow – Young Bloods (Revolution 1) I’ve read all the Romans series to date and thought it was about time I gave the Revolutions quadrilogy a try, since I’ve had the first three books on my shelf waiting to be read since they were first published! Lee Carroll – Black Swan Rising (Transworld Book Group) Almost finished this one – review to follow some time in the next few days, for sure! What did you recently finish reading? Nothing – almost finished Black Swan Rising in time to include it in this section, but not quite! What do you think you’ll read next? Reviewing for author: * Steven A Roman – Blood Feud (Saga of Pandora Zwieback vol 1) Transworld Book Group * John Boyne – Crippen * Michael Cordy – The Colour of Death From the library: * Julia Golding – Black Heart of Jamaica (Cat Royal 5) * YS Lee – A Spy in the House (The Agency 1)

Merging the threads.

I LOVED Caligula - really great read. I'm almost finished my 2nd one - Black Swan Rising (although I keep wantnig to call it Black Hawk Down - LOL!).

TEASER TUESDAYS 1. Grab your current read 2. Open to a random page 3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 5. Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! My teaser: Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Goth girl Pandora Zwieback has a major problem: she’s just discovered that her New York City hometown is the stalking ground for every monster and ghoul out to raise a little hell (literally!) . . . BUT she’s apparently the only one who can see them. That means she can’t tell her friends or family about the dangers around them–not unless she wants to spend the rest of her life locked up in a psychiatric ward. But before Pan has a chance to make sense of her increasingly weird life, she finds herself in the middle of a war among rival vampire clans. Elegant Gothic Lolitas from Japan on one side, silk-suited London vamps on the other, leather-clad hunters from Eastern Europe in the middle, and all after the same prize: a mysterious crate recently delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father. What is the terrifying secret of Item #179? How do its contents tie into an incident from the blood-drenched past of Pan’s new friend, a 400-year-old, shape-shifting monster hunter named Annie? And, more important, will Pan survive long enough to get any answers? What I think of it so far: I don’t know – I haven’t started it yet! I’ve been sent this one by the author for review and I’ll be starting it as soon as I’ve finished my current read, Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll (see last week’s Teaser Tuesday). I just opened it at a random page and picked a teaser – a pretty decent one, by the look of it, as it certainly grabs my interest. I hope it will grab yours too!

I'm half way through Black Swan Rising now and loving it. Taking it away with me on my long weekend...