Purple Princess

Got Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella today from the library, only read a few pages so far but I'm hoping it will be good!

Started A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, only read a couple of pages so far though, this is the second try I've made at this book so hopefully I'll be able to get into it a bit more this time around

I like both types of shop but I think the 2nd hand shops might just get the edge because you never know what you might find, sometimes they are so disorganised and I really enjoy having a good poke around to see what might be lurking at the back

Finished Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine: Morganville is such a nice place to live...and die. If you don't mind that sort of thing. When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy. Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire's past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home. This is the third book in the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine. I'm finding this series of books really addictive at the moment and can't seem to concentrate on any other books, I was trying to read Stones Fall by Iain Pears but I just couldn't as I wanted to know what was going to happen next in this series too bad to concentrate on it! This book just picked up right where the last one left off so it feels like I'm reading one giant book rather than a series of them. I think it is good how the author has made the story flow so well between the books in the series as sometimes I feel like book sequels don't live up to the first book written, but it is not the case here. So the story centres around Claire again and her three friends as they live in Morganville - a town controlled and run by vampires. Claire has now signed a contract with Amelie, the most powerful vampire in Morganville, but now Amelie has control over Claire's choices and ultimately her life. I found Claire to be a likeable character, she's not the stereotypical vampire book girl, she's really smart and I like how her relationships are developing with the other characters, for example Shane, Eve and Micheal. I liked how this book began an explaination into how the town works and how the strange things that Amelie can do might be starting to unravel a little bit. I hope as the series continues it can keep up the fast paced action as well as developing the characters and relationships within the story at the same time. Overall I think I liked this book the best so far in the series 10/10

Just finished Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine, the third book in the Morganville Vampires series. Really liking this series which is good as I have bought the first six books already

I know what you guys mean about Becky not learning her lesson when it comes to her spending but I'm still on the waiting list at the library for this new one. I have enjoyed all her books so far, I like a bit of well written chick lit

Finished The Dead Girls Dance by Rachel Caine, synopsis from Amazon: Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favours beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls' Dance, hell is really going to break loose. This is the second book in the Morganville Vampire series and it picked up immediately from where book one finished. I really enjoyed the book, the story was fast paced with lots of twists and the characters were all good - I like the fact that these vampires are a bit different to all the other ones that seem to be around at the moment in a 'twilight-style' sense. I don't think you can read this book as a stand alone as you wouldn't fully understand the characters or the relationships they have with the vampires, or indeed how the whole town works with regard to the vamps. I thought the characters in the series were developed further in this book and became more like real people to me so that when the action was happening I was actually worried for their safety! All in all it was a very good sequel, full of excitement and it kept me up very late trying to find out what was going to hapen next. Like the first one the ending was very open and leads right onto book three without a pause. Overall a very good sequel, just as good if not better than the first book 9.5/10

Hi Kelly, just thought I'd drop in to let you know how much I'm enjoying the Morganville Vampire series that you recommended. I'm on to book three already and I'm nowhere near as fast a reader as you are!

Oooooo.......hurry up and read Broken Catwoman!!! I want to know what you think of it - I read it a couple of weeks ago and thought it was fab

Well I'm very happy you recommended them Kelly! To be honest I have a bit of a prejudice about books with photos of people on the front (don't ask me why!!) I don't usually read them but seeing as you always seem to like the same types of books as me I thought I'd give them a try I went to The Works in Durham yesterday and got the next three books in this series that I didn't have, 4, 5 and 6 because I liked the first book so much so I'm hoping that they will all be as good. Shame you don't have a Works near you Catwoman - they do have a website though but whether or not it will still be a good deal when you add the postage on I wouldn't know.

Finished Glass Houses by Rachel Caine, synopsis from Amazon: College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation, where the popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life, but they come out fighting when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood... So I bought the first three books in this 'Morganville Vampires' series due to the excellent review Lexiepiper wrote on her reading log and I was not disappointed. The book is based around 16 year old Claire who is quite geeky and so has gone to college early but following some extreme bullying in her dorm she moves into a shared house with three other room mates who make up the other main characters in the book. I found all the characters very likeable and not too stereotypical, they all had very different traits and I liked how they interacted with each other. The story could be described as young adult but I think it is on the verge of adult so is quite difficult to catagorise but it was easy to read, well written and the storyline flowed nicely and kept me interested. I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series and now have all the books upto number six (I think there are nine altogether) on my bookcase as they are on the 3 for £5 offer in The Works which I think is a very good buy! Overall very enjoyable, fast paced book 9/10

Finished Glass Houses by Rachel Caine this morning, it is the first in a series called the Morganville Vampire books. I enjoyed it so much that I've been out and bought the 4th, 5th and 6th in the series this afternoon, I already have 2 and 3 ready and waiting as the whole series is on 3 for £5 in The Works - thanks to Lexiepiper for the recommendation on these

Great review Kate - I read this a while ago and really liked it too but like you I also think Things I Want My Daughters To Know was a little bit better. She seems to always write about very sad topics and her books make me cry loads, which can be a bit embarrasing if you're reading in public I've just introduced my sister to Elizabeth Noble, she read Girl Next Door on holiday and loved it and now she's hooked on Things I Want My Daughters To Know

Have finished Broken by Karin Slaughter last night and have started Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Finished Broken by Karin Slaughter last night, synopsis from Amazon: When the body of a young woman is discovered deep beneath the icy waters of Lake Grant, a note left under a rock by the shore points to suicide. But within minutes, it becomes clear that this is no suicide. It's a brutal, cold-blooded murder. All too soon former Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton - home for Thanksgiving after a long absence - finds herself unwittingly drawn into the case. The chief suspect is desperate to see her but when she arrives at the local police station she is met with a horrifying sight - he lies dead in his cell, the words 'Not me' scrawled across the walls. Something about his confession doesn't add up and deeply suspicious of Lena Adams, the detective in charge, Sara immediately calls in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Shortly afterwards, Special Agent Will Trent is brought in from his vacation to investigate. But he is immediately confronted with a wall of silence. Grant County is a close-knit community with loyalties and ties that run deep. And the only person who can tell the truth about what really happened is dead. Well Karin Slaughter is probably my favourite author ever so it's very hard to say anything negative about her books but luckily I don't need to say anything bad because I really enjoyed her newest release - Broken! She has managed in this book to bring together her two series of books; Grant County and Will Trent. I liked the way in which she did this bringing Sara (the main character from the Grant County series) and Will together. The story itself was above average and had a very good plot but didn't have as much gore and grusome-ness as Slaughter usually writes with, I'm not sure but I felt as if she was placing more emphasis on the relationships between characters in the book than the actual murders and crime scenes. I almost felt at the end of the book that she was already setting up for the next one and therefore felt a little disappointed that I couldn't find out what happened next. Overall I loved all the old and familiar characters, as well as some newer ones, I got a couple of shocks and twists along the way - a very enjoyable read from my favourite author! 9.5/10

I had the nicest ice cream at Longleat Safari Park on Saturday, it was clotted cream with caramel and little pieces of fudge in it - was probably the best ice cream I've ever had! My mum had a honeycombe one and that was gorgeous too

I watched this too on Saturday night, thought he was really funny. I've never really seen him on anything else before but I thought he was good

Hi Catwoman - well i totally loved One Day and i have since forced it on my sister and my mum and they both loved it - my mum also reads the occasional Danielle Steel so she might like it? (Oh there is a little bit of sex and drugs in it, not too much but a little bit, so depends on how you feel about recommending a book like that to your Mum!) The first book in the Vampire Beach series is Bloodlust, I read it as a double book with Initiation - i'm sure i put it in this reading log somewhere near the beginning of the year if you want to go back and see my review? But if you enjoy YA books, which i think you do as i pop into your reading list now and then, then i think you will like these Also i cannot recommend The Historian enough! I did find it a little hard going for the first few chapters but after i got over them i was totaly hooked! PJ Tracy's books are great, i've read three or four of them now but i was reading on Amazon about their new book the other day and it was getting some terrible reviews but all the ones i've read so far have been good -if you try to read them in the right order they make more sense as they use the same main characters in all the books, but you don't totally have to really, i personally just think that you'll understand the characters better that way.

Finished The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer which was a bookring set up by Weave, synopsis from Amazon: Max Tivoli is writing the story of his life. He is nearly seventy years old, but he looks as if he is only seven - for Max is ageing backwards. The tragedy of Max's life was to fall in love at seventeen with Alice, a girl his own age - but to her, Max looks like an unappealingly middle-aged man. However when Max reaches the age of thirty-five, with an appearance to match, he has his second chance at love. But tragedy befalls this star-crossed couple, and desperate measures are required. Had this not been set up as a bookring by Weave I doubt I would have ever read it and I would have missed out on a wonderful story. The book is set in San Francisco around the turn of the century and the author does a wonderful job of describing the city at that time. Max's mother advises him to be what people think he is to disguise his strange appearance and he does that until he confides in his one friend - Hughie. He and Hughie become firm friends and he features heavily throughout the book, I found him to be a lovely character and his loyalty to Max was one of his best traits. When Alice enters the story and doesn't realise Max is only 17 and has feelings for her the story becomes quite a sad love story, and so it develops from there. I found this book to be wonderfully written, I loved the flow of the story and the descriptions of the places the author used. The characters were all so different from each other and not at all stereotypical, they had a few hidden secrets between them that did catch me by surprise. I liked the way the actions of the main character had an impact on the future that I hadn't expected. I also found it strange that the book didn't exactly have chapters, it was spilt into just four parts and these were kind of split using stars. Overall I thought it was a wonderfully written book which was in a different style to other books I've read and it had a very interesting storyline 9.5/10

Only about 50 pages or so til i finish The Confessions of Max Tivoli which is one of Weave's bookrings and i'm totally loving it!

Eclipse - and i want to see it again already:clapping:

Next up was Got You Back by Jane Fallon: A husband. A wife. A mistress. And the ultimate plan for revenge... The husband James never intended to lead a double life; with a wife in London and a mistress in the country, it's exhausting. But that's all about to change... The wife Stephanie isn't really snooping when she finds a text message from a strange woman on her husband's mobile. But now she's found it, how can she ignore it? It's time to track the woman down and find out what's going on... The mistress Katie has no reason to believe her boyfriend, James, is cheating until someone claiming to be his wife gets in touch. Now she's been cast in the role of mistress. Not one she's happy with.... Once Stephanie and Katie know about each other, they must decide what to do. They could both just throw him out or they could join forces to make his life hell first. But revenge isn't always sweet. And what happens when one woman thinks enough is enough but the other doesn't know when to stop? I took this with me as a bit of light chick lit to read and also because i have read Jane Fallon's other book, Getting Rid of Matthew which was really funny. I thought this book was almost as good as Getting Rid of Matthew but not quite. It had three very good main characters which i liked and i also liked the character of the son who had some funny one liners. The story itself was a bit unrealistic but it flowed nicely and had some quite funny moments. Overall i enjoyed the story although i did think it ended a bit suddenly, it might have been nice to have the loose ends tied up a bit more. 8/10

Next holiday read was The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, synopsis from Amazon: Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters addressed ominously to 'My dear and unfortunate successor'. Her discovery plunges her into a world she never dreamed of - a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an evil hidden in the depths of history. In those few quiet moments, she unwittingly assumes a quest she will discover is her birthright - a hunt for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the Dracula myth. Deciphering obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions, and evading terrifying adversaries, one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil. Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is an adventure of monumental proportions - a captivating tale that blends fact and fantasy, history and the present with an assurance that is almost unbearably suspenseful - and utterly unforgettable. So i was very reluctant to read this book as i really don't like books not set in the present or at least in the last ten years but a woman at work lent it to me and more or less forced me to read it so i took it away with me to force myself to read it - and guess what - i totally loved it! I think it is possibly one of the best books i've ever read! I loved everything about it, ok so the first couple of chapters i thought i'd never make it to the end but after that i really got into the style of writing and her descriptions were so amazing i felt i was almost there watching the story unfold. I do enjoy vampire based fiction so i'm not sure whether that had an impact on my love of this book but i honestly had no clue about the history of Dracula or Vlad the Impaler and so i also felt as if i had learnt from this book at the same time as enjoying it. The characters were so well written and each was a total individual, i felt i really understood their actions and thought processes and they all related so well with each other so the story just flowed through them. I'm very happy this book was forced on me! 10/10

Next holiday read was Dead Run by P J Tracy, synopsis from Amazon: It should have been a simple journey

I haven't been able to update this in a little while as i've had no internet access But i've been away on holiday so have a few to add, so here it goes, first up Ritual and Legacy by Alex Duval: Jason and his sister have just moved to Malibu - to a town full of beautiful rich kids whose lives revolve around money, fashion, cars and parties. But these teens hide a dark - and dangerous secret ...Ritual: Jason takes his sister to a New Age fair - and they visit a psychic. Jason is given a warning of great danger - and sure enough, he is soon after attacked by a mysterious assailant. When he wakes up in hospital he discovers that he's been shot with a crossbow.Who would use such a weapon - possibly some kind of vampire hunter? Could Sienna be the one who's really in danger? Initiation: Jason's new-found happiness with Sienna is under threat when her parents find out. They don't believe a human-vampire relationship can work and forbid Sienna from seeing Jason. Jason's vampire aunt Bianca has a suggestion that might solve the problem - for ever ...Jason has to make a decision that could change his life completely. There are exciting new possibilities right at his fingertips, but what hidden dangers lurk beneath the glamorous surface? These are the 3rd and 4th books in the vampire beach series of YA books which i bought to take away with me as i really enjoyed the first two installments of this series. The style of writing is definately aimed at the YA audience and due to this the books are extremely easy and quick to read, i had finished both books within two days and i'm not a fast reader. I did very much enjoy both of the books and wanted to read them quickly so i could find out what would happen to Jason and Sienna but i did also feel there could have been so much more to the stories. The characters, while enjoyable enough, could have been better developed and more rounded, they just felt a little cliche and sterotypical imo. Also the storylines were very good ideas but i thought there could have been so much more to them as i had guessed quite early on in both books what was going to happen. But all this said while i was reading them i was totally absorbed and i found them to be perfect light holiday reading. Overall 8.5/10