lexiepiper

I'm about half way through Falling Leaves, really enjoying it, so hoping to finish it tonight

I was already intending to read it, but that just sealed it! Great review Kelly, so glad you enjoyed it What's up next to read?

Great review hun, glad you enjoyed it

Ooo enjoy Shadow Of The Wind, I thought that book was great

Thanks Paula

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger No. of pages: 386 Rating: 3/5 Synopsis: Julia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers - normal, at least, for identical 'mirror' twins who have no interest in college or jobs or possibly anything outside their cozy suburban home. But everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn't know existed has died and left them her flat in an apartment block overlooking Highgate Cemetery in London. They feel that at last their own lives can begin ...but have no idea that they've been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, from the obsessive-compulsive crossword setter who lives above them to their aunt's mysterious and elusive lover who lives below them, and even to their aunt herself, who never got over her estrangement from the twins' mother - and who can't even seem to quite leave her flat. With Highgate Cemetery itself a character and echoes of Henry James and Charles Dickens, "Her Fearful Symmetry" is a delicious and deadly twenty-first-century ghost story about Niffenegger's familiar themes of love, loss and identity. Review: When Elspeth dies, she leaves all her belongings to her identical twin nieces, who she saw only once when they were 4 months old. The twins don't even know that their mother is an identical twin herself, so it comes as a big surprise when they get the letter to tell them they now own a flat in London. When they move into the flat, they meet Martin, the middle aged guy who lives upstairs who's crippled with severe OCD and can't leave his flat. They also meet Robert, the guy who lives below them, who was their aunts lover. As they settle into life in their flat, they realise Elspeth isn't as gone as they thought... I really was expecting a lot from this book, maybe too much and that's why I felt so disappointed when I had finished. But I think more than that, there was just that something that made The Time Traveler's Wife so great, that was missing from Her Fearful Symmetry. The story itself was okay, there were some great characters, but I sometimes felt there was no explanation for some of the characters actions, when it didn't seem to fit with what we knew of their personalities. I guessed one of the big plot surprises about 40 pages in, it seemed incredibly obvious and I'm curious to see if it's as obvious for other people too. I absolutely hated the last quarter of the book, it just got more and more ridiculous and I felt it ruined the whole tone of the story with such a poor ending. On the plus side though, the writing is incredibly easy to read, and so it feels like the story is progressing very quickly rather than being long and drawn out.

Dracula: The-Undead by Dacre Stoker No. of pages: 389 Rating: 4/5 Series: Dracula (Book 2) Synopsis: The official sequel to Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula, written by his direct descendent and endorsed by the Stoker family. The story begins in 1912, twenty-five years after the events described in the original novel. Dr. Jack Seward, now a disgraced morphine addict, hunts vampires across Europe with the help of a mysterious benefactor. Meanwhile, Quincey Harker, the grown son of Jonathan and Mina, leaves law school to pursue a career in stage at London's famous Lyceum Theatre. The production of Dracula at the Lyceum, directed and produced by Bram Stoker, has recently lost its star. Luckily, Quincey knows how to contact the famed Hungarian actor Basarab, who agrees to take the lead role. Quincey soon discovers that the play features his parents and their former friends as characters, and seems to reveal much about the terrible secrets he's always suspected them of harbouring. Review: When Quincey defies his parents and becomes an actor, he comes across a play about his parents and Dracula, and finds out all about the secrets his parents have been hiding from him. Then when people start getting attacked by what looks like animal bites to the neck, it appears it's not over and Quincey has to step up and relive his parents past. I love vampire stories, and this one was everything that I expected. I haven't actually read the original Dracula story, but I've seen the film and know lots about the tale, but that doesn't matter, Dacre did a great job of recapping the previous book without making it boring and repetative, and I never felt like I was missing any plot lines as it was always explained. I adored the inclusion of Jack the Ripper, who is another subject I find fascinating, and I thought Dacre's take on it was really interesting, and it fit in well with the story he was telling. My only dislike about this book was that it took me forever to read, and it sometimes felt disheartening that I didn't seem to be making progress very fast. Recommended to any vampire or Dracula fans, or to anyone who likes old gothic horror tales.

Congrats! And great review, I think this is something I'd like to read

Finished Her Fearful Symmetry, was disappointed by it if I'm honest! Now on to Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah.

It would not be quite truthful to say that we were all together for the first time in nearly forty years. Adeline Yen Mah - Falling Leaves

Elspeth died while Robert was standing in front of a vending machine watching tea shoot into a small plastic cup. Audrey Niffenegger - Her Fearful Symmetry

Thanks I'm just over half way, I'll be finished with it by tomorrow

My boyfriend is making us a roast

I'm so so glad you enjoyed it and I'm thrilled I picked a good book I can't wait to start it as soon as I finish Her Fearful Symmetry Great review! x

I didn't see it coming at all either, but I thought it was a good twist! Let me know how the next one is, I've been unsure whether to read it myself!

Well I'm up to 95 now, which isn't bad, but I don't think I'll make my target of 150 by the end of the year, so will probably aim for more around 125. And I've been reading books that I wouldn't normally have, so I'm really pleased with that, and intend to keep doing it

I'm a middle aged woman who's died and become a ghost, I'm both mirror identical twins, I'm a middle aged man with manically bad OCD disorder and I'm the dead woman's lover. We all live in the same house that's been seperated into 3 flats.

Just got this today, can't wait to read it!

Me too, hope you enjoy them both!

Today I bought Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry, which I'm starting right away and I also got on the 3 for 2 offer: Haruki Murakami - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, for November's book circle Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows - The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Society Sebastian Barry - The Secret Scripture

I think most people have read it

Great review Paula

Glad you enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to reading it now

I will be reading it at some point during October, it's just finding the time