shelley.s

No i haven't read it before I saw the film a long time ago and never really understood it so im hoping the book will shed some light! Its my first Stephen King book too

Ooo i won a copy of The Shining by Stephen King

Benjamin Dove by Fredrick Erlings 3/5 About the book (Amazon) As an adult, Benjamin Dove looks back upon a summer of his childhood that was to change his life forever. A summer when his new friend Roland, seemingly descended from the knights of the past, encourages him to stand up for himself and for those he loves. That was a summer when he and his friends formed the Order of the Red Dragon, giving them a sense of identity and purpose in their turbulent world, for justice against injustice; and a summer when such innocent childhood games were to be torn apart by an almost inevitable tragedy. My Thoughts This was a really enjoyable easy read. It bought back fond childhood memories, playing make believe with my friends. Its a very thought provoking book and touches on a lot of subjects, mainly focusing on how people treat each other and the emotions it evokes from a child's point of view. There's a really uplifting part where the children club together and get the community to help grandma Dell who's like the mother hen of the community. It was really refreshing to read, the power people have when they group together is very touching. This book would have got a 4 because I really enjoyed reading it and I picked it up every night without fail and sailed through the chapters however the very sudden sad ending left a bit of a bitter taste with me. It was all going so nicely then all of a sudden something very tragic happens and the books over. It felt too rushed and left me with too many questions for it to warrant a 4/5. Its still worth the read if you fancy a nostalgic childhood feeling though.

Thanks Pontalba, I really enjoy writing my reviews though sometimes i find it hard not to repeat myself. Murakami was completely new to me, i was defiantly an experience reading one of his books for the first time!

Haha, so many books to keep track of! Yeh its definitely worth the read. I hope you enjoy it as much as i did. Its my bargain of the year so far!

The Uninvited by Liz Jensen 5/5 About the book (Amazon) A seven-year-old girl puts a nail-gun to her grandmother's neck and fires. An isolated incident, say the experts. The experts are wrong. Across the world, children are killing their families. Is violence contagious? As chilling murders by children grip the country, anthropologist Hesketh Lock has his own mystery to solve: a bizarre scandal in the Taiwan timber industry. Hesketh has never been good at relationships: Asperger's Syndrome has seen to that. But he does have a talent for spotting behavioural patterns, and an outsider's fascination with group dynamics. Nothing obvious connects Hesketh's Southeast Asian case with the atrocities back home. Or with the increasingly odd behaviour of his beloved step-son, Freddy. But when Hesketh's Taiwan contact dies shockingly and more acts of sabotage and child violence sweep the globe, he is forced to acknowledge possibilities that defy the rational principles on which he has staked his life, his career and, most devastatingly of all, his role as a father. My Thoughts This book was immense. I really had no idea how it was going to go at all, it was a bargain 99p book from The Works, didn't think id even like it but my friend had read it and said it was good and i needed something new so i just grabbed it as a spur of the moment thing. It was fantastic! Nothing like i thought it would be, i thought it was going to be a horror but it was definatly a psychological thriller. Creepy, scary and a stark realization when you get to the end that maybe we do need intervention before we ruin the planet, this takes that to a whole new level though. I loved the characters, they felt so real, Hesketh is written so brilliantly he could be someone i know easily. His aspergers and his habits fit really well with the story and add so much to it without taking away from the plot. Freddy and his decline is literally heart breaking and i felt for Hesketh so much it was actually really emotional to read by the end. It definatly was a lump in the throat moment. I'm still kind of sad about the ending, i really wanted it to be happy and rosy because i adored Hesketh so much, unfortunately it wasn't to be. I cant recommend this book enough. Im so glad i picked it up. Fabulous author, fantastic book, must read!

Ok so i know i have been completely slack with reading recently, i'm so distracted and i keep picking up books and putting them down and getting lost and just generally being useless but im hopefully back on track. Here's my next review.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa 4/5 About the book (Amazon) My name is Meghan Chase. In less than twenty-four hours I'll be sixteen. Countless stories, songs and poems have been written about this wonderful age, when a girl finds true love and the stars shine for her and the handsome prince carries her off into the sunset. I don't think it will be that way for me. Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school...or at home. When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical fairy king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face...and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart. My Thoughts When i was given this book I really wasn't sure, I thought it was going to be really lame to be honest. The cover isn't great, the blurb is very similar to so many others, the whole thing reeked of rubbish quality. However it was actually quite good, I enjoyed reading it and there were a lot of original ideas to be had. I liked the characters and was compelled to read on, it wasnt typical of its genre and had a unique tie in with A Midsummers Night Dream which i liked. Sadly i think a real gem of an idea was missed there and it wasnt played on enough, its almost like the author forgot about it after a while. It was a good book for what i wanted to read at the time, easy to pick up and put down, the language is very basic, light etc however i'm not rushing to get the other books. The 4/5 rating is more so because i was pleasantly surprised and my expectations were exceeded.

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs 4/5 About the book This second novel of Miss Peregrins Home for Peculiar Children, it begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine's island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises. My Thoughts This book was a really exciting installment from Ransom Riggs. It was really good that the book picked up from where the first one left off because of the large 3 year gap between books! I loved the first book and was really looking forward to this book and it didn't disappoint. There's so many twists and turns its impossible to get bored of this book, its so fast paced that you get to the end of the book far to quickly and then are left wanting more. I only hope that the last installment doesn't take another 3 years to surface!

Get well soon, its really rotten being ill, i've finally got out of it after a month of flu and tonsillitis. There's some horrible bugs going round, its not really surprising with all the flooding and cold weather, what id pay to see summer right now! Happy reading

I love your review of Let the right one in! I really must read this at some point. Im glad your enjoying the cassandra Clare books, I've read them all too and really enjoyed them. Have you read any of Laini Taylors books? If you like Cassandra Clare you'll probably like her too her books are epic!

Wow you've read so many, that's amazing! Well done you

Thanks all I can defiantly recommend it, I think every one has to experience at least one of Murakami books. I'm very intrigued about his other books too though i think i need something a bit more solid and grounding for a while. Im now reading Hollow City by Ransom Riggs, its really good so far

The Windup Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami 4/5 About the book (Amazon) Toru Okada's cat has disappeared. His wife is growing more distant every day. Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has recently been receiving. As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life, spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table, are turned inside out, and he embarks on a bizarre journey, guided (however obscurely) by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell. My Thoughts So this is a really hard book to tell people about, mainly because I wouldn't know where to start or even what to say. The main character Mr Okada is a straight forward simple guy, after quitting his job to think about what he'd like to do next he enjoys his days relaxing, until his cat goes missing. This triggers off a string of events that lead to the most bizarre consequences. I really enjoyed the individual back ground of each character, especially that or Mr Honda and Lieutenant Mamiya, the war stories were great, gruesome but fascinating. I don't think i've ever actually thought about the atrocities that would occur during war, this book defiantly helped that to hit home. I also found Mr Okada very likable and my favorite was probably May as deranged as she is. I don't think people who are looking for a solid plot or even a coherent story will enjoy this book, the ending isn't very tangible, in fact reading this book is like trying to grasp at water, its mesmerizing and eerie and weird and you cant help but want to read on and on. Then you get to the end and feel like you need to think it over, look for a secret plot or a hidden message... maybe sit in the bottom of a dry well to think Im really glad i read this book, it wasn't at all what i thought it was going to be though it will certainly be a while before i can get over it and pick up another Murakimi title

Hey All, I'm back and finally feeling better, I hope your feeling better too now Devi. I'm glad to say i've finally finished The Windup Bird Chronicles, so here goes my next review...

Thank you both, it has been thoroughly rotten! Not the best start to the year and it sucks that i'm already behind on my reading challange, going to have to catch up when i start feeling better

Thanks Weave Although it appears to have taken me a terribly long time (and i still have 200 pages left!) i have been enjoying the Windup bird. I've actually had a terrible case of the flu which lasted weeks and i now have tonsillitis so i've been very poorly and haven't actually been awake all that much or well enough to even hold the book up. Fingers crossed that's my whole lot of ill health had for this year and it wont set me back on my reading schedule for the rest of the year! 1 book in 1 month, ouch!

It was just ok, I wouldn't recommend it though

I'm not sure when i'll get round to reading this one either. I've got so much I want to get through this year and i'm not sure that this one stands out as much as some of the others

It really is worth the read! I very much doubt there is another book like this one out there!

Im reading The Windup bird chronicles at the moment, so far so good, its odd though!

It wasn't terrible by far but it was just mediocre, i was indifferent over picking it up where as normally i cant wait to sit down and read. I don't think i'll pick up another one by the same author unfortunately

The Elites by Natasha Ngan ~ 3/5 About the book (Amazon) 'There is a rumour that the Elites don't bleed.' Hundreds of years into the future, wars, riots, resource crises and rising sea-levels have destroyed the old civilisations. Only one city has survived: Neo-Babel, a city full of cultures - and racial tension. Fifteen-year-old Silver is an Elite, a citizen of Neo-Babel chosen to guard the city due to her superior DNA. She'd never dream of leaving - but then she fails to prevent the assassination of Neo Babel's president, setting off a chain of events more shocking and devastating than she could ever have imagined. Forced to flee the city with her best friend Butterfly (a boy with genetically-enhanced wings), Silver will have to fight to find her family, uncover the truth about Neo-Babel and come to terms with her complicated feelings for Butterfly. Packed full of adventure, romance, exoticism and the power of friendship, The Elites is a highly compelling and beautifully written novel from a supremely talented debut author. My Thoughts. The blurb of this book promised so much but sadly it fell quite a bit short of my expectations. On Amazon out of 22 reviews 19 rated it a 5* so I thought I was in for a real treat. Whilst the plot of the story was good it was still quite main stream and unoriginal so the book was always going to need outstanding characterization and scene setting, neither of which occurred. The book was too short to pull off the amount of stuff that was crammed into it, lots of characters barely described even when they are supposed to be pulling off a heart felt role, the two main characters Silver and Butterfly's relationship didn't feel very realistic or evoke any sort of emotion really. I also had trouble imagining Neo, I still have no idea what the 'skylungs' where supposed to look like? Its an ok read, easy to get through, nothing needs to be particularly thought about but others seem to disagree and really enjoyed it so it may just be that I set my expectations too high.

The Vintage Club by Darin Gibby ~ 4/5 About the book Can wine really make you live forever? Yes, if the grapes are an ancient varietal---or so the members of the Vintage Club believe. Made up of some of the world’s wealthiest industrial magnates, the club conducts secret scientific research to discover what has eluded humans throughout history: the elixir of life. Their quest hits a snag when scientist Walter Trudell is murdered. The prime murder suspect is his godson Reggie Alexander, a patent attorney whom Trudell once saved from a life of poverty in northeast Washington, D.C. As soon as news of the murder spreads, Reggie goes into hiding---soon after his wife and son disappear. After being chased by mysterious assailants, beaten unconscious, and planted with a bug, Reggie must come to grips with his own private demons while figuring out how to save his family. The Vintage Club is a thriller that both explores the ancient Christian symbolism of wine and imagines ways that modern nanotechnology could be used to discover the fountain of youth My Thoughts A brilliant first novel by Darin Gibby. I was gripped all the way through. The story line is really original, like Dan Brown, Darin explores the possibilities of hidden codes in the bible, this being that wine could unlock an elixir for eternal life. Its really fast moving and there's no pointless chapters to pad it out, each chapter adds something to the story. The characters are three dimensional and believable and the book is very well written. Whilst the plot sounds a little bizarre, its so well told its almost realistic. I really enjoyed it!

Ah thats a shame, good review though. Happy reading for 2014