~Andrea~ Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I've got Damaged on my TBR pile. I've had it for ages and it never appeals. After reading your review, I'm tempted to read it sooner. So thanks. Yup - me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom No. of pages: 407 Rating: 1/5 Synopsis: When Conrad Harrison impulse-buys a big old house in Wisconsin, his wife Jo doesn't share his enthusiasm, reluctant at the idea of leaving their LA life - so Conrad is left to set up their new home as she ties up loose ends at work. But Conrad's new purchase is not all that it seems. Soon Conrad is hearing the ghostly wailing of a baby in the night, seeing blood on the floor and being haunted by a woman who looks exactly like Jo. With his wife away, Conrad becomes obsessed by the pregnant girl next door, Nadia, who claims to be a victim of the evil in the house. The crying leads him to a bricked-up body, and the mystery of the Birthing House unravels, pulling in Jo, Nadia and leading Conrad to a nightmarish conclusion... Review: This is quite simply the worst book I've read in a long time and I would advise people to not waste their money on it! The first third of the book is filled with pointless and quite cringeworthy sex scenes, and a lot of unnecessary swearing. After that it starts to tell the story, which whilst a good premise, just wasn't written well at all and it still had the random sex scenes scattered in. I didn't connect to any of the characters and feel like they changed so dramatically from scene to scene it was not realistic in the slightest. My biggest dislike was the way some of the characters talked, substituting 'dare' for 'there' as the only accented word in a sentence, it was just poor writing in my view. The ending was terrible too, so all I can recommend is to avoid this book at all costs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Funny the synopsis to this book sounded great, I'm not surprised you chose it. Think I'll give it a miss though Thanks for the warning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 No problem I was really looking forward to reading it too, what a disappointment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipread Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Thanks for the review of The Birthing House, it WAS on my wish list, but it isn`t now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Indeed, I had been looking at buying it, but won't be now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Good choice ladies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I'd not even heard of this book. I'm glad you've warned me, I probably would've ended up buying it after reading the blurb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwemad Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Adding Erica Spindler to my list of authors to try.. this book looks great! Great review.. thanks for posting. I'm going to look up this author too. so extra sooper doopah thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens No. of pages: 280 Rating: 4.5/5 Synopsis: I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do - I fell in love with him. Zoe's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe's autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever. Review: This is the first book I've ever read by Jennifer Laurens and I was blown away by how great it was. The story is mainly about Zoe, she's fed up with her troubled life since her autistic sister Abria was born, and has turned to drink and partying to escape from it all. Then a handsome guy starts popping up around Abria anytime she's in trouble, and Zoe comes to realise she's seeing an angel. She slowly starts falling in love with him, and he with her, but how can they be together when he's an angel, and she's mortal? I have to admit, this story gripped me from the first page and I couldn't put it down until I was finished with it. The story was realistic, and evolved really well, drawing me in and making me feel for the characters. I enjoyed reading the romance evolving, as well as Zoe growing up and becoming a woman. I'll be honest, I don't believe in heaven or God, so I was a little apprehensive about that aspect of the story, but it was beautifully written and enjoyable to read. I'd really recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA books, you won't regret it, and I can't wait for the follow up book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraPepparkaka Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Heavenly- this sounds like something I might like. I will keep my eyes open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 (edited) Touching Evil by Kay Hooper No. of pages: 358 Rating: 5/5 Series: Evil Trilogy (Book 1) Special Crimes Unit (Book 4) Synopsis: Sometimes evil lingers so close, you can feel it.... Seattle police sketch artist Maggie Barnes has an extraordinary gift. She listens as traumatized crime victims describe their ordeals — and then uses those horrifying recollections to draw dead-on sketches of the assailants. Some cops think Maggie is telepathic, that she can actually enter the victims’ minds. Only Maggie knows the truth behind her rare talent ... and she isn’t telling. But her secret may be exposed when a madman seizes Seattle in his terrifying grip. He abducts women and blinds them, leaving them barely alive. The police have one hope: the lone victim who might recover her sight. But they don’t know that Maggie has her own dark connection to the monster — an eerie link that may stretch back to a string of unsolved murders. To stop the escalating terror, Maggie will have to push her abilities to the breaking point — even if it means confronting a predator whose powers seem to have no bounds.... Review: This is a really great thriller book, I've read it several times now and still enjoy it every time. Maggie is a police sketch artist with a special talent, and when women start being viciously attacked, raped and blinded, she feels it's her duty to stop the evil that's doing it...even if she has to sacrifice herself. The characters are very well written, and you really feel like you get to know them and their motivations for doing what they do throughout the book. The story kicks off right from the very first page, and keeps going every step of the way throughout. The attacks are pretty violent, and Kay manages to write them very well. I also really enjoyed the paranormal aspect, and thought it fit in well with the story. Although part of a trilogy within a series, each book can be read independently as it's the paranormal unit that connects the books rather than the same characters everytime. Kay Hooper writes her books in sets of 3 within the general series of the Special Crime Unit books and the titles are connected in each trilogy. The Evil trilogy is the only set of books I've read, but I'm hoping to get the Shadow trilogy which is the first 3 books of the Special Crime Unit series. I would definitely recommend these to anyone who likes a fast paced thriller with a paranormal twist throughout. Edited March 26, 2009 by lexiepiper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Great review, Lexie! I'm adding this to my wishlist, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysalis_stage Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I agree with bookbee, book sounds very interesting, not read a crime book from that perspective before. Will check it out, Thanks for the review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Oooooh, I think I just found a new book to read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KW Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thanks for the wonderful review!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipread Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 This sounds really good Lexie, I`ll be looking out for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris No. of pages: 263 Rating: 5/5 Series: Harper Connelly (Book 1) Synopsis: Harper Connelly had a lucky escape when she was hit by lightning: she didn't die. But sometimes she wishes she had died, because the lightning strike left her with an unusual talent: she can find dead people - and that's not always comfortable. Everyone wants to know how she does it: it's a little like hearing a bee droning inside her head, or maybe the pop of a Geiger counter, a persistent, irregular noise that increases in strength as she gets closer. It's almost electric: a buzzing all through her body, and the fresher the corpse, the more intense the buzz. Harper and her brother Tolliver make their living from finding the dead, for desperate parents, worried friends . . . and police departments who have nowhere else to look. They may not believe in her abilities, but sometimes the proof is just too much for even the most sceptical of police chiefs to deny. But it's not always easy for someone like Harper, for the dead *want* to be found - and too often, finding the body doesn't bring closure; it opens a whole new can of worms. Review: This is the first book I've read by Charlaine Harris, and what a great introduction to someone who I'm sure will become a favourite. I love her style of writing, it's so easy to read, but it keeps you gripped throughout. Harper and Tolliver are great characters, and you feel like you really get to know them during the book. Harper was hit with lightening when she was 15, and since then, she's been able to sense dead bodies and tell what they died from. So she and Tolliver, her brother, travel around the country tracking missing people, for a fee of course. When they go to the Ozarks to find a missing, but believed dead, teenage girl for the county officials, it's just another job...until they get accused of murder. As a result, Harper goes on a mission to find out what's really happening in this small town, with some shocking results. The story was great, and I couldn't put the book down, not even to go to sleep. Harper's talent is interesting to read about, as is the story Charlaine weaves through the book. I loved the relationship between Harper and Tolliver, and thought it was written really well. I guessed a little of the ending, but was plenty surprised by some of it too. I would really recommend this, it's very enjoyable. I will definitely be finishing the rest of this series and can't wait to get my hands on the Sookie Stackhouse series by the same author also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris No. of pages: 295 Rating: 4.5/5 Series: Harper Connelly (Book 2) Synopsis: Harper is summoned to Memphis to demonstrate her unique talent, but there are still plenty of sceptics, even as Harper stands atop a grave and announces there are two bodies buried there. The police are convinced there's something fishy going on when the grave is opened to reveal the centuries-dead remains of a man, which they'd expected (that being his grave, after all) and a dead girl, which no one expected - except Harper, of course. And suspicions are raised even further because Harper had failed to find eleven-year-old Tabitha Morgenstern when she was abducted two years before. Harper and Tolliver need to find the real killer to prove Harper's innocence, especially after their nocturnal visit to the cemetery in hopes that Harper can sense something more is followed by the discovery, the following morning, of a third dead body in the grave . . . Review: I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I did Grave Sight, but it was still very good. Harper and Tolliver go to Memphis to show a University class her talent in an old graveyard, but when she steps onto a grave and finds not one, but two bodies buried there she's confused. Then she realises that the newer body is that of 11 year old Tabitha Morgenstern, an abducted girl who she failed to find the year before and she becomes suspicious. It couldn't possibly be a coincidence...could it? The story was a little slower going in this book I felt, and so that's why I gave it a 4.5/5, but it was still really enjoyable to read. It was interesting to watch Harper and Tolliver's relationship develop and change, and I'm curious to see where that goes futher in the series. I enjoyed trying to guess who the murderer was, and thought the ending was written well even though I had figured most of it out. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll definitely enjoy this one too, it's a great series to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I'm on the bookring for these and I can't wait to read them, thanks for your reviews! I've wanted to read the Sookie Stackhouse series too but every time I try and order it, it's out of stock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 (edited) You'll really love these, they're great books and yeah I really want to read the Sookie ones too, I've just checked and it seems they're all being released here on the 16 July with new covers. Edited March 31, 2009 by lexiepiper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanC_84 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Those sound interesting, I might give them a go at some point in the future. I have read the first two books of the Sookie Stackhouse vampire series and those were fairly enjoyable reads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 You'll really love these, they're great books and yeah I really want to read the Sookie ones too, I've just checked and it seems they're all being released here on the 16 July with new covers. Oh ok, thanks for that! Looking forward to those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Glad you enjoyed 'Grave Surprise' Lexie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 You'll really love these, they're great books and yeah I really want to read the Sookie ones too, I've just checked and it seems they're all being released here on the 16 July with new covers. I think it is the covers for 'True Blood', the series that is based on the sookie books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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