BookJumper Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 ... would you recommend Evermore to someone who didn't enjoy Twilight? My fear that it might be something along the same lines is precisely what stopped me from buying it when I was tempted to:lurker:! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 Not sure... I think so, but then I did enjoy Twilight. Have you read/ do you like the True Blood books? I'd say Evermore was more like True Blood than Twilight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I tried reading True Blood because I found the idea really interesting but stopped when I realised just how much sex was in them - I'm guessing Evermore doesn't have that problem, as it's a YA book...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 A little, but nothing as graphic or on the scale of True Blood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Edward VII – Christopher Hibbert (4/5) I really enjoyed this book. As if anyone you are still in any doubt, yes I am massive history geek, and I love it. Edward VII was monarch for only nine years (unfortunately) and was a good king, with genuine concern for his people. However, before he got to the throne he was Prince of Wales for 59 years. He had a rather miserable childhood, bless him, thanks to Prince Albert who wanted him to excel at his studies as his sister did. The prince may not have been academically bright but he was what we would call today a real people person and when he got out into society he dominated it for the rest of his life. He was sure not to make the same mistakes his father did with him when he became a father and his close, loving relationship with his sons, in particular Prince George, stands as tribute to the fact that he was a good father. His relationship with his wife, Queen Alexandra, was not always an easy one on account of their different temperaments (she was happy to stay out of society as she grew older on account of her deafness, while he continued to thrive on it till the end) but they obviously cared for one another and were there for each other when it really mattered. He always adored her beauty, and she was ever indulgent towards her ‘Bertie’, turning a blind eye to his ‘indiscretions.’ Perhaps it was somewhat bitter sweetly that she declared after he had died that no matter about the other women, he had always loved her the best. His difficult relationship with his mother has been well documented but as Hibbert makes clear there were breaks on the storm and moments of tenderness between Victoria and her son. However, it was years before she begun to let him help with government. When he did though, he found he had a flare for foreign policy which would remain his passion. When the king was genuinely interested in a subject, he could work as hard as any other man. Hibbert writes clearly, understandably and with great enthusiasm leading to a fine biography. It is good at setting the scene not only in court or in the Royal family, but you also get to understand something about the society of the era too. The ‘peacemaker’ king died in 1910. Some believe that had he, and his brother in law, Tsar Alexander III lived on longer, the events of 1914 would have been very different... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (4.5/5) I loved this book! Loved it, loved it, loved it! This was so the best Sookie book yet by far... I am so converted to team Eric I am proud to say. Bill has gone way down in my estimation. I feel ashamed I ever like the slime ball... The plot and the new characters were also superb especially Alcide. I can’t want to buy/ go on to number 4 now Sorry for the rubbish review guys, my brain is still doing cart wheels at the end. Not so much of a cliffy as a great feel good moment for Sookie, who is my favourite heroine at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancescaH Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I have not read any of the Charlaine Harris yet, but heard they are brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 They really are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancescaH Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I will check them out, I suppose you are best reading them in order too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Good! Yeah, I think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancescaH Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Love a book or series that you just can't put down:readingtwo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 I know - I adore it when it just pulls you in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancescaH Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I miss so many television programmes as yes you get draw in....love it. I did have to join the library though as would just buy my books all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 I buy far too many, Lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancescaH Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 But do you let others borrow them, as I can be a little funny about certain books..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 When they ask to yeah - its normally just one of my friends who is also a reader and my mum and sister. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancescaH Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Yeah I don't mind my sister and like one other friend but some friends fold pages back, etc etc, haha!! I moved recently and had to store most of my books, I managed to fill 6 average size boxes, my sister was like, what's in them....."My books":blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 LOL! my bookcase is overflowing too! I just can't get rid of my books though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancescaH Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 No either can I!! I forget I have brought a book sometimes as put it somewhere safe and find it months later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Haha! I try to keep track on mine! Writing down what I have on here helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancescaH Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Oh okay, might try that too then. I found my Withering Heights this morning so look forward to reading that soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Thats a great book! I read it last summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 20, 2010 Author Share Posted February 20, 2010 (edited) The Last Grand Duchess – Ian Vorres (4/5) By far the most interesting book I have read so far this year, this book by Ian Vorres is beautiful. The author spent a considerable amount of time with Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna in her last years and spoke to her about her life from imperial Russia to Canada. The main body of this book is the conversations that they had. She was one of the few Romanovs who made it out of Russia after the revolution, and this daughter and sister of tsars ended her days with friends looking after her above a beauty salon. Her life was full of contradictions but like her father before her she never enjoyed the formality of court life and did seem to find happiness in exile with her sons and her husband. The Last Grand Duchess tells a remarkable story about a remarkable woman. Edited February 25, 2010 by Jessi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 23, 2010 Author Share Posted February 23, 2010 The Last Station by Jay Parini (4.5/5) I just adored this novel. Having seen the trailer for the film with Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, I was inclined to give it a go and I am so glad that I did. Jay Parini is clearly a very gifted writer. This book gives just the right amount of detail and I could smell, see and touch everything in it. I got drawn into it. The Last Station tells the story of Leo Tolstoy’s last year as he and his wife battle over his will and whether the profits of his work should go to the Russian people or his family. The marriage was one that nearly spanned half a century and produced thirteen children. Though both seem to feel at various times during the story that the marriage is over, I did not have to look far to find the love story in it. I loved this and can’t wait to see the film and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Russia, History or just needs something different to read. It was an easy and refreshing read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 (edited) Be careful of spoilers here guys if you are still reading... A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni (4.5/5) I can’t say I am not relieved to get to the end of this book. I needed closure before the end of the day and bed. I read 250 pages of it today and was gripped from start to end of this breathtaking and utterly haunting novel. I am in no doubt that this story is going to stay with me, though I do not think I am going to be able to reread it for a while, if I am ever inclined to again. A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the story of Mariam and the women who becomes like a daughter to her Laila. Coming from very different back grounds and parentage, they come together under one roof and have to deal with the same challenges in life daily. Both women characters were supremely strong as they tried to defend one another and eventually Laila’s children from their common enemy – their husband, Rasheed. I am not going to say too much here as we are going to discuss it on the Reading Circle in March, but I really found this to be a book that brings the emotions out. I gasped as I read it, cried and was ultimately satisfied with the end. However, I will say that it is rare for me to hate a literary character with the passion that I absolutely loathed Rasheed with. Edited February 25, 2010 by Jessi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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