pickle Posted May 8, 2011 Author Posted May 8, 2011 72 Witch and Wizard - James Patterson I am guessing this was a YA novel even though I found it in the normal section of the library. I have never read anything by James Patterson though I am aware of him he is one of the few people who has his books advertised on the tv and they always make me laugh. This book was definitely light in both content and plot, and I am glad I didn't pay for it. Having read some excellent YA books which deal with harrowing issues The Hunger Games being the prime one this was definitely way down in quality. The book features a brother and sister Whit and Wisty who are dragged from their bed in the middle of the night and thrown in a horrific prison on the orders of The One who is the One, they in turn discover that they are a wizard and a witch who are prophesised to fight against the new oppresive regime. Now this makes the book sound far far better than it is, the book was written with really short chapters sometimes 1-2 pages and it chops and changes from each of the main characters narrative. I will probably read the next book but I certainly won't go out of my way to either look for it and certainly not buy it. Quote
vodkafan Posted May 8, 2011 Posted May 8, 2011 72 Witch and Wizard - James Patterson I am guessing this was a YA novel even though I found it in the normal section of the library. I have never read anything by James Patterson though I am aware of him he is one of the few people who has his books advertised on the tv and they always make me laugh. This book was definitely light in both content and plot, and I am glad I didn't pay for it. Having read some excellent YA books which deal with harrowing issues The Hunger Games being the prime one this was definitely way down in quality. The book features a brother and sister Whit and Wisty who are dragged from their bed in the middle of the night and thrown in a horrific prison on the orders of The One who is the One, they in turn discover that they are a wizard and a witch who are prophesised to fight against the new oppresive regime. Now this makes the book sound far far better than it is, the book was written with really short chapters sometimes 1-2 pages and it chops and changes from each of the main characters narrative. I will probably read the next book but I certainly won't go out of my way to either look for it and certainly not buy it. Sounds like he's been watching too many "Wizards of Waverley Place" episodes Pickle ! Quote
pickle Posted May 12, 2011 Author Posted May 12, 2011 73. Patricia Briggs - Bone Crossed This is the fourth in the series of books and features Mercy Thompson a skin walker. Patricia Briggs writes in a simialr style and along a similar vein to Charlaine Harris/Kim Harrison with a little bit of Laurell Hamilton (before she became interested in only describing bed scenes and lost the plot IMO) In this book Mercy has to leave town as she is threatened by the leader of the local vampire seethe when its discovered she is responsible for the death of one of the top vampires in her region. At the same time she is contacted by an old school friend who is afraid of something and believes she is being haunted. So Mercy has to leave the town and her relationship with the local Alpha werewolf, but she encounters a whole heap of trouble. I really am enjoying this series and will look for others although I haven't managed to read all of them, I am sure that their similarity to the others means I haven't missed much, she also makes it easy to undersand what has happened in previous books . 74. Kelley Armstrong - The Gathering I am a big fan of kelley Armstring and this is no dissapointment. This is a new series of books part of the YA Darkest Rising books. This features Maya a 16 year old girl who lives with her adpoted parents in an isolated community on Vancouver Island. The community is dominated by a research facility owned by the St Cloud family (kelley Armstrong fans will know who they are) but the research facility is not dominant n this book. because it is a YA book it features Maya and her friends and the changes that have occured since the unexpected death of her best friend the summer before on top of this there is a new boy in town who is watching her, and a reporter asking awkward questions. I can't wait for the next books in this series. 75. Robert Rankin - Retromancer Its been ages since I read anything by Robert Rankin and I remember being not that impressed by it, but I was pleasantly suprised I really enjoyed it, It was a sort of boys own romp using language that was funny and inventive. I will definitely look out for other books in this series in the future. In this book a boy Rizla wakes up in a world changed. Brentford has become occupied by Nazis and its the 1960's the germans wone the war. so rather than suffering a breakfast of bratwurst and other such foreign foods he is forced to run away and smoke his stolen woodbine in peace but then flash bang he is once again in the presence of Hugo Rune a fabulous and fantastic master of magic and mayhem, a man who refuses in principle to pay for his drinks as the nation owes him!, and who dislikes cab drivers forced to take a stick to them at any given occasion. And so Rizla and Rune set of on an adventure to change history back to normal encountering many wierd and wonderful things on the way. Very witty read Quote
Charm Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 I've almost ordered Patricia Briggs books several times. After reading your thoughts, I think I'll add them to my wishlist. My purse and my bank manager thank you Quote
pickle Posted May 13, 2011 Author Posted May 13, 2011 I've almost ordered Patricia Briggs books several times. After reading your thoughts, I think I'll add them to my wishlist. My purse and my bank manager thank you They are good think early Sookie Stackhouse very similar to that although this time its the wolves who provide the love interest. Quote
pickle Posted May 14, 2011 Author Posted May 14, 2011 76 Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski This was a bit of a spur of the moment borrow from the library, mostly I was attracted to the synopsis on the back and the fact that this was touted as 'finally the translation of this author is available' or words to that effect, I am always looking for books which are from foreign authors beyond the crime section(which I also love) having discovered the Russian Sergey Lukyanenko and Vladimir Vasilyev watch books a few years ago (have still to read the fourth- and if you have only ever seen the film please please do not let this put you of the books are far better, not the best but the film was awful) Anyway what was the book about and what did I think. This was a fairly run of the mill fantasy novel and not a bad one at that. The main protagonist or hero is Geralt a witcher, now a witcher is someone who goes around and slays the monsters, the vampires, the imps, the dragons and all manner of others. this is in effect a sort of retelling of his story and it skips around in his history. I suspect this is part of a series of books but I have no idea. There was a little bit of a fairy tale element to it and I am a big fan of the fairytale. Quote
Charm Posted May 15, 2011 Posted May 15, 2011 They are good think early Sookie Stackhouse very similar to that although this time its the wolves who provide the love interest. Oh they're definitely going on my wishlist then, early Sookie was much better than the later stuff Thanks! Quote
pickle Posted May 19, 2011 Author Posted May 19, 2011 (edited) its been a week since I last updated this and somehow I have managed to read 5 books, what can I say I have no life and there has been nothing on the tv I feel like watching and the weather hasn't been good enough to sit outside 77. The Prophet Murders - Mehmet Murat Somer This was a wierd book, I picked it up because I like trying crime books set outside of the UK and the US (hence my liking Scandinavian crime) on top of this the main character is a Transvestite living and owning a transvestite club in Istanbul. Synopsis In cosmopolitan Istanbul a thriving transvestite community is on edge after the death of one of its ‘girls’. Dismissed by the Police as an unfortunate accident the case is soon taken on by the vibrant and charismatic club owner Burcak. With Hasan, his Maitre de club, and information from the ‘girls’ he puts the real story together piece by piece. He calls on an old school friend, Commissioner Selcuk Tanyer, for help. Tracking down an extreme fundamentalist, with the ‘chat room’ handle of Jihad2000, he is soon immersed in a world so dark and sordid that even he may not survive. The reason I liked it despite it being a culture I know nothing about was the complete acceptance that this was the norm and no attempt was made to make the idea that transvestites are in any way on the fringes of society, now this may have been because the book pretty much focussed on the lives of the main character and his friends (I will call him him because thats how he refers to himself in the books) It was also funny, yes in some ways stereotypical in that a lot of the other characters were obsessed with how they looked and bitched about each other the way you see in films but they did it in a very self aware way, particularly the main character Burcak, now the synopsis above is not one I wrote and it makes it out to be far more dramatic than the book actually was, there was a lot of background which needs to be explained, I am not sure whether this was the first in a series of books or if I have missed out on others, will have a look for more I think. 78. Minds Eye - Hakan Nesser This was my first attempt to read a Hakan Nesser book I am listening to one on BBC4xtra at the moment but its serialised and only on at the weekends so only on part 2 at the moment. This book suffers only from being translated in a style which is a little stilted, its doesn't flow anywhere near as well as the Stieg Larsson or even Jo Nesbo books does. I am also not sure if this is the first in the series of books by Hakan Nesser as again there is a back story about the characters, if it is the forst, then they definitely need more explaining. saying that the plot is well written and interesting I can imagine it being a film, I did guess the ending but it didn't detract from my enjoyment. synopsis THE MIND'S EYE begins with a teacher, Janek Mitter, waking up in his apartment with an almighty hangover and memory loss and discovering his wife and fellow teacher, Eva Ringmar, drowned in the bath. The police arrest him and he is subsequently tried for her murder. He doesn't think he's guilty but does little to help himself in court and so it's no surprise when he's sent to a psychiatric hospital. However, once there, a mix-up in medication allows some memory to return. He naturally contacts the police but his message goes astray and less fortunately for him his message to another person arrives safe and sound and sets off a chain of events which takes VV on a journey to the coast, and back in time to discover what lies behind the death of Eva Ringmar. just read the rest of this review apparently its the first boo but the third to be translated (don't get why they do that). will read some more of this author I think, they will grow on me 79. One for the Money - Janet Evanovich 80. Plum Spooky - Janet Evanovich 79 and 80 together....why had |I not discovered these before, I laughed out loud, at a lot of it, even though it was a crime book, I found Stephanie Plum to be a little bit of all of us girls, she doesn't suffer fools gladly, has an interfering family and a love life thats on and off, on toip of that she is broke and becomes a bounty hunter (albeit a not very good one) on the way she meets such a funny but very human cast of characters. I am looking for more of these as soon as I get to the libraray. 81 Wicked Widow - Amanda Quick Guilty pleasure a historical romance, I have read all of her books and all of the ones I have managed to find under Amanda Quick's various pseudonyms, easy but enjoyable reads. Edited May 19, 2011 by pickle Quote
pickle Posted May 26, 2011 Author Posted May 26, 2011 82- 89 Janet Evanovich Seven Up Ten Big Ones Eleven on Top Twelve Sharp Fearless Fourteen finger Lickin Fifteen Visions of sugar Plums yes I am an obsessive, I get on a roll discover an author I like and go a little insane. So I have read 7 of Janet Evanovich's books since the weekend, and I really enjoyed them, They are laugh out loud funny in places, I like the characters they are funny and real making mistakes and living a normal life, (albeit it one more exciing than mine, I have realised reading all of these I actually have no life and I need to get to bed earlier as I have been wiped at work all week ) these are all individual stories but I have grouped them to save me going through every book and as I intend to read as many of them as I can expect more. Just put it this way I was reading ine in the garden and had to stifle my laughter at the thought of one of the characters got stuck in the window of the car having to fart to get out of it, that makes it sound crude but it was very well done. 90 Suzanne Brockman - Dark of Night I am pretty sure its a bad sign when you have to keep looking up the title of the book because you can't remember it. Anyhoo what did I think, I think if I had read this about 10 years ago I would have loved it but now I found it a bit banal and confusing, she was trying t write the romantic stories of 4 different people in one book. I picked it up thinking this was a thriller but in fact it was more of a romance, a bit like those books where the hero is more man than possible and the heroine lets him dictate the turns. There were flashes of inspiration but I think Linda Howard makes a better storyteller of this genre. Quote
pickle Posted May 30, 2011 Author Posted May 30, 2011 91 Janet Evanovich - High Five 92 Janet Evanovich - Hard Eight I have continued with the series as I am enjoying catching up with what Stephanie Plum is up to, and luckily I haven't found you need to read these in order. Thye do make me smile and occaionally laugh out loud, I think Janet Evanovich paints a really well drawn character and even though I know no one like any of them I do find I can imagine them fantstically. Looking forward to reading more, just waiting for my orders to arrive. Quote
Kylie Posted May 31, 2011 Posted May 31, 2011 I'm glad you're enjoying the Stephanie Plum novels, Pickle. I'm getting through them at a much slower pace because I read other things in between. I'm up to #9 and I really must bump it up the list. I could do with a good dose of Plum right now. Quote
pickle Posted May 31, 2011 Author Posted May 31, 2011 I'm glad you're enjoying the Stephanie Plum novels, Pickle. I'm getting through them at a much slower pace because I read other things in between. I'm up to #9 and I really must bump it up the list. I could do with a good dose of Plum right now. I know what you mean she makes me laugh they are so cheerful and funny, my problem is I become obsessive about an author hence my reading them all in one go and waiting for the new ones to arrive.....I hate waiting and realise I in fact have no life Quote
pickle Posted June 8, 2011 Author Posted June 8, 2011 93. Lean Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich 94. Four to Score - Janet Evanovich 95. Hot Six - Janet Evanovich I have continued with my Evanovich obsession and these were ones I reserved from the library and part of the Stephanie Plum series. They cheer me up, make me laugh and I have come to laugh every time I read them hence my obsession, the other reason I have so many on my list is that I have a lot of them ordered from the library and they all came at once. I was reading some of the reviews on Amazon about these and there was a lit of criticism about the series becoming stale and how Stephanie Plum never resolves her issues with the men in her life but I have found I don't mind at all, it makes her more real as we all spend our time with unresolved issues although I dream of it being with these two men. Long may this series continue, I have Sizzling Sixteen on the kindle and will no doubt read it before my holiday. 96. Full Blast - Janet Evanovich/Charlotte Hughes 97. Full Bloom - Janet Evanovich/Charlotte Hughes 98. Full Speed - Janet Evanovich/Charlotte Hughes These three books I thought I would try as they were written by Janet Evanovich with her friend Charlotte Hughes, similar to Stephanie Plum this involves a feisty woman who has relationship issues but this time she is an editor of a mom and dad newspaper and the man in her life is millionaire Matt Holt who owns a car a bit like Kit from Knoght Rider except it has the personality of a woman convinced she is going through the menapause which is very funny. These aren't as good as the Stephanie Plum books but they were a diverting read nonetheless. 99. Black Moon/Silver Moon/Amber Moon - C L Bevil My first free download read on my Kindle mainly because it was free, this is in fact 3 books but I imagine they are not very big so I grouped them all as one, this follows 3 objects searched for by a group called The Commitee who preserve the peace between the different factions of werewolves, werejaguars, elves, fea folk and a whole lot more. The first story features a woman on the run from a nasty bunch of werewolves who own a book called the black book it has been forseen that this is a book of evil. she is rescued by a were jaguar the mortal enemy of the wolves. The second book takes place in the realm of the elves here a part human oman realises her true nature, this time the object is an amber stone. he third book is the final part of this trilogy is about a human Jack and a werecat they must retain the two found objects and search for the third. this was not a great series but it was free and I needed a distraction. Quote
pickle Posted June 29, 2011 Author Posted June 29, 2011 (edited) Right this is just a list as I haven't got the energy to go through all of them at thr moment 100 The Forest of Hands and TeethCarrie Ryan 101 The Dead Tossed WavesCarrie Ryan 102 Wolf Flight (Granite Lake Lodge)Vivian Arend 103 Wolf Signs (Granite Lake Lodge)Vivian Arend 104 Cry wolf (Alpha and Omega 1)Patricia Briggs 105 Hunting Ground (Alpha and Omega 2)Patricia Briggs 106 River MarkedPatricia Briggs 107 Scent of Danger (Darklands)Autumn Davies 108 Switched (Trylle Trilogy)Amanda Hocking 109 One of Our Thursdays is Missing Jasper Fforde 110 A Cold Day for MurderDana Stabenow 111 Silent MercyLinda Farstein 112 The Gallows BirdCamilla Lackberg 113 The Track of SandAndrea Camilleri 114 My Soul to TakeYrsa Sigurdardottir 115 AngelicKelley Armstrong 116 I shall wear MidnightTerry Pratchett 117 Broken Angel (House Phoenix)S W Vaughan 118 Hell BentHeather Killough- Walden 119 The StripHeather Killough- Walden 120 The HeatHeather Killough- Walden 121 The SpellHeather Killough- Walden 122 American Vampire (Vampire for Hire)J R Rain 123 Vampire for Hire (American Vampire) J R Rain 124 Moon Dance (Vampire for Hire)J R Rain At some point I am going to have to come in and review all of these for the moment these are all the books I have read since I got my kindle some were freebies some were cheap and some were on my wish list to take on holiday, not all were great but some were exceptional. Edited June 29, 2011 by pickle Quote
lopeanha Posted June 30, 2011 Posted June 30, 2011 Hey Pickle oh my, oh my, where do you take the time from to read all these books? How did you like The forest of hands and teeth? I do have it on my wish list, but I'm still not sure if I should actually buy the book. Quote
pickle Posted July 11, 2011 Author Posted July 11, 2011 Hey Pickle oh my, oh my, where do you take the time from to read all these books? How did you like The forest of hands and teeth? I do have it on my wish list, but I'm still not sure if I should actually buy the book. Hey sorry for not responding sooner I have been avoiding my own thread because I am aware I am behind on reviewing any of these above and have about 5 or 6 possibly more to add crikey I was on a role, have faltered a bit but found something I like finally....will add to it later. What did I think of The Forest of Hands and Teeth I really liked it I loved the idea of it, the main character was confused and all around her things were changing, its written to a high standard though and worth it. I also have The dead tossed waves which is the second part. not yet made it to the third part but its on the list. Quote
ladymacbeth Posted July 12, 2011 Posted July 12, 2011 Pickle you are a machine. You remind me of my step mother before she died - she would read 3 books at once and so quickly. Just an amazing skill! Quote
chaliepud Posted July 12, 2011 Posted July 12, 2011 I've just added the Forest of Hands and Teeth to my wish list, the reviews on here have been good so far. Quote
pickle Posted July 13, 2011 Author Posted July 13, 2011 (edited) Ok here are a few more I have read, and at some point I am going to review them (I promise) 125Hunted By the Others Jess Haines 126The Hunt Heather Killough-Walden 127The Darkest Edge of Dawn Kelly Gay 128The Better Part of Darkness Kelly Gay 129When Midnight Comes Lori Handerland 130The Chosen Sou lHeather Killough-Walden 131The Hidden Child Camilla Lackberg 132Embracing the Wolf Felicity Heaton 133Maskerade Terry Pratchett 134Wolf Games Vivian Arend 135Smokin Seventeen Janet Evanovich 136Full tilt Janet Evanovich 137Plum Lovin Janet Evanovich 138The Museums Secrets Henry Chancellor I Obviously have no life though... Edited July 13, 2011 by pickle Quote
Kylie Posted July 14, 2011 Posted July 14, 2011 Wow, Pickle, I'm so envious of how fast you can read! Quote
pickle Posted July 15, 2011 Author Posted July 15, 2011 Wow, Pickle, I'm so envious of how fast you can read! Don't be its a curse I get panicky if I don't have something new to read and the kindle is bad for me Quote
lauraloves Posted July 15, 2011 Posted July 15, 2011 Youve actually read 100 more books this year than me already! I wish I could read as fast as you! Quote
Kylie Posted July 22, 2011 Posted July 22, 2011 Don't be its a curse I get panicky if I don't have something new to read and the kindle is bad for me I think I had better stay well away from Kindles and the like! Then again, I do have an iPad and a large amount of ebooks, but thankfully I still prefer to hold and read an actual book. Quote
Charm Posted July 22, 2011 Posted July 22, 2011 I think I had better stay well away from Kindles and the like! But Kylie! They can hold over 3000 books! Think of the book buying sprees you could have, especially in the sales! Surrender to the call!! You don't know what you're missssiinngg! Quote
Kylie Posted July 22, 2011 Posted July 22, 2011 But Kylie! They can hold over 3000 books! Think of the book buying sprees you could have, especially in the sales! Surrender to the call!! You don't know what you're missssiinngg! ^ Look, Raven, look! Charm is tempting me with more books! What hope do I have? Quote
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