The House Of The Wind

By Titania Hardie

The House Of The Wind weaves together two plot lines, one set in modern day San Francisco and one in Tuscany in 1347. As the novel progresses the links between the two stories become more obvious and ultimately marry together beautifully.

The present day narrative begins very dramatically with the death of the fiancé of the main character Madeline. Her numbness following this event colours her personal life and her professional life and results in her family sending her to Tuscany, thus starting the long healing process.

The main character in the 1347 thread is Mia, and she’s also been bereaved. We learn that she has lost her mother in brutal circumstances and has been rendered mute. Mia is also in need of healing and her journey to recovery is triggered by the arrival of a beautiful and compassionate traveller.

The two stories work very well together. It took me longer to get into the historical narrative, but I think that’s the way it should be, and certainly as I read on I became equally wrapped up in it.

Both storylines are equally full of romance, action, pain and intrigue. Madeline and Mia are both fantastic characters

As well as great characters, this novel is notable for its fantastic settings and the way in which geographical locations become an integral part to the story. From the hustle bustle of San Francisco to the calm and serenity of the Tuscan countryside, the settings enhance the story and provide convincing atmosphere.

For an intriguing, absorbing and multi-faceted read I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

With thanks to the publishers for the review copy of this book.

The Rook

By Daniel O’Malley

I just finished 'The Rook' and I began to worry about writing a review that would do the rating I plan to give this book some justice. I started making notes about my impressions before I was even a quarter through the book. It made such an impression on me that I went to find the author's website so that I could follow him on Twitter. I started feeding my thoughts into Goodreads as I got through different parts of the book, which is something I never do. I typically post Twitter updates but this seemed easier so that it would note the percentage I was at on my Kindle Fire when I made my note. I stopped reading yesterday and became concerned that I would not get to see more of this intriguing story after I finished the book. I jumped on the Internet and went to Daniel O’Malley’s website and saw that he has plans to do more stories in the Chequy world.

As I finished posting an update early yesterday on Goodreads I caught a glimpse of the overall ratings of the book and thought - impossible. We all read something and get vastly different impressions of what we read. Some things work for us and some things don’t. The beginning of this book did move so fast and have such a convoluted beginning that I had to re-read some parts. When I caught on to how things worked I knew I was one of the people for whom this book worked very much.

'The Rook' was one of those books that I knew I wanted to read and was watching for at least a month before its release date. I was drawn to it just from reading the synopsis and kept hoping for it to be released early. I bought and downloaded it first thing the morning it was released and made the mistake of taking a peek at it before starting work. It was a mistake because I was so totally enthralled that I wanted to send an email that I was leaving for the day and go find a good cup of coffee and a quiet, comfortable place to read for hours. I did tear myself from the book until that night and was really happy that I did not have to teach at the university that night.

This book has something for just about everyone. If you want a mystery, it is there. If you love action, the fight scenes with cool supernatural powers are there. If you like a bit of horror or gore, there is a bit of that too. It is not for romance readers, though there are a couple of irons in the fire that might prove interesting. One of the great things about this book that I wanted to mention separately was the author’s humor. I finally used the highlight feature of my Kindle Fire because there were several parts in this book that literally made me laugh out loud. A great example was when Myfanwy and her assistant Ingrid left a very important meeting and Myfanwy was still feeling things out from the memory loss. She asked Ingrid her impressions from the meeting and the scene went something like this. “Yes, I want to hear your thoughts on what we just saw”, Myfanwy said enthusiastically. “Did you think I brought you along for kicks? That was a classic date, with snacks and a show, and now I expect you to deliver the goods”. There are so many more humorous situations throughout the book.

Let’s take a look at the characters. Our heroine, Myfanwy, is pretty much the kind to whom most of us can relate. She is thrown into her world in the most terrorizing circumstances, with no memory and surrounded by dead bodies. We follow the person that Myfanwy becomes in her new life as she learns about her important position in a secret organization. She doesn’t just jump in and suddenly know how her powers work and kick butt in the name of justice. She has serious growing pains as she is thrown into situation after situation where she has to learn not only who she is becoming, but she also has to learn who Myfanwy was before things unfolded. Ingrid is a bit of a wild card because she is the person closest to Myfanwy as her executive assistant. There is an intricate system in place in the Chequy that utilizes some of the nomenclature of the game of chess. One of the characters that came in towards the end that I really liked was L’il Pawn Alan (No this is not his name or title. He is Pawn Alan but his stature and personality earned him this nickname in Myfanwy’s head) who, like Myfanwy, turns out to be more than meets the eye.

I can say that this book was a wonderful experience and I definitely look forward to more work from Daniel O’Malley!

Reviewed by Lady Techie

Death Bed

Leigh Russell's new book, 'Death Bed', is now available for download on Kindle and I'm very pleased to have Leigh as my Boxing Day guest over on Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact! Leigh has written about beating writer's block for all those writers out there who need to get back into it after the Christmas lull!

You can find my reviews of Leigh's previous books on Bookersatz. They are Cut Short, Road Closed and Dead End.

I haven't read Death Bed yet, but I can't wait and if it's anything like the others we're all in for a huge treat!

The Thread

By Victoria Hislop

Dripping with delicious description, this novel takes us on a long journey in space and time. We follow Katerina as she is forced to flee from her home in Asia Minor and finds herself in Greece. Her path soon crosses that of the young Dimitri and so the seeds of a story that will run across generations are sown.

I loved the way that ‘The Thread’ worked on so many levels. As well as being a vivid picture of a tumultuous period of history in a beautifully described and very real geographical setting, it is also a tale of a young girl growing up and falling in love. In fact I was so caught up in the story of Katerina that I was genuinely taken by surprise by some of the historical events that in retrospect I knew were coming.

One of the links between Katerina and Dimitri is formed through the clothing trade. Dimitri’s father is a rich and powerful merchant who deals in the most beautiful and expensive cloths to be had in Thessaloniki. Katerina is a skilled seamstress and finds herself working for one of the top garment making workshops.

The descriptions of the sumptuous cloths, Katerina’s talent for embroidery and the beautiful clothes she is engaged to work on make the story very visual and fill it with delightful images. But there is of course a darker side with the book covering, as it does, the years of the war and the persecution of the Jewish population

I found the plot gripping and Victoria Hislop very cleverly makes it hard for the reader to see how there can ever be resolution to some of the strands. She also throws in an unexpected link between Katerina and Dimitri at the end which goes back to an event at the beginning which I’d almost forgotten about.

This is a beautiful read and the picture of Greece it presents is particularly poignant and interesting in the light of current circumstances there. That aspect of it will really make you think!

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Kiss Of Frost

By Jennifer Estep

Mythos Academy Series - Book 2

I received this book as an e-ARC a few months ago and read it immediately. I cannot wait to buy my paperback version for the cover to put in my library. I began re-reading it this week to refresh my memory of the details since I have read quite a few books since then, but, strangely enough for the first time I have vivid recall of the events and people. I am totally enamored of this series. It is exciting, fun, and well-written.

Of course it is the continuation of Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy series in the mountains of North Carolina, just a bit away from where all the action takes place in the Elemental Assassin series. Gwen is still hard at work training and working on some relationship issues and has a good candidate for a possible love interest. There was actually a couple of curve balls thrown in there because the end of Touch of Frost had me thinking of a possible candidate and shockingly I was so very wrong. Another great thing about this series is the unexpected friendship between Gwen and one of the "mean girls", Daphne. I am actually enjoying their verbal sparring and watching Daphne grow as a person. There are more surprises on the mean girls’ front this time around too!

I won't give a synopsis because the book blurb does that well enough. But, I can say that reading these books always leaves me wanting more right away. I am truly excited to see at least two more books already in the works. This author is definitely one that I am glad gets to write full-time. I think I need to back track and read the Karma series too. Back to Kiss of Frost, that does not disappoint on the good fight scenes and intrigue either. This installment also has a big mystery in it along with Gwen learning more about her friends, family and the staff at the school and of course Vic the coolest sword ever is my favorite. I'm a huge academy school urban fantasy fan so this setting also adds to one of the reasons I love this book.

The majority of the scenes take place in another environment while the students are on a school trip, but the vivid descriptions of the mountain scenery helps paint a great picture in my mind. I am not a fan of sports in the snow because I hate the snow, but, I do enjoy watching those who like to ski and snowboard flying down the hills. I know this is ironic since I live in the Midwest. Snow and watching others ski and snowboard is quite breathtaking.

Now, on to the wait for Dark Frost, though I did donate to breast cancer research by purchasing Entangled which contains Halloween Frost!

Reviewed by Lady Techie

http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.com/

Build A Man

By Talli Roland - Buy here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-A-Man-ebook/dp/B00642BCX2/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322085805&sr=1-3



I settled down to read Talli Roland’s latest novel with a real sense of anticipation, having really enjoyed her last book ‘Watching Willow Watts’.

As I got to know the main character, Serenity Holland, I found myself chuckling at her situation. Stuck as the receptionist at a cosmetic surgery clinic, Serenity has to put up with a procession of self-absorbed clients with bodily parts that she doesn’t even want to look at, let alone touch!

Home life isn’t much better. Serenity’s boyfriend Peter, is pleasant enough but she’s just fallen into a relationship with him and as time goes on she isn’t sure that’s enough.

Everything changes when she meets new client Jeremy, who’s got a whole host of reasons to turn up at the clinic. When Jeremy gives Serenity an idea which she thinks might help her in her bid to break into tabloid journalism, her desires and his are about to collide in the most spectacular fashion.

I won’t give too much of the plot away, but suffice to say this plot leads Serenity into a very dark place and I went from wanting to giggle, to wanting to cry.

Talli’s writing is fresh, lively and different. Her words carry you along and her characters make you care what happens to them.

I can’t finish this review without a special mention for my favourite character – Smitty the cat. Serenity isn’t very keen on Smitty, with his regimen of organic food and feline prozac, particularly when she realises that Peter cares more about the cat than he does about her. But I have to confess to a soft spot!

If you want a book that will make you laugh and make you cry, then this one comes highly recommended.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Women Aloud

By various authors – for short story week


A charity anthology audiobook for National Short Story Week 2011 NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!


'Women Aloud' is an audio anthology of short stories written by eleven of the UK's best loved women's fiction writers.

There's something for everyone in this unique audiobook - love, laughter, thrills and chills. It will make a great gift for a friend, mum, sister, grandmother, aunt, girlfriend, wife, partner or...yourself!

Listen to stories by Trisha Ashley, Judy Astley, Elizabeth Chadwick, Rowan Coleman, Katie Fforde, Milly Johnson, Catherine King, Sophie King, Carole Matthews, Sue Moorcroft and Allie Spencer.

I’m really excited to be able to review a short story collection for Bookersatz. This one is particularly unusual since it is an audiobook, and I think it’s the first time I’ve listened to a selection of short stories rather than reading them.

There is a great balance of stories in this anthology, plenty of emotion, but plenty of humour as well. ‘A Woman Of Good Taste’ by Milly Johnson and ‘At Your Convenience’ by Sophie King were both highly amusing – the humour delivered perfectly by the chosen narrators.

The collection is also full of compassion, and I found many of the stories very moving. Sue Moorcroft’s ‘Crossing To The Other Line’ is thoughtful and touching, and Rowan Coleman’s ‘In Real Life’ is full of yearning and indecision.

From the life-affirming ‘Fox Sleeping’ by Judy Astley to the romance of ‘The One’ by Katie Fforde there is something for everyone in this collection. And if you like your stories a bit spooky and sinister, then ‘The Garden’ by Catherine King fits that bill very nicely.

Everything about this double CD, from the selection of the stories to the performances of the narrators, is fantastic. I’m now sold on the idea of audiobooks – listen while you drive, while you potter in the kitchen or just sit with your feet up! The short story form works really well in this format and I recommend this collection as a delightful listening experience.


Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

You can find out more about National Short Story Week here, and you can read an interview with Rowan Coleman about the project on my main blog Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact.

Proceeds from the CD go to the Helena Kennedy Foundation