Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn...

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

"To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor."

Silent in the Grave is the first novel in the author's Lady Julia Grey Chronicles, a series of murder mysteries set in Victorian England, told from the perspective of the delightfully unconventional Lady Julia Grey.

Set during London in the mid-1880s, Silent in the Grave begins with the death of Lady Julia's sickly husband, Sir Edward Grey. Assuming Edward had finally succumbed to a long-standing hereditary illness, Lady Julia is mortified when Mr Nicholas Brisbane, a private investigator in her husband's employ, suggests that Edward was murdered.

Dismissing Mr Brisbane's claims as ridiculous and unfounded, Lady Julia settles into her period of mourning and her new life as a young and wealthy widow. However, twelve months later whilst sorting through her deceased husband's belongings, she stumbles across evidence that indicates Mr Brisbane may have been correct in his assumptions and that Edward was indeed the victim of murder.

Lady Julia then sets out to convince the mysterious Mr Brisbane to take up the investigation into her husband's death, and the two begin an intriguing and dangerous adventure to find a killer who lies in wait, ready to reveal to Lady Julia their secrets.

Although I enjoyed this story as a whole (especially since I'm presently obsessed with anything Victorian), I was quite annoyed with the author's decision to leave the ending so deliberately open. Yes, I understand this book belongs to a series, but I prefer it when each story has the ability to stand on its own and be appreciated for what it is: It's own story. I felt the author was trying to force me into wanting to read the next book in the series, but I would have done that anyway, even with a closed ending. The deliberate linking of the books I feel to be completely unnecessary.

Silent in the Grave is also very much an introduction to the rest of the series. The author has spent considerable time detailing Lady Julia's blue blood background, her unconvential upbringing, Victorian custom and class divisions, and introducing charaters who will be an integral part of this and future novels. This means the investigation that Lady Julia undertakes with Nicholas Brisbane is slow moving, as is the inevitable development of their relationship. There is a lot to be revealed in this novel as the author sets the scene for future adventures between the pair, and although there are times where seemingly not a lot happens, the detail the author has put into this story is anything but boring.

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The Radleys by Matt Haig

The Radleys by Matt Haig

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"There are such beings as Vampires, some of us have evidence that they exist". - Bram Stoker

Peter, a doctor, and Helen, his wife, live an otherwise uneventful middle-class existence in an English housing estate with their two children, Clara and Rowan. They seem perfectly normal as they listen to Radio One and throw dinner parties for the neighbours, but the thing about the Radleys is that they are anything but normal.

You see, the Radleys are vampires, but not the usual kind. Peter and Helen have elected to live a life of abstention where no blood is consumed and life is lived during daylight hours with the assistance of sunblock. Their teenage children have no clue of their vampiric nature until an unfortunate incident forces Peter and Helen to reveal the truth. Then when Peter's brother, Will, a practicing vampire, turns up and decides to stay for a few days, the Radleys "normal" lifestyle is turned completely on its head.

Will is a VB (= vampire blood) addict who has been disowned by the vampire community for being unpredictable and unable to control his urges. He is a slave to his vampiric nature and a threat to everyone he meets, evidence of the dangers of excess. Truly immoral and unrepentant, it comes down to the rest of the Radleys to stop him before their true identity is revealed.

Although slightly disappointed in how the story ended, as a whole I found The Radleys an enjoyable addition to the vampire genre. The idea of a constant struggle between morality, normality and a vampire's true nature is an interesting one, and I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys vampire fiction, especially something a little out-of-the-ordinary.

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The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse.

The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Freddie Watson, haunted by the death of his brother, is travelling through the south of France in the winter of 1928, when he crashes his car in the Pyrenees during a snowstorm. Alone and freezing, Freddie wanders through the mountain forest until he arrives in Nulle, a quiet village grieving its own losses.

During his stay in Nulle, Freddie meets a young woman by the name of Fabrissa, the two sharing their respective stories of loss over the course of an evening. The following morning Freddie finds he has taken ill and is tended to by the gentle Madame Galy whilst he recovers. Unable to erase Fabrissa from his mind, he is bewildered when no one in the tiny village knows who she is or where she might be found. Adamant that her existence (and their subsequent acquaintance) is not the product of his fevered mind, Freddie takes it upon himself to search for the elusive Fabrissa, drawing him deep into the mountains and the heartbreaking history of the Cathars.

The Winter Ghosts is a reworking of Mosse's earlier novella, The Cave, and fits between her full length novels, Labyrinth and Sepulchre. Mosse's passion for her subject matter is evident, expertly connecting the histories of the Great War and the Cathars, and brilliantly describing Freddie and Fabrissa's pain of losing their loved ones so tragically.

The novel as a whole is deep, dark and brooding, emanating a distinct gothic feel that at times reminded me of works by Edgar Allen Poe and the Bronte sisters.

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Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'You're different,' he said. 'What are you?' He seemed to be going through a list of possibilities in his head from the way he was looking at me. To my pleasure, I could not hear a one of them.
'Well. I'm Sookie Stackhouse, and I'm a waitress,' I told him.

Dead Until Dark is the first novel (of 11 to date) in the 'Sookie Stackhouse' series by Charlaine Harris. Orphaned as a child, Sookie and her brother, Jason, are raised by their Gran in the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, where as adults they continue to pass their lives. Sookie leads an otherwise uneventful life: She is a waitress in a local bar, but she does possess an interesting gift - The ability to read minds.

Sookie's world is one where vampires are accepted as being real and have assimilated into the community, with the mainstream opinion being that they are the victims of a rare virus. Sookie comes face to face with her first vampire when Bill Compton returns to his family home in Bon Temps - more than 100 years after his "death". This chance meeting with the vampire Bill sets in motion a series of heartstopping events - of the romantic, destructive and life-threatening kind.

My first impression of Dead Until Dark was that Harris' style was so simple it bordered on amateur, but by the time I'd reached the hundredth page I was totally, unequivocally, unrepentently hooked. The storyline and writing style may be uncomplicated, but the story is written from the point of view of Sookie, and what is so likeable about her is that she is a completely uncomplicated character.

I enjoyed this novel not because it's a literary masterpiece, but because it's the exact opposite and yet still suckered me in. Dead Until Dark is a light yet gratifying snack of a novel: The story flows effortlessly from one page to the next, and is not weighed down by heavy descriptive or emotional text. Harris easily draws the reader into Sookie's dark and mysterious existence, the confines of her mind being an intriguing (and sometimes amusing) place in which to spend 300-odd pages of book.

It may be "vampire trash", but it's terribly good vampire trash, and I'm looking forward to starting the next installment.

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Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert




My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"But why must everything always have a practical application? I'd been such a diligent soldier for years - working, producing, never missing a deadline, taking care of my loved ones, my gums and my credit record, voting etc. Is this lifetime supposed to be only about duty?" - Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love is a memoir of the adventure and experience undertaken by the author after a failed marriage and a failed rebound relationship.

Suffering severe depression, Gilbert makes the decision to take twelve months off from life and all the responsibilities that come with it, and embark on a spiritual journey across Italy, India and Indonesia (Bali).

In Italy she eats; in India she prays; and in Bali she discovers what it truly means to love.

This memoir starts out brilliantly: It was so easy to empathise and sympathise with Gilbert as she faces the reality that her seemingly perfect life is not making her happy; in fact, the weight of expectation placed on her by her husband and her family has made her uncontrollably miserable.

But Italy was so much fun! There was so much adventure, and so much discovery: It made me want to go to Italy - Just jump on a plane and go, right now! I was totally engrossed, and in retrospect I feel that it was Italy where Gilbert's true spiritual transformation took place.

Unfortunately for me, Gilbert left Italy and travelled onto India where she spent months in an Ashram trying to reach spiritual enlightenment, before moving onto Bali where she intends to learn wisdom from a medicine man, but instead ends up spending a lot of her time...with her new boyfriend. Neither India nor Bali had the excitement and intrigue of Italy. Her experiences in Italy were more honest, I felt. Her emotions there were raw, and it was in Italy that she was able to break through the cacoon of depression that had kept her trapped for such a long time. It was Italy where she truly let go of all responsibility and just let herself enjoy the adventure she was on. Italy was all about being lost in language, food and fun, which is exactly how everyone should spend their existence.

In other reviews Gilbert has been criticised for having her publisher fund her "spiritual journey" by agreeing to write a memoir on it before she had even caught the first flight. I believe this highlights how unrealistic taking this type of journey would be for many people, and raises some doubts (in my mind, at least) as to the accuracy of what has been written. Had she funded the journey herself and only wrote the memoir as an after-thought, I personally feel I would have enjoyed it more.

Despite its flaws, Eat, Pray, Love acts as a starting point for reassessing the responsibilities in our lives, to think about what truly makes us happy, and then to find the courage to take the plunge and make it happen. Too often we find ourselves so caught up in "duty" that we forget to take the time to just enjoy life, and for that reason this book gets 3 stars from me.

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Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn

Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


It's ancient Rome, and a Jewish slave falls in love with a Gladiator from Britannia. This begins the story of Thea & Arius, and their savage existence under Emperor Domitian's rule.



Sounds intriguing, right? If you believe the reviews it should be, but unfortunately for me, I could not get into this story. One hundred pages from the finish and I had to stop: It was impossible for me to continue reading, not even after I had subjected myself to 300+ pages.



I don't know how to categorise this novel: Is it hist-fic? Romance? Something else? Perhaps I have become too much of a history snob, but I did not feel the story centred around Domitian enough to be based upon his life, especially considering that most of the characters and events in the story are entirely fictional. For me, the story lacked historical substance, and that was the greatest disappointment.



Another major issue I had with this novel was that not one of the central characters was likeable, nor could I relate to or connect with any of them: I could not care less what happened to them in the end, hence the reason for my not bothering to find out.



The purpose of many of the minor characters I couldn't understand: There's nothing more annoying than to have a character appear seemingly out of nowhere, and have the author try and establish their background and purpose to the story in a single, random paragraph. At certain points in the story, I was close to pulling hairs!



I also didn't like the repetitive use of full names: It was unnecessary and added nothing to the story. Also, too many characters were inter-connected in too many ways. For example, why did all the characters have to have had sex with one another to be known to each other? I just didn't get it.



All in all, a disappointing read and not at all what I had expected.





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Foreign Correspondence + a Letter Swap

Title: Foreign Correspondence - A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over

Author: Geraldine Brooks

Category: Memoir

"But the huge spaces, the deep silences, the vast paddocks free of road rules and stranger danger could never be transported to the black-bitumen blocks of suburban Concord. The great dark mass of movement from country to city is made up of little specks like me: children who don't have any land left to visit, except in their parents' memories."

I have been penpalling since I was 7 years old and am still in touch with my first pen pal. As a shy child growing up in rural South Australia, penpalling was a convenient way to make friends and learn about the world beyond my own, and over the years has taught me many things about people and the world in which we live.

This is the experience shared by Geraldine Brooks in her memoir, Foreign Correspondence. Her desire to learn more about the world through penpalling created the framework for the rest of her life, growing up to become a journalist and Foreign Correspondent.

After many years of silence, she decides to seek out the long-lost pen pals from her youth, the results of which are both unexpected and insightful. Through these people, strangers but not, she learns more about herself than she could have possibly imagined.

An interesting memoir, beautifully told.

LETTER SWAP

Inspired by Geraldine Brooks' memoir and my own love for the lost art of letter writing, I have decided to host an old-fashioned letter swap for anyone who wants to take part.

All you need to do to sign up is leave a comment with your email and/or blog address, expressing your interest in participating. Each person will have one partner, although you can specify for more if you wish.

At the end of the sign-up period I will randomly generate partners and email you that person's contact details. You and your partner will then need to exchange postal address details in order to post your letters.What you decide to put in your letter is entirely up to you.

Rules:
Sign up ends 29 September 2010
Partners allocated 30 September 2010
Letters must be sent using the old-fashioned postal service
All letters should be in the mail no later than 29 October 2010

--> Any questions, just ask!

Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey

Title: Innocent Traitor

Author: Alison Weir

Category: Historical Fiction

Published : UK, 2007

Innocent Traitor tells the story of the life and death of Lady Jane Grey, great-grandaughter of Henry VII, great-neice of Henry VIII, and cousin to King Edward VI (of England), and the Ladies Mary and Elizabeth Tudor.

She was made heir to the English throne by King Edward VI, a fellow Protestant keen on maintaining England's newly established religion. In doing so he disinherited his sisters, the Lady Mary and the Lady Elizabeth, who had stronger claims to the throne than the Lady Jane.

Lady Jane Grey was Queen of England for 9 days, the shortest in English history. She relinquished the crown in favour of the Lady Mary, but was later tried as a traitor and beheaded for treason on Tower Green. She was 16 years old at her death.

Alison Weir tells this story from the points of view of the Lady Jane and those around her who would prove to have the greatest influence on her life. Weir presents the Lady Jane as a shy, unloved eldest daughter of conniving parents who used her as a pawn to secure their own interests, but at the same time was a highly-educated and devoted Protestant revolutionary, determined to do and suffer all that was necessary for her faith, no matter how unfair and misguided that may have seemed both then and now.

Not surprisingly it is easy to feel warmth towards and pity for the Lady Jane, and even though it is known how the story will end, the reader cannot help but harbor a secret hope that the author will, in the spirit of true artistic licence, provide the character with a far happier ending.

It is clear from this book that Weir is a historian, as she writes as one, and Innocent Traitor has an evident feel of academia to it. At times this made the story feel a bit "stiff", but as a whole, Alison Weir has been able to create a depth to her characters that either makes you love them or hate them, and has re-told a story that was and remains in every way a tragedy.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Title: Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life

Author: Alison Weir

Category: Historical Biography (non-fiction)

Published: USA, 2001

Women Unbound Reading Challenge

Eleanor of Aquitane was born in 1122, the eldest daughter of William X of Aquitaine. In 1137, Eleanor was proclaimed heir to the duchy of Aquitaine upon her father's death. She was 15 years old.

Soon after becoming Duchess of Aquitaine, she married King Louis VII of France, to whom she was married for fifteen years and bore him two daughters. However, in 1152, at the age of 30, Eleanor and Louis had their marriage declared invalid on account of the fact that they were too closely related.

Eleanor was then free to marry King Henry II of England, who was 11 years her junior, but considered by Eleanor to be a far greater catch than Louis. Eleanor bore Henry many children, including three Kings.


Life at the royal court was one spent constantly on the move and at war. Henry's Kingdom was vast, encompassing not only England but also a large portion of mainland Europe. When Henry wasnt fighting off invaders, he was quelling internal rebellions, one of which was made by his sons at the instigation of and with support from Eleanor. Henry was furious and had Eleanor imprisoned until his death in 1189, at which point her favourite son, Richard, took the throne and released her.

Not content to live out the rest of her life in quiet retirement, Eleanor threw herself back into the role of Duchess of Aquitaine until her death at aged 82 years in 1204.

Alison Weir has managed to put together an astounding scholarly account of the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as that of her husbands and sons. Eleanor lived during a time when women were regarded as little more than the property of their husbands, so there isnt as much information about her as there is about her male relatives, a fact pressed by the author.

However, Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life provides a fascinating insight into what life would have been like for a Medieval woman of Eleanor's standing. Alison Weir writes beautifully, and has an amazing ability to make fact feel like fiction, so her non-fiction work is easier to follow and far more interesting for the reader than that of many of her associates.

"Denied for so long the exercise of power, for which she had a natural aptitude, [Eleanor] came into her own at an age when most women were either dead or long in retirement, and ruled capably as any man. She was no shrinking violet, but a tough, capable, and resourceful woman who travelled widely throughout the known world and was acquainted with most of the great figures of the age. Remarkable in a period when females were relegated to a servile role, she was, as Richard of Devizes so astutely claimed, an incomparable woman".

- Alison Weir

The Book Thief + a Pay-it-forward Giveaway

Title: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak
Category: Historical Fiction

Format: Paperback (Aus), 592 pages
Published: Australia, 2008

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is the story of Liesel Meminger's life in Nazi Germany during WWII, told from an original and interesting perspective.

The story begins on a train, where Liesel is sat with her mother and brother. She is on her way to meet her foster parents: Her mother has made the decision to foster Liesel and her brother to the Hubermanns in Molching. Liesel's father is missing, and her brother does not survive the train journey. At his funeral on a frozen winter's day Liesel finds in the snow "The Gravedigger's Handbook" and takes it with her. This is her first act of book theivery, but certainly isnt her last.

The story then continues through Liesel's life in Molching with her foster parents and friends (one a Jewish fist-fighter) as the effects of a hostile and brutal war begin to take its toll. Through hunger and air-raids Liesel's life is all about the books she steals and the impact that their words have on her life and the lives of the people around her.

This is a truly stunning book and it had me hooked from the first page. I knew from the moment I finished the opening chapter that this wasnt going to be your average hist-fic novel on WWII, but instead was going to be something special, heart-wrenching, and memorable. Zusak's choice of narrator works brilliantly: An ordinary story told in an extraordinary way. The only downside to the story of Zusak's book thief is that it had to end.

PAY-IT-FORWARD GIVEAWAY

This is a book I really want to share, so I have decided to give away my pre-loved copy.

However, this will be a pay-it-forward giveaway: Once the winner has finished reading this book it would be most appreciated if they were to hold another pay-it-forward giveaway in the same fashion as this one.

If you want to go in the draw to win my used copy of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, then all you have to do is leave a message on this post stating that you'd like the chance to win it. Open to everyone, no matter where you live!

I'll announce the winner on Saturday, 1 May 2010.

Good luck and happy reading!

EDIT 23/4/10: If you do not have a blog or website you may still enter the draw to win this book and can pay-it-forward to a friend, reading circle, or RAC it to someone you know has it on their wishlist when you are finished. I'm not too fussed how the pay-it-forward aspect of the giveaway actually occurs, I'd just love to see this book shared around because it is that good.

Making Book Tags...

These days I am finding that working full-time and studying part-time means I do not get in much crafting. It's been over 12 months since I started a scrapbooking project (despite the numerous ideas swimming inside my head), and I've had to take a hiatus from trading ATCs due to a lack of time for making them. Any plans to learn something new have been put on hold.

But then I put together some BookCrossing bookrings, along with an RABCK package for a fellow BookCrosser, and couldnt help but think how much nicer the parcels would be for the receivers if I made some book tags to go with them.

A book tag is simlar to a bookmark, except you use a gift tag as the template. It works well, and as they are generally smaller than a bookmark I find them much less time-consuming to make.

Keeping in mind that I am very much out of practice and incredibly time-poor, this is how they turned out:

Wuthering Heights.

I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.

~ Wuthering Heights

Every now and then I stumble across a book that really surprises me: A book I thought I'd detest but end up immensely enjoying.

Emily Bronte's novel, Wuthering Heights, is one of those books.

I know why it took me so long to read it: I feared I would end up passionately despising it like I did her sister Charlotte's famous novel, Jane Eyre. Then Wuthering Heights turned up in the post, a surprise package from Shelley over at Tea Time, and I began to re-assess why a ten-year hatred of Jane Eyre and sister Charlotte should make me so afraid to read any other works by the Bronte sisters?

It sat on my bookshelf for months whilst I pondered. Wuthering Heights is considered as one of the best novels ever written. There have been movies, TV adaptions, endless book editions, and Kate Bush even wrote a song about it, so why should I so fervently avoid it?

So, I quit stalling. I read it, and would you believe it: It is so good. So very, very good. I loved it.

The story centres around violent and mean Heathcliff, brought to Wuthering Heights as a child and treated badly after the death of his guardian. It's hard not to think of him as an unloved orphan, who is so angry and bitter at the world that he takes it out on everyone he knows, and probably justifiably so. He is so sad that it is difficult not to pity him, despite the misery he inflicts on those around him.

Yet, in a dark, brooding story with dark, brooding characters all around her, Catherine Linton shines. Strong-willed and determined not to let Heathcliff get the better of her, she is like a smouldering ember, just waiting for the right moment to spark and set the whole place alight...

Wuthering Heights is a brutal yet brilliant novel, in true gothic style.

If you've not read it (assuming I'm not the last person on the face of the planet to do so) then I highly recommend it.

You can pick up a super cheap copy here or here.

What books have surprised you in this way?

Spring Reading List (September - November) Progression:

1. How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill

2. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

4. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

Daughter of the Forest.

Last weekend I finally finished reading Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. Due to an unfortunate busy schedule it ended up taking over a month for me to finish, which was a bit frustrating because it turned out to be an incredibly good read.

Juliet Marillier writes historical fantasy. Her novels are set during historical time periods, but she bases her novels on myths. Daughter of the Forest is set on both sides of the Irish Sea, with Sorcha being the heroine of the story (no wonder I just had to read this one, right?). Sorcha is set a seemingly impossible task by the Fair Folk (faeries) to save her six brothers from a curse that has been placed upon them by an evil enchantress.

At first I found the story a little slow; there was a lot of explanatory text and dialogue, yet I couldnt make sense of where the story was heading. However, around 200 pages in (keeping in mind this novel is over 500 pages in length) it all started to fall into place and I gradually became more and more engrossed in the story.

I became attached to the characters, so much so that whenever something bad happened I wasnt sure if I would be able to continue reading for fear of another bad thing happening. I didnt want bad things to keep happening, I wanted Sorcha to save her brothers in a timely, ordely, pain-free manner; nothing horrible was allowed to happen to anyone or anything! Of course, it probably wouldnt have been nearly as enticing and exciting without it, though. In fact, a week after having finished reading it, I still find myself gazing off into space, thinking about Sorcha, her plight, her brothers, her story...

Daughter of the Forest is the first novel of four in the Sevenwaters Series. The other three novels are Son of the Shadows, Child of the Prophecy, and Heir to Sevenwaters. These and other books by Juliet Marillier are available at Amazon for all international readers, or if you're in Australia/New Zealand/Asia I recommend checking them out at Fishpond.

I have registered my copy at BookCrossing, but am yet to decide what I should do with it next: Keep in my Permanent Collection and loan out? Start a Bookring or Bookray? RABCK? However, if this is a novel you think you might be interested in reading, let me know and we might be able to arrange something.

Spring Reading List (September - November) Progression:

1. How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
2. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
4. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

By the way, I am currently hosting a giveaway at my livejournal for a brand-new copy of Jane Austen's novel Pride & Prejudice. If you'd like to go into the draw to win it, all you need to do is go here and leave a comment, even if it is just to say you want the book. Unfortunately, today is the last day to enter the draw and I will be announcing the winner over the weekend, so if you are interested, you may want to hurry on over there right away!

Book Review + Spring Reading

The reason for my absence: I've been reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, a 700-page novel where the plot is centred around the idea of Vlad Tepes/the Impaler (the real Dracula) being an actual, real night-stalking-blood-sucking fiend. And since there are so many pages I've been reading a few here and there whenever the opportunity presented itself: on lunch breaks, during adverts whilst watching tv, during the football and cricket, in a crazy attempt to try and have it finished within a reasonable time.

Now, I'm picky when it comes to vampire stories. Very picky, and I was somewhat apprehensive about reading this one. However, it is more historical fiction than just another vampire story. Kostova has undertaken some serious research in order to portray the characters and places in the book, from Vlad/Dracula, to life in Communist Europe in the mid-twentieth century, to medieval monastries, Ottoman traditions and customs, vampire lore, historical events and beyond. Taken from this point-of-view the novel itself could be a work of genius.

Could be, but alas, is not.

Kostova lets herself down in the manner she chose to communicate the story to the reader. It begins normal enough, in first-person narrative, told from the perspective of a young woman who stumbles across her father's unfortunate legacy: the hunt for Dracula. However, as the novel progresses, one person's story turns into four, and how does Kostova attempt to tell the four different yet intertwining stories? Through letters, and journal entries, and postcards, and page after page of continuous dialogue. The young woman the reader is introduced to at the start of the story, and who pops up again for a few pages here and there through the middle, and then closes it at the end, fades into the background and her purpose in the construction of the story as a whole becomes unclear. In fact, the entire story could have been just as effective without her at all. I cant even recall her name, if she had one...

It doesnt feel like a 700-page novel; it is a relatively easy read, despite being awfully frustrating at times.

Belongs to my permanent collection, and is available to loan under my bookcrossing conditions found here.

Now that I have finished my Winter reading list, two weeks early, I've decided to start on my Spring Reading (September - November), which (if all goes to plan) will include the following books:

1. How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill

2. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

4. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

I'm looking forward to enjoying these books outside in the warming sun, drinking coffee, listening to the birds in the trees, and watching the change of the seasons.

Book Review: Spirit Sisters

Spirit Sisters by Karina Machado is a collection of true-life experiences with the paranormal, as shared with her by a selection of Australian women.

The book includes topics such as lucid dreaming, hauntings (including residual), interactions with human and non-human spirits (malevolent and "angels"), doppelgangers, time travel, psychics and mediums, with a bit of science thrown in (quantum physics, psychiatry, & medicine).

I really enjoyed this book. Some of the stories were intriguing and spooky enough to give me goosebumps (which isnt easy to do, trust me!), and others were so moving they brought me to tears. An excellent and easy read for those interested in the paranormal, or anyone slightly curious.

Belongs to my permanent collection, but is available for loan under my Bookcrossing conditions found here.

Book Review: Plain Jane by Laurien Gardner

This is the third novel in Laurien Gardner's Tudor Women Series, but only the second I have read. The first, A Lady Raised High, was a novel of Anne Boleyn, which I really enjoyed.

Plain Jane is a novel of King Henry VIII's (of England) third wife, Jane Seymour, who seems to be his most oft forgotten wife, even though she was the only one who gave him the male heir he so desperately craved.

It is not as gripping, doesnt appear to be as well-researched and certainly isnt as well-written as A Lady Raised High. But then, Tudor history nuts like myself might say that the two novels are reflections of the queens themselves: Anne is always considered to be the most striking, interesting, and clever of all of King Henry's wives, whilst Jane quiet, dull and particularly, er, un-striking.

With few other novels to chose from and compare to, I wont be too picky. I did enjoy this book, because I really wanted to consider what life may have been like for Jane Seymour, and Plain Jane allowed me to be swallowed into her (possible) world for a while.

I recommend this novel to all those interested in Tudor history, and also to those readers who enjoy a good romance story.


I am currently offering it up as a bookring at Bookcrossing. If you are a member and would like to join, just go to my bookshelf and send me a PM with your shipping preferences. Ta!