Tag: Fiction

Pastime Pleasures #1 – Sabriel by Garth Nix

Posted February 21, 2014 by Charlotte in Pastime Pleasures / 1 Comment
Pastime Pleasures #1 – Sabriel by Garth Nix

Welcome to my new feature, Pastime Pleasures, posted every other Friday, today’s is the turn of Sabriel by Garth Nix. Here I will look at books that have given me great pleasure in the past. These are books I can read over and over again. The only rule is that the book must have been published five or more years ago. Sabriel is a fantasy book which reads like reality, it is a world that is not much different from our own. OK so there are some large difference… There is magic… The dead that refuse to stay dead… And a TALKING CAT!! (Wish my cats would talk). Yet when reading Sabriel the Old Kingdom feels familiar and is a comfortable place to be in. Like Sabriel the reader has to deal with good vs. evil; with coming of age; and with the difficulty of making hard decisions. This is a book you must read. Sabriel is a great introduction into a world that seems so different from our own, yet so familiar. It is a great start to a […]

Review: The Unpredictable Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell

Posted February 19, 2014 by Charlotte in Reviews / 0 Comments
Review: The Unpredictable Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell

The Unpredictable Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell Published by Headline Review on January 30th 2014 Genres: Chick-lit, Fiction, Romance Pages: 352 Format: E-Book Source: Netgalley Buy on Amazon Goodreads When Josh Strachan, newly returned to his home in north Cornwall from sunny California, first meets Sophie Wells, he’s immediately smitten. Sophie’s pretty, she’s funny, she has lots of friends and she clearly loves her job as a photographer, despite the sometimes tricky clients. There’s just one problem: Sophie has very firmly turned her back on love. It’s nothing personal, she tells Josh, but she just doesn’t do dates. And no one – even Sophie’s scatty best friend Tula – will tell him why. Josh is sure Sophie likes him, though, and he’s just got to find out what’s put her off romance. And then put things right… There are a large cast of characters in The Unpredictable Consequences of Love. Yet Mansell does an amazing job of writing each character clearly, each with a flaw/problem they must overcome. The multiple plot-lines are weaved together throughout the book. No characters story […]

Review: Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

Posted February 16, 2014 by Charlotte in Reviews / 0 Comments
Review: Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey Published by Harper Voyager on September 2nd 2014 Genres: Fantasy, Fiction Pages: 416 Format: E-Book Source: Own Copy Buy on Amazon Goodreads “An addictively satisfying, deeply amusing, dirty-ass masterpiece.”—William Gibson “A sharp-edged urban fantasy, drenched in blood and cynicism, tipping its hat to Sam Peckinpah, Raymond Chandler, and the anti-heroes of Hong Kong cinema….A bravura performance.”—San Francisco Chronicle “I couldn’t put it down.”—Charlaine Harris Sandman Slim has arrived—a wild and weird, edge-of-your-seat supernatural roller-coaster rider that propels author Richard Kadrey to the forefront of the fantasy, thriller, and a host of other literary genres. This spellbinding, utterly remarkable tale of a vengeful magician/hitman’s return from hell is part H.P. Lovecraft, part Christopher Moore, part Jim Butcher, and totally, unabashedly dark, twisted, and hilarious. The opening chapter of Sandman Slim throws you straight into the story, with the reader having no time to grasp what is occurring. Stark is throw into the cosmic battleground, where there appears to be no good guys (the Angels do not come across as particularly angelic). The book is written in […]

Review: Blight of Mages by Karen Miller

Posted February 13, 2014 by Charlotte in Reviews / 0 Comments
Review: Blight of Mages by Karen Miller

A Blight of Mages by Karen Miller Published by Orbit on May 1st 2012 Genres: Fantasy, Fiction Pages: 767 Format: Paperback Source: Own Copy Buy on Amazon Goodreads Hundreds of years before the great Mage War, a land lies, unknowing, on the edge of catastrophe… Barl is young and impulsive, but she has a power within that calls to her. In her city, however, only those of noble blood and with the right connections learn the ways of the arcane. Barl is desperate to learn-but her eagerness to use her power leads her astray and she is banned from ever learning the mystic arts. Morgan holds the key to her education. A member of the Council of Mages, he lives to maintain the status quo, preserve the mage bloodlines, and pursue his scholarly experiments. But Barl’s power intrigues him-in spite of her low status. Together, he realizes they can create extraordinary new incantations. Morgan’s ambition and Barl’s power make a potent combination. What she does not see is the darkness in him that won’t be denied. A Blight of Mages […]

Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Posted February 10, 2014 by Charlotte in Reviews / 0 Comments
Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting Published by Allison & Busby on March 26th 2012 Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult Pages: 380 Format: Paperback Source: Own Copy Buy on Amazon Goodreads In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she’s spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It’s there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she’s never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed. Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can’t be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence […]