Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice (71/81)

In A Darkened Room A Young Man Sits Telling The Macabre And Eerie Story Of His Life - The Story Of A Vampire, Gifted With Eternal Life, Cursed With An Exquisite Craving For Human Blood. Anne Rice's Compulsively Readable Novel Is Arguably The Most Celebrated Work Of Vampire Fiction Since Bram Stoker's Dracula Was Published In 1897. As The Washington Post Said On Its First Publication, It Is A 'thrilling, Strikingly Original Work Of The Imagination ...sometimes Horrible, Sometimes Beautiful, Always Unforgettable'.

The first book in the Series The Vampire Chronicles ..... And really this is where all the Vampire books really stem from apart from Bram Stoker's Dracula. Hard to imagine that this was written in 1976 .. I would have been 4 years of age !!! ...... It is a brilliant book to read and one of those that is one the 1001 books you should read before you die ... And quite rightly so it was a real pleasure to read :) ........

The basically narrated by Louis who got turned by Lestat a vampire .... It will be interesting to read the other books as they are about Lestat to see if my feelings change over the course of the next two books ... We read of the struggle that Louis has that even though he is turned into a vampire he still feels human emotion which is unheard of by any other vampire ...

This book is a must read if you are a Vampire Lover just because if we didn't have this novel we wouldn't have such a wide range of Fantasy Authors today .........

I rate this book 4 1/2 ****

The rest of the series goes like this ... The Vampire Lestat (1985); The Queen of the Damned (1988)

As you know this book got made into a movie which I just loved .... And it was not to bad with sticking to the book ...... But as ever the book is better :) ..... But you have a brilliant cast in Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Christian Slater and Kirsten Dunst who plays the young girl brilliantly ...... Here's the trailer .... Enjoy

The Touch of Twilight by Vicki Pettersson (70/81)

Joanna Archer has reluctantly accepted the roles destiny assigned her: Avenger, Savior ... Destroyer.

On the surface she's a sexy, sophisticated socialite, at home among the beautiful people of the Las Vegas upper crust. But Joanna Archer inhabits another world: a place ordinary humans can't see and could never enter ... a dangerous dimension where an eternal battle rages between the agents of Light and Shadow. And Joanna is both.

She never asked for the mantle that's been thrust upon her, but she will not abandon it now that it's hers. Stalked by an enigmatic doppleganger from a preternatural realm, Joanna can feel the Light failing – which is propelling her toward a terrifying confrontation with the ultimate master of evil, the dark lord of Shadow: her father.

Vegas is all about winning big – or losing everything. To save her friends, her future, her worlds, Joanna Archer will now have to gamble it all by fully embracing the darkness inside her.

Well this is the third book in the series .... And it does have abit less language but still I would class it as an Adult book ....

The first two signs of the Zodiac have been fulfilled and now everyone is waiting with baited breath on the third sign ....... Will the Shadow side overshadow the light side of Olivia .... Will she turn her back on her troop to follow her fathers footsteps .......

I quite like the character of Olivia and also of Hunter but again there is alot of language and violence in this one as well ... But then again this series has been classed as 'Dark Urban' ...

I rate this book 2**

The Taste of Night by Vicki Pettersson (69/81)

Being mortal isn't easy. Being a superhero is even harder.

Even mortal, Joanna Archer was nobody's idea of a victim. But now, infused with the supernatural power to alter the battle between Shadow and Light forever, what she's become is a target. And when a toxic virus invades the valley, her allies are targets are well. To find the cure that will save them, Joanna must embrace her Shadow side ... even if it leads her into an all-out battle with the demons of her past.

The second book of the series Sign of the Zodiac and this one has more bad language than the first and more graphic sexual scenes .......

It follows Joanna who has finally found her place in the Zodiac ... But she is becoming a pawn for everyone around her getting pushed and pulled in different directions ...... She is finding it hard to let go of her old life and embrace her new life as the 'Archer' ..... Will she be able to set a side her personal feelings and function as part of the group or will she catch down her own agenda to the peril of those closest around her ...... Sounds great doesn't it !!! ........ Just a real shame that there is so much sexual references and bad language other wise it would be a great wee story line ....

This is definitely another Adult book even more so than the first of the series so be warned ...

I rate this book 2 **

The Scent of Shadows by Vicki Pettersson (68/81)

When she was 16, Joanna Archer was brutally assaulted and left to die in the Nevada desert. By rights, she should be dead. Now a photographer by day, she prowls a different Las Vegas after sunset - a grim, secret Sin City where Light battles Shadow - seeking answers to whom or what she really is . . . and revenge for the horrors she was forced to endure.But the nightmare is just beginning - for the demons are hunting Joanna, and the powerful shadows want her for their own . . .

Well everyone is raving about Vicki Pettersson and her latest book has been in the Top Bestsellers list for a while so I thought I would give her a whirl ...

I think after reading so many Young Adult books to go straight into this series was abit of a shock ... Be prepared for bad language and adult themes ......

The story line is interesting with Joanna being forced to leave behind her old life and get thrown into someone Else's life .... She has to try and figure out who she can trust and bring the 'Light' side of the Zodiac's together ....... And it is not everyday that you find out that you are a Superhero ..........

This is the first book of the series and at the moment there are 4 books released ........ This series is definitely one for the adult audience because of the content .....

I rate this book 2**

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison (58/81)

In the kingdom of Kendel, anyone caught talking with the animals or practicing animal magic is put to death, so Prince George learns early on to deny that part of his identity. He does everything for the sake of the kingdom, even if it means agreeing to an arranged marriage with Princess Beatrice from the neighboring kingdom of Sarrey. But Beatrice has a striking and unusual relationship with her hound, Marit, and George finds himself drawn to the pair, and to that part of himself that he has ignored for too long. He is faced with many decisions, including how to help his dying father, and how to free Beatrice and her hound.

This is a beautiful cover and a book that I had to order from the States because it is not widely available here. I had decided to expand my reading material to cover some LDS writers which write fiction.

The opening chapter is absorbing and I was really looking forward to reading a lovely fairy tale. But I have to say that I found it sometimes confusing and jumping around a little bit ... The characters are good and the story line is also intriguing but it is just missing something ...

This novel is suitable for a younger reader but it just wasn't the fairy tale story that I was hoping for ... but the message from this tale is good " Love can overcome all"

I rate this novel 3 ***

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (50/81)

The first book in the Darkest Powers trilogy - a brand new series by bestselling author Kelley Armstrong. All Chloe Saunders wants is a life like any normal teenager - the chance to get through school, make friends, and maybe meet a boy. But when she starts seeing ghosts, she knows that life will never be normal again. Soon ghosts are everywhere, demanding her attention. When Chloe finally breaks down, she's admitted to a group home for disturbed kids. At first Lyle House seems okay, but as she gets to know the other patients - charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek; obnoxious Tori; and Rae, who has a 'thing' for fire - Chloe begins to realise that something strange and sinister binds them all together, and it isn't your usual 'problem kid' behaviour. And they're about to discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home, either ...

I love the cover to this series and I have to say that I will be going out to get the second book of the series .......

When Chloe starts to see Ghosts everywhere people begin to think she is crazy (including herself) so she is send to a group home for troubled kids ........ But things are not what they seem ...... Are the doctors really trying to help the patients there or do they have other motives! ....... Who can Chloe trust? .......... She is confused about her gift and how to use it ....... If she is to get out of the home she is going to have to act 'normal' ..............

I actually liked the character of Chloe and the book just flows well ....... It is an easy read and at the end of it you are are just hanging out for what happens next .......

As a new series go's I liked this one and will definitely be going out and buying the next one !!

I rate this book 4****

The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld (40/81)

Strange things happen at midnight in the town of Bixby, Oklahoma. Time freezes. Nobody moves. For one secret hour each night, the town belongs to the dark creatures that haunt the shadows. Only a small group of people know about the secret hour - only they are free to move about the midnight time. These people call themselves Midnighters. Each one has a different power that is strongest at midnight: Seer, Mindcaster, Acrobat, Polymath. For years the Midnighters and the dark creatures have shared the secret hour, uneasily avoiding one another. All that changes when the new girl with an unmistakable midnight aura appears at Bixby High School.Jessica Day is not an outsider like the other Midnighters. She acts perfectly normal in every way. But it soon becomes clear that the dark creatures sense a hidden power in Jessica . . . and they're determined to stop her before she can use it.

Well I enjoyed the Uglies Series so much that I thought I would give this Trilogy a whirl .... This is book one of the Midnighters Series ....

What would you do if you managed to have an extra hour in the day ....... You are among a special group of people that can walk around in this hour while everyone else is frozen in the moment ........ Sounds great until you find out that there are creatures that come alive in this special hour at midnight that are trying to Kill you .... It sort of takes the buzz away !!!

I enjoyed this first novel ... And it stopped in a way that I am just itching to pick up the next book .... This would be classed as a Young Teen Read with really like able characters in Dess, Rex,Mel, Jonathan and Jessica the new girl in town ......

Can Jessica find out why the Darklings want her so much ........ And why is the small town of Bixby so strange !! A great new Fantasy Novel .....

A rate this book 4 ****

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (16/81)

COULD YOU SURVIVE ON YOUR OWN, IN THE WILD, WITH EVERYONE FIGHTING AGAINST YOU?

Twenty- four are forced to enter. Only the winner survives.

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death – televised for all of Panem to see.

Survival is second nature for sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to feed her mother and younger sister by secretly hunting and gathering beyond the fences of District 12. When Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, she knows it may be her death sentence. If she is to survive, she must weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Well who knew that walking in Big W the other day that I would come across a book that I have been after for a while now !!! And the thing was I was staring at it for a while before it registered that it was The Hunger Games .... I have come accustomed to a different cover ... But I have to say I am delighted with this cover and I couldn't put the book down .... I read it in one day and loved it .... The only down side to the whole thing is that it is a trilogy and the second part isn't coming out until September ...!!!

I have been reading alot of Young Adult reads lately and I am really loving it !!! I think I am going back to my own teen years ... when all I used to read was Fantasy Books ... And I have to admit I have missed them !!!

This is a brilliant first novel by Suzanne Collins ... That both a girl and boy could identify with ... And the front cover is really clever that you can change it to a boy or girl cover depending on what you want !! This book has it all action, danger and romance and you will be grounded to your seat until you finish it !!! It was definitely well worth the wait to receive it !!!!

I rate this book 5*****

A short movie of Suzanne talking about her book .... Enjoy :) It is nice to put a face to a name ...

7/81 - The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, from Library Thing/Good Reads category

I have read so many reviews of this book. So let me just share my impressions.

I have only read Gaiman's children's books so far, and I have loved everyone I've read. With this book, he has again created something to be proud of. As a retelling of The Jungle Book, he has created something really new and wonderful. The main character Bod, or Nobody Owens, is so well drawn and appealing. In fact, he is really a much better character than Mowgli, because in The Jungle Book, it is the animals which are full and interesting characters. In this one, Bod is definitely the center of the book. I loved watching him grow and develop. The big final scenes were suspenseful and funny. But I admit that the last chapter made me cry.

I would recommend this one for teens or older kids, as long as you warn them that the opening chapter is quite violent. The actual violence takes place 'behind the scenes,' but the sense of danger and evil is very real and shocking, if you are not expecting it. After that, the suspense builds slowly, but it is certainly there. 5 stars!

The Warrior Heir

The Warrior Heir
Cinda Williams Chima

Hyperion Paperbacks
February 2007
ages 9 - 12
448 pages (trade size)

Jack had heart surgery when he was a baby and must take medicine everyday for the rest of his life or he will die, so he & his mother were told by the London Specialist flown to Ohio just for him. Except, one day when Jack is 16, he forgets. And he's never felt better! Stronger, fiercer and more confident than ever before. Then he loses control and almost kills another player during soccer try-outs, never mind that the kid is a bully.

One forgetful moment leads him into a world of waring wizards intend on capturing him to use in a tournament. A tournament to the death to decide the next ruler of the Council.

Jack is one of the last warriors left and the two strongest fractions are looking for him, dead or alive.


This book throws some history at you but it is a delightful read. A classic good vs evil but sometimes you can't tell who is on which team!

Glad a read it? YES, will I read the next? Already ordered.

The Wizard Heir & The Dragon Heir follow



review at my blog has cover picture