How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

(371 pages)



Book Description
Kerrelyn Sparks introduces readers to a demon world that is curiously parallel to the human world. There are vampire cable channels that feature talks shows, soap operas and a celebrity magazine called Live! With the Undead. But as a human female crosses boundaries into this new reality, the results can be dangerous and hilarious...
So what if he's a bit older and usually regards a human female as dinner, not a dinner date? Yes, Roman Draganesti is a vampire, but a vampire who lost one of his fangs sinking his teeth into something he shouldn't have. Now he has one night to find a dentist before his natural healing abilities close the wound, leaving him a lop-sided eater for all eternity.
Things aren't going well for Shanna Whelan either…After witnessing a gruesome murder by the Russian mafia, she's next on their hit list. And her career as a dentist appears to be on a downward spiral because she's afraid of blood. When Roman rescues her from an assassination attempt, she wonders if she's found the one man who can keep her alive. Though the attraction between them is immediate and hot, can Shanna conquer her fear of blood to fix Roman's fang? And if she does, what will prevent Roman from using his fangs on her…

I have to admit that being a huge fan of shows like "Buffy" and "Angel", I have an increasingly large soft spot for vampire stories with heart rather than simply gore. So I decided to give this a go. I wan't disappointed. Whilst I could not describe this book as a literary masterpiece, as they say, it does exactly what it says on the tin!The title tells you exactly where the story is going, but it is the getting there that counts! What more could a girl ask for in a book?? Russian Mafia, handsome rich vampires, security guards in kilts, a dentist who is afraid of blood, specialist vampire television and a possible vampire war!!Full of action, some blood (mostly synthetic) and lots of massive laughs thanks to the female lead Shanna, this was a really enjoyable and unputdownable book, with a wide range of believable and likeable characters. Highly recommended to all those with a warm heart!!

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

(188 pages)



Winnie Foster, a teenage girl on the cusp of maturity, longs for a life outside the control of her domineering mother. When lost in the woods near her home, she happens upon Jesse Tuck, a boy unlike any she's ever met before. He and his family are kind and generous, and they immediately take her in as one of their own. However, the Tucks hold a powerful secret, and with the mysterious Man in the Yellow Suit tracking them down, they fear that the world as they know it could end. Ultimately, Winnie must decide whether to return to her life or stay with her beloved Jesse and his family forever.

This was an absolutely wonderful read. Having seen the fabulous movie adaptation (with William Hurt and Sissy Spacek) I felt it essential that I read this. I was not disappointed in the least. All the characters (the man in the yellow suit aside) were really likeable, and I had a tear in my eye at the end. This is one that I would read to my children (when I have some) to teach them about the importance of life and death. I think this is one of the best children's stories that I have ever read, and must recommend it to absolutely everybody!!

Starter for Ten by David Nicholls

(473 pages)



Amazon.co.uk Review
Is David Nicholls' Starter for Ten a throwback? Many readers look back with nostalgia to a recent golden age of comic writing, when David Lodge, Malcolm Bradbury and Tom Sharpe were producing some achingly funny work, with brilliantly realised characters. But Nicholls' sharp-as-nails novel has all the comic acumen of his great predecessors (along with their frequently-utilised university campus milieu) and, like Lodge and co., Nicholls writes real characters, not just boobies suitable only for pratfalls and sexual embarrassment. So even though the situations may often be ridiculous, we're still engaged by the protagonists.
Here, they are university student Brian Jackson and aspiring actress Alice Harbinson. Brian has arrived at his place of learning with a stronger desire than the acquisition of knowledge: he's going to be a star of TV's hottest quiz. But his progress on "The Challenge" is somewhat stymied by his growing desire for the beguiling Alice, struggling to make her mark as an actress. And as obstacles impede their affair, Brian becomes more and more convinced that only overwhelming success on the quiz show will win her.
What makes this novel such a delight, apart from the strongly drawn characters (both major and minor) is the coruscating dialogue: Nicholls writes comic dialogue like a dream, and his targets are many and varied: the idiocies of love and sex, the ludicrous pursuit of meaningless TV celebrity, fat cat businessmen lining their pockets--you name it, and it's probably here; Starter for Ten is a panoply of modern Britain with all its glories and excesses writ large. Nicholls wrote the third series of the hit TV series Cold Feet, which is as good a demonstration of his credentials as one could wish for. But Starter for Ten is his best work; there are no false notes struck by miscast actors, just prose that has a comic energy not often encountered these days.

Whilst this was great fun, I feel that I would have enjoyed it more if I had been 10 years older. You see I went to uni, when University Challenge was on the way out (mind you it;s back in again now). For me the thing that stood out was the odd selection of characters, some of whom did seem rather familiar. One that was worth the read, but not one I would read again in a hurry.

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

(448 pages)



How far would you go to protect the ones you love? Worldwide publication of Jodi Picoult's brand new hardback will be a major event. When Daniel Stone was a child, he was the only white boy in a native Eskimo village where his mother taught, and he was teased mercilessly because he was different. He fought back, the baddest of the bad kids: stealing, drinking, robbing and cheating his way out of the Alaskan bush - where he honed his artistic talent, fell in love with a girl and got her pregnant. To become part of a family, he reinvented himself - jettisoning all that anger to become a docile, devoted husband and father. Fifteen years later, when we meet Daniel again, he is a comic book artist. His wife teaches Dante's Inferno at a local college; his daughter, Trixie, is the light of his life - and a girl who only knows her father as the even-tempered, mild-mannered man he has been her whole life. Until, that is, she is date raped...and Daniel finds himself struggling, again, with a powerlessness and a rage that may not just swallow him whole, but destroy his family and his future.

As usual, Jodi Picoult has managed to tell a story with all the weight and emotion it deserve, without glamourising or over-sentimentalising a difficult and very emotive issue. She has made the characters like real people with a whole range of problems and flaws, not just caricatures of the perfect family. The journey Trixie goes through is heart wrenching and extremely believable, and the few incidents at the school make you realise just how horrible being a teenager can be. Daniel manages to contain himself extremely well but inevitably he, like everyone has a breaking point. But is he capable of the worst?? I didn;t think so and the last 100 pages flew by in a flurry as i was dying to get to the end to find out who was.
I would heartily recommend this to everyone especially those who enjoy Picoult's style. Yet again she managed to hit the nail right on the head!

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde

(128 pages)



Have you ever wondered just what was going on when that odd little man with the long name stepped up and volunteered to spin straw into gold for the miller’s daughter? If you stop and think about it, there are some very peculiar and rather hard-to-explain components to the story. Vivian Vande Velde has wondered too, and she’s come up with these six alternative versions of the old legend. A bevy of miller’s daughters confront their perilous situation in very different ways — sometimes comic, sometimes scary. Most of the time, it’s the daughter who gets off safely, but sometimes, amazingly, Rumpelstiltskin himself wins the day. And in one tale, it is the king who cleverly escapes a quite unexpected fate.

This was really great fun, which made me realise how ridiculous some fairytales are and how much more intrigung they could be with a slightly different viewpoint. All six of the reworkings were really sharply witty, and the different takes on the strange fairytale mad this book nigh on impossible to put down. Highlyrecommended!!

Koyasan by Darren Shan

(112 pages)



Prepare to be spooked in this spine-tingling new story from the master of horror, Darren Shan! "The boys and girls in the graveyard were shouting, but Koyasan no longer heard them. The world had become a wide, grey void. She could hear deep rasping sounds, the breath of creatures which had been human once, but weren't any more..." All of the children like to play in the graveyard, except Koyasan, who is too afraid to cross the bridge to play. But when her sister's soul is stolen, she must find the courage to enter a realm of evil, where she knows the spirits are waiting...

I loved this a lot! It was easy to read and the characters were very realistic. I found it very scary in parts, but really enjoyed the happy ending. I would recommend this to kids of all ages (adults included!)

Original Sin by Brandt Dodson

(274 pages)



Colton Parker was just fired from the FBI, has a teenage daughter who blames him for her mother’s death, and now that he’s hung out his shingle as a P.I., his first paying client—Angie Howe—has enough money for only one day’s worth of investigating. But Angie looks like she could use a friend, so Colton has his first case.
When the mystery is finally resolved, Colton is resigned to improve his parenting skills with his daughter—and while the pair still struggle with each other, hope finally gets a chance to grow.
First in the Colton Parker, P.I. series, from Brandt Dodson—a compelling new author with a family history in law enforcement spanning several generations.

Colton Parker used to have everything; a wife, daughter and job with the FBI. Now things are different. His wife has died, is daughter is living with her grandparents, and he has been fired from the FBI. In an attempt at a fresh start, he has set up a private detective agency, and his first case poses lots of questions. His client is the girlfriend of a man being charged with the murder of a well respected high school guidance counsellor, who also happens to be the victim’s nephew. But a paperclip and a missing computer are pointing at some kind of a link to an internet pornography ring.

This is a classic detective story, with a religious twist. You see Colton’s wife had found Christ not long before her death, but Colton is a non-believer. Instead of the typical Christian detective who uses the idea of the greater good as an excuse for bad and/or illegal behaviour, Colton simply crosses the line, with no holds barred. It is after this that the consequences become clear, and the Christian perspective can come into play. Colton feels no love for God, and is instead angry and depressed by the fact that he feels deserted by having his wife taken from him and being unable to connect with his daughter. A Pastor tries to show him the ‘light’ so to speak, but unfortunately the great possibility of an exploration of faith is lost amidst the somewhat clichéd “death is a part of life” speech.
Overall the story was very enjoyable, with a lifelike and likeable lead character with a great dry sense of humour, but in my opinion the portrayal of the Pastor came across as too preachy and clichéd, but as a mystery and detective story it was excellent with an intriguing trail of crumbs to follow.

The Spell by Alan Hollinghurst

(272 pages)



Alan Hollinghurst's new novel is a comedy of sexual manners that follows the interlocking affairs of four men: Robin Woodfield, an architect in his late forties, who is trying to build an idyllic life in Dorset with his younger lover, Justin, a would-be actor increasingly disenchanted with the countryside; Robin's 22-year-old son Danny, a volatile beauty who lives for clubbing and casual sex; and the shy Alex, whose life is transformed by house music and a tab of ecstasy. As each in turn falls under the spell of romance or drugs, country living or rough trade, a richly ironic picture emerges of the clashing imperatives of modern gay life, the hunger for contact and the fear of commitment, the need for permanence and the continual disruptions of sex. At once lyrical and farcical, sceptical and romantic, "The Spell" confirms Alan Hollinghurst as one of Britain's most important novelists.

This book was given to me to encourage me to read books that I would not normally look at, and I am pleased to say I am glad that I read it! It was very well written with lots of interesting and engaging characters. I was particularly fond of the ridiculouosly camp Justin and loved how the story grew, although the emphasis was on the character development which was wonderful.