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Monday, May 16, 2011

DARK & DISORDERLY by Bernita Harris

(E Book from Net Galley)
"I was standing there naked when my dead husband walked into my bathroom..."

Lillie St. Claire is a Talent, one of the rare few who can permanently dispatch the spirits of the dead that walk the earth. Her skills are in demand in a haunted country, where a plague of ghosts is becoming a civic nuisance.

Those skills bring her into conflict with frightened citizens who view Talents as near-demons. Her husband comes to see her as a Freak; so when Nathan dies after a car crash, she is relieved to be free of his increasingly vicious presence. Lillie expects to be haunted by Nathan's ghost, but not to become Suspect #1 for her husband's murder and reanimation.

But what's most surprising of all is the growing attraction between her and psi-crime detective John Thresher. He thinks that Lillie killed Nathan--and Nathan must agree, because his zombie is seeking revenge. Now she and Thresher must work together to solve her husband's murder--before his corpse kills her...

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The cover of this book first grabbed my attention - and when I started reading it, I was captivated = for awhile. I think Lillie is strong and vulnerable at the same time - I don't feel that she is like your typical heroine you find in most stories, that tend to be more grit and toughness than showing their vulnerable side.

I found at times that this story lost me - there were pages that I couldn't remember reading - my eyes just wandered over the pages as I got a little bored with the story.

You may read this and disagree with me - but I did enjoy the undertones of a love story ... and would like to see where the author takes Lillie in the future

RATING : 5/10

THE FORTUNES OF RUBY WHITE by Lia Weston


First published in Australia in 2010
Paperback : 370 pages
ISBN : 9780731814633

Ruby White has burnt her bridges. She has no job, no direction in life, and just enough money to last a month. if she eats only rice and her cat catches his own meals. When her best friend, Anise, holds a dress-up party, Ruby drowns her sorrows and meets Damien, whose vampire costume belies his sweet nature.
With time on her hands, Ruby soon finds herself at a seminar for those who are Hyper-Auto-Aware, a condition she never knew existed, run by the Jaasmyn Empire, a company she's never heard of. To Ruby's astonishment, and that of those who know her, she is offered a job.
Ruby's talent of guesswork and sarcasm propel her through the corridors of power until the final, hilarious climax and Ruby understands what a 'new age' life can truly bring.
For those who secretly suspect that there are a few oddballs in the metaphysical movement, put your feet up and immerse yourself in this laugh out loud, witty and biting novel.
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This book was right down my alley - I ran mediation classes, have done reiki healing and have had the odd 'vision' and received messages that I have never completely understood. I have come into contact with countless others through the metaphysical work I do - and I tell you - read this book, open your eyes and be very aware. There are lots of people out there that are whacky!!!!!!!!!!!! PMSL.

This book was well researched - the story I feel told truthfully through the eyes of someone who has seen charletons at work ... Ruby was at an all time low, and from that point, she was fair game to all the rogues out there.

Sit back - do put your feet up and enjoy this read. Nice story, with a nice ending. :)

RATING : 7/10

LORD OF LEGENDS by Susan Krinard


First published in 2009
Paperback : 348 Pages
ISBN : 978-1-921-68503-3

He is Arion, King of the Unicorns. Powerful, seductive, he could possess any female he desired - until now. He is condemned to live as a man, and it is only the enchanting Lady Mariah Donnington's innocence that can release him from his curse.

Abandoned on her wedding night, frightened of her hidden, otherworldly heritage, Mariah is instinctively drawn to the mysterious stranger she discovers imprisoned on her husband's estate. But as the secret of Arion's magical identity unfolds, their friendship burns into a passion that cannot, must not be consummated. For to do so would destroy them both ...
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I haven't read the previous books in this series, and I think that maybe I should have. I did enjoy the story, and could believe the situation that Mariah found herself in - being in a house with her vindictive, nasty mother-in-law, who was always out to find a way that she could get rid of her, and being befriended by women who only wanted her out of the way ... but as for the rest of the story, well, I did find it a little ordinary. At times, I felt like the story really wasn't going anywhere. When things did start to happen, it was all at once, like desperately trying to close the book off.

Read it if you will ...

RATING - 5/10

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen

First published in the US and Australia in 2006
PaperBack : 394 pages
ISBN : 978 - 1 - 74175 - 295 - 3

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, swindlers and misfits in a second-rate circus struggling to survive.

A veterinary student, who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that Jacob meets Marlena, the beautiful equestrienne who is married to August, a charismatic but violently unpredictable animal trainer. Jacob also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems unmanageable until he discovers an unusual way to reach her.

Water for Elephants is a story that has it all - warmth, humor, poignancy and passion. It has an energy and spirit like the feeling under a big top when the show is about to begin. It is a novel that will win your heart.
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I have to agree with this last statement, this book DID win my heart from the first few pages. I loved the way that the story flicks between the present day and the past, with Jacob remembering his time in the circus and his first stirrings of love for Marlena.

I think the story encompasses alot of different issues that we all come across in our daily lives, obviously not in the circus confines, but I think that everyone would find it easy to relate to so many of the situations that Jacob and the other performers face on a daily basis.

The love story - I enjoyed watching that grow, and right up to the end, you could still feel the love bouncing off the pages, reading from Jacob's point of view.

For me, I cannot wait to see this movie - love the story in print, and can only hope that it transfers to the screen with the same intensity of love, passion, pain and experiences.

RATING - 9/10