Sundays at Tiffany's

Title: Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
Genre: Fiction, Romance
Rating 2/5

As the lonely daughter of a famous Broadway producer, Jane Margaux's only childhood friend is imaginary. But on her ninth birthday, Michael has to leave, as all imaginary friends do, and promises her that she'll soon forget him. Years later, Jane is as lonely as she ever was, and she's never forgotten Michael. Then one day she meets him again, and he's as perfect as ever. But can they overcome the obstacles to be together and why is Jane the first child that Michael's met again as an adult?

I'm sad to say I wasn't overly impressed with Sundays at Tiffany's. Unfortunately, I found the writing style a little choppy and wondered at points whether it signified a change in authors, which distracted from the actual storyline. From the description at the back of the book, I hadn't expected Jane to remember Michael right away and was looking forward to the big 'Ah ha!' moment. However, I thought her disbelief at seeing him again was very well done, and a good way for her to realise how low her self-esteem had dropped. He seemed to be the motivation she needed to start fighting for her own personal happiness with her mother and boyfriend, instead of letting them win all the battles. Overall, its a cute and simple romance but I think that James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet have better books out there.

To Catch a Pirate

Title: To Catch A Pirate by Jade Parker
Genre: Fiction, YA, Romance
Rating: 3/5

In 1720, Annalisa Townsend's life was spared by a young pirate, James Sterling, in exchange for a stolen kiss. One year later, her father has been arrested on suspicion of being in cahoots with the pirates that attacked their ship and Annalisa has forged a letter of marque in order to find James Sterling and prove her father's innocence. And this time she's in danger of him stealing far more than a kiss.

I don't have much to say on Jade Parker's To Catch A Pirate. It's your average cliched romance novel. Boy meets girl, boy kisses girl, unforseen problems arise to keep them apart. Can they overcome the obstacles to be together? It's essentially a book for Harlequin readers-in-training, with only kissing and no sex. I wasn't sold on the character of Annalisa, her opinions were too easily swayed by other characters in the book and her transformation from the prologue to chapter one seemed a bit much to me. I found James to be a more believable character; a pirate because that was the life he landed in, not because of his desire for treasure. And the rest of the characters are basically peripheral ornaments; they play their role and then fade into the background again. There is little to ground the book in a specific place or time while reading, but there is an interesting author's note at the end to set the background information. Overall, its a quick and romantic read, but if you're looking for something that gives a better look at the pirate life, I'd try suggest trying a different book.

The Liar

Title: The Liar by Stephen Fry
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4/5

Adrian Healey is your average public school boy but for one thing, his inability to tell the truth. Over the years his lies land him into trouble, and he finds himself in over his head, tangled in murder and mystery.

The Liar is utterly hilarious and completely brilliant. Anyone who's watched or read Stephen Fry's work can tell you that the man's a genius. Unfortunately, it also means that there were points in the book where I had to go back and reread in order to catch things I'd missed the first time around. Time weaves through The Liar in a very intricate fashion, and something which seems inconsequential at first may later turn out to be rather important.

The protagonist, Adrian, is a fascinating character. It's nearly impossible to pick out the bits of truth from his lies, and everything around him becomes so much more dramatic as a result. At times I started to feel sorry for him, only to have another of his lies revealed. The theme of lies and untruths plays a large part in the book, and not just with Adrian. More and more of the characters seem to be involved in deceptions as the book continues until you're left wondering if anything is true. Shocking, hilarious and absolutely brilliant, The Liar is a must-read for any fan.

Dead Until Dark

Title: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Genre: Fiction, Horror, Romance
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis from Penguin:

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life - and one of her coworkers checks out...

Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.

I hate to admit it but I put off reading Dead Until Dark and its sequels for a long time because I wasn't a fan of the covers. The artwork just wasn't my style. That was most definitely a mistake. I really enjoyed Dead Until Dark. I truly liked Sookie; she's caring, charming and sentimental. Most importantly, I didn't find her annoying like I have some of the other first-person narrators in vampire and supernatural books.

The book is a real page-turner, following the mystery of the murders and the romance between Sookie and Vampire Bill. There are also several minor plotlines going on throughout involving the secondary characters. As this was the first book in the series, it understandably focused on Sookie and Vampire Bill for the most part. Hopefully the later books in the series will expand on some of the secondary characters. I'd particularly love to see more of Bubba.

I'd definitely recommend Dead Until Dark to any paranormal lover. I've already leant my copy of the book to a friend and mentioned it to several others.

How to Catch and Keep a Vampire

Title: How to Catch and Keep a Vampire: A Step-by-Step Guide to Loving the Bad and the Beautiful by Diana Laurence
Genre: Entertainment, Humour, How-to, Romance
Rating: 3.5/5

Have you seen every episode of Forever Knight, Blood Ties, Buffy and Angel? Read every book by Stephenie Meyer, Charlaine Harris and Anne Rice? Wanted your own dark and immortal lover to keep you warm at night? Then this book is for you. In How to Catch and Keep a Vampire: A Step-by-Step Guide to Loving the Bad and the Beautiful, Diana Laurence draws on personal experience to reveal the secrets to finding and keeping your own vampire lover.

This book is a terrific, tongue-in-cheek guide on how to maintain a relationship with a vampire. With chapters on the pros and cons of dating a vampire versus a mortal, how to introduce your new undead boyfriend to your family, and FAQs About the Undead, How to Catch and Keep a Vampire covers everything you'd want to know. Moreover, some of the advice given is also relevant for relationships with mortals; don't let your partner push you around, communicate and compromise with them, and listen to your instincts.

One thing I was disappointed in was that the advice is mostly female-oriented, there is little for the man interested in finding his vampire bride, though there is a case study dealing with Dan, his vampire girlfriend and an encounter with an Anti-Vampire Person. I also felt Laurence pushed her examples a little too far sometimes, as in Case Study 106 when Aidan pulls a fishing pole from a picnic basket. Though, I have to admit I was amused by the imagery of the vampire equivalent of Mary Poppin's magic bag.

I absolutely loved the design of the book, the pages are just beautiful to look at. The paper stock is thick and smooth, and the image of the red satin ribbon repeats intermittently throughout and is reflected in the red text. Overall, I found How to Catch and Keep a Vampire both interesting and humorous. A must read for anyone fascinated with vampires.

For more information check out the book's website or Sellers Publishing.

The Conquest

Title: The Conquest by Jude Deveraux
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Historical
Rating: 1/5

The Peregrines have been at war with the Howards for generations and when a daughter is born, the family will do anything to protect her. So they raise her as a boy, training her to be a soldier, and hiding her true identity from anyone beyond the castle walls. But when the youngest Howard returns, he sees beyond the disguise and campaigns to win her heart.

I picked up The Conquest because I thought it had a fun plot and because I've enjoyed Jude Deveraux's work in the past. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst books I've read by her. The characters feel like stock characters and are difficult to empathize with. Both of the main characters are childish and Zared Peregrine has a lot of difficulty overcoming her early prejudices and beliefs. Moreover, the plot feels very choppy with a lot of time and detail being paid to some parts and very little being paid to others. And the side story of Severn and Anne, which plays an important part in the first half of the book, is essentially forgotten in the second half and remains incomplete by the end of the book. My biggest complaint has to do with the last chapter and I think the book could have been improved by ending the story before that point. It's not all bad; the book is a nice and easy read for those who want to relax and there's a lot of angst to the relationship between Zared and Tearle for those that appreciate angst. However, The Conquest is not a book that I would recommend to any but the most devoted Jude Deveraux fans.

My Sister's Keeper

Title: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 5/5

All her life Anna Fitzgerald has undergone countless surgeries and transfusions so that her older sister, Kate, can fight her leukemia. Now a teenager, she's starting to question who she is and what she wants for her future. Tired of having no say in her own well-being, Anna decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.

My Sister's Keeper is one of the best books I've read in a while. The plot is well-written, emotionally moving and all around riveting. I was hooked from the first line. The characters were realistic and kept me interested in their problems throughout. Even Jesse, who had a lesser role in the drama, seemed to emphasize the Fitzgeralds struggle to balance the regular problems a family has to deal with and the problems that arise from Kate's leukemia.

The chapters switch points of view from one character to another as the book progresses, and I was genuinely surprised by how well this worked as it's not a technique I generally like. Each part provided a little more background and gave a look into the inner workings of the characters. They also introduced new twists to keep the reader hooked. And I think it is interesting that the chapters from Sara's POV are all set in the past until more than halfway through the book, unlike the other characters.

My Sister's Keeper deals with some big questions, including whether it is morally correct to infringe on the rights of one child in order to save the life of another. It wrenched at my heartstrings and made me think. It's definitely a book I'd suggest to all the women in my life.

Moonlight in Odessa

Title: Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skeslien Charles
Genre: Fiction, Romance
Rating: 4/5

Moonlight in Odessa is a humorous and delightful book featuring a strong, street-smart protagonist. After months of unemployment, Daria finds work as the secretary for a foreign company. Plagued by an amorous boss, crooked officials and a mobster who she has feeling for, she begins to moonlight as an interpreter for a "matchmaking" agency that deals in mail-order brides, where she finds an American who wants to marry her. But will life in America prove to be what's she's always dreamed it would be?

I really enjoyed Moonlight in Odessa and I quickly fell for Daria as a character. Despite her desire for a better life, she truly seems to care for Odessa and constantly praises the city, telling anyone who will listen such factoids as Odessa's opera house is "the third most beautiful in the world." Although she doesn't always make the right decisions, she tries to do what's best for her friends and family, particularly by taking care of the grandmother who raised her. I loved following her relationships with the other characters, particularly David, and seeing how she'd react to their actions.

The plot kept me captivated for the most part, and although I wasn't entirely happy with the direction it took towards the end, I found that it left me contemplating what had occurred and wanting more. I particularly enjoyed the way Charles used Daria's lessons on English verbs to emphasize events and Daria's emotions throughout the book. I also found all the factoids about Odessa that Daria recites extremely interesting.

Overall I was definitely entertained by the book and have already started recommending it to others. And with the holiday season approaching I think Moonlight in Odessa would be a great present, what with its red and white cover featuring the image of a snow globe.

For more information on Moonlight in Odessa check out Bloomsbury's website.

The Historian

Title: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Genre: Fiction, Horror
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis from Little, Brown: Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of - a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history. The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known - and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out.

The Historian is a very interesting take on the Dracula sequel. Unlike most, it is set in the twentieth century and doesn't deal with the characters from Dracula. Well, except for the man himself. Instead it recognizes Dracula as a fictional work and focuses more on the facts and fictions of Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, aka Vlad the Impaler. I studied Dracula a couple of years back for one of my University courses but had forgotten a lot of the background my professor covered. By working the information into letters and character retellings, Kostova made it enjoyable to relearn.

Moreover, she made me interested in the characters. The plot focuses mainly on the narrator and her father and their separate yet symmetrical quests for the truth. Though they occur decades apart, both involve the sinister figure of Dracula, a little bit of romance and the search for a missing individual. As the father reveals his story to his daughter in fits and starts, you come to care for them and begin to root for them to succeed. Overall, I found that The Historian was a really good read. Its biggest appeals were the historical aspect and its suspenseful twists and turns. I was always trying to guess what would happen next. And though I wouldn't say I couldn't put it down, I can say that I never wanted to put it down for long. I'd like to try some of Kostova's other works and I've already started reccing this one to my friends.

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The Ruby Knight

Title: The Ruby Knight by David Eddings
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Rating: 4/5

Summary from Random House: Ehlanda, Queen of Elenia, has been poisoned. A deep enchantment sustains her life, but it will end soon. Then Sparhawk, Knight of the Queen's Champion, learns where to get to cure for the poison. He and his companions set forth on a dangerous quest to find the antidote before the queen should perish and the peace ends...

Book Two of The Elenium, The Ruby Knight picks up from where The Diamond Throne left off and is very much the middle book of a fantasy trilogy. It's fast-paced and action-filled but the plot doesn't develop too much. Mostly Sparhawk and his entourage travel the continent trying to locate the Bhelliom so that they might heal Queen Ehlana and stop Annias. The big revelation of the book involves Flute, but it's not hard to guess if you've been paying attention. Still, the dialogue is fun and my interest in the characters' well-being kept me reading. I'd definitely recommend The Ruby Knight to any fantasy lover, though I'd suggest reading The Diamond Throne first.

Over the Moon

Title: Over the Moon by Angela Knight, MaryJanice Davidson, Virginia Kantra and Sunny
Genre: Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Short Stories
Rating: 3/5

From the back cover: "Three beloved bestselling superstars and one exciting new voice in paranormal romance come together in an anthology of startling seduction.
"Experience the lure of the moon..."

Over the Moon was a decent book overall, I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. The first story, "Moon Dance" by Angela Knight was good. I liked her writing style though I found the whole daughter running away from overbearing father to the protection of the strong newcomer a little cliched. "Between the Mountain and the Moon" by Virginia Kantra was also good and I'm pretty sure its a sequel to another short story I've already read. I found the main character a little annoying and oblivious at points but I was rooting for her in the end. I was surprised when I realised that I liked "Driftwood" by MaryJanice Davidson. I've read a book by her before and wasn't quite sold on her style. Frankly I'm still not, but I found her main characters hilarious and endearing and I would definitely read a book that focuses on them. The last story in the book, "Mona Lisa Three" by Sunny, didn't work for me at all. Truthfully, it read like a poor imitation of Laurell K. Hamilton's writing, and it seems to fall more under the "erotica" genre than paranormal romance. I did enjoy some of the secondary characters though. In the end, Over the Moon is a book that I'd suggest borrowing from the library or a friend if you like one of the authors but don't spend your money on it.

Camelot's Honour

Title: Camelot's Honour by Sarah Zettel
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Rating: 4/5

Though set in the time of King Arthur and the Round Table, Camelot's Honour focuses on a young Welsh midwife and one of the lesser known Knights, with only a brief passage featuring Arthur and Merlin. The midwife, Elen, goes out one night to deal with a difficult birth only to return to find her family slain by a local chieftain who is loyal to Morgaine. Captured by the chieftain, she vows revenge, but it is only through the aid of young Sir Geraint that she may achieve it.

I've read books dealing with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table before, however, they were all focused on the better known knights and had a very masculine feel to them, so I was understandably worried about reading a book with a female protagonist. Surprisingly I liked the character of Elen from the start. She was very passionate and kind-hearted but when Urien killed her family she quickly showed her backbone and her desire for justice. However I did find her too easily swayed at points.

I also rather enjoyed the addition of faerie to the book. The stories of King Arthur that I've read in the past always involved magic but never of this sort. It brings to mind Spenser's The Faerie Queene and Shakespeare's Oberon and Titania, which are personal favourites. Moreover the glimpses we get of the fae folk help weave the story together from beginning to end. I really enjoyed Camelot's Honour and I'd love to read another in the same series as soon as I figure out her North American publisher.

Artist creates incredible pieces of art from old books

I have a new book to review shortly but in the meanwhile I wanted to share something very cool. Su Blackwell, an artist in London, England, takes second hand books that have been sitting on the shelf for years and turns them into paper models. She waits to be inspired by the books themselves, and I think that her model from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass is just amazing. And according to the article, she never cuts up first editions or rare books.

Check out the Telegraph.co.uk website for the full article and a pictures of her work.

Or check out the video with her from scmp.com

Swallowing Darkness

Title: Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Gothic, Romance
Rating: 4/5

Swallowing Darkness, the seventh book in Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series, picks up just after A Lick of Frost left off. Merry, now pregnant with twins, has been raped by her uncle, who claims that her bodyguards are a threat to her and her children, which he claims as his own. On top of that, there are those that will go to great lengths to keep her off the throne of the Unseelie Court. However, Merry is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her children and her lovers.

I really enjoyed Swallowing Darkness. It seems like the series may be returning to its roots and giving more attention to the plot rather than to the many and various ways in which Merry can couple with her guards, as in some of the more recent books in the series. Although I still think Hamilton took the easy way out in deciding the parentage of Merry's children, I do find that it emphasizes the fantastical elements of the series. More importantly I was caught up in the intrigue and found myself waiting for each new twist. The book rounded up several of the storylines and with its beautiful ending, would have been a good place to finish the series. However, there are a few things that have yet to be dealt with and I hope that Hamilton deals with them as nicely in Divine Misdemeanors, which will be released in December 2009. There's a good chance I might reread Swallowing Darkness at some point in the future and I think this might be the book to bring back some of the readers who gave up the series when it became too graphic.

Tipping the Velvet

Title: Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Rating: 3/5

Synopsis from www.sarahwaters.com:
A saucy, sensuous and multi-layered historical romance, Tipping the Velvet follows the glittering career of Nan King - oyster girl turned music-hall star turned rent boy turned East End 'tom'.

I thought Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters was a good book, although I found Nancy to be rather annoying at points. She seemed to always make the wrong decision and it got a little unbelievable near the end. Everything was about her pleasure and her happiness with little thought as to how it might affect others. I suppose it was necessary though, to emphasize her emotional growth. However, I found the secondary characters; Florence and Ralph, Mrs M and Gracie; to be very interesting.

Overall, I found it to be a very good historical novel. I admit that I don't know too much about that time period in England but I really felt that Sarah Waters did a good job with it. The fear felt by the 'toms' is very believable and I have no trouble imaging a women's club devoted to Sappho. I had trouble with some of the slang though and at times wished for a cheat sheet at the back of the book. I really loved the look at the music halls of the time too, and think its rather interesting that the different classes would frequent different halls rather than just having separate sections to sit in. While I don't know that I'd ever read Tipping the Velvet again, I'm definitely going to give some of her other titles a try.

The Jane Austen Book Club

Title: The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4/5

Six Californians (five women and one man) turn to Jane Austen to bring them together and help them deal with the obstacles that pop up in their lives over the course of six months.

I picked up The Jane Austen Book Club after it had been recommended to me by several friends. Apparently it was my kind of book. And I did really enjoy it. It is admittedly a very simple read though some of the Austen references will likely be lost on someone unfamiliar with her work. I really liked how Fowler split the book into sections instead of just continuing the narrative unstopped. Each section is devoted to a month, book and the character hosting the meeting that month. For example, Chapter One was March "in which we gather at Jocelyn's to discuss Emma." Interspersed with the book discussions, Fowler feeds the reader background information on the characters, how they met and important events that shaped the people they became. And by switching back and forth between the discussion and the character development, you never tire of either.

The characters are interesting, though I wish Fowler had spent more time developing them. There is so much hinted at that we never get to see, like Bernadette's many other husbands. The book's also a little deceptive in its appearance, the novel itself is only about 3/4 of the book, the rest is additional material like summaries of Austen's six books and suggested book club questions. I did really like the section in which Jane's friends and families comment on her books. Apparently her mother liked Pride & Prejudice better than Mansfield Park.

The Jane Austen Book Club is definitely a book I'll recommend to friends and something I think I'll give another read through some time in the future, probably the next time I read Pride & Prejudice. I also want to give Karen Joy Fowler's other works a try.

Star Trek Academy: Collision Course

Title: Star Trek Academy: Collision Course by William Shatner
Genre: Sci Fi
Rating: 4/5

Years before the events of Star Trek: The Original Jim Kirk and Spock were just two conflicted teens living in San Fransisco. Kirk is headstrong and wants nothing to do with Starfleet, while Spock is determined to prove that he is Vulcan through and through. Then one night the two meet and become involved in a mystery that challenges the Federation's belief that war is a thing of the past.

I picked up Star Trek Academy: Collision Course shortly after watching the new Stark Trek movie. Who could resist reading William Shatner's take on how Kirk and Spock meet after all the media coverage about his reaction to the new movie? And I've got to admit, I really rather enjoyed it. It's very interesting to see how Shatner imagines young Kirk and Spock would handle various circumstances and what kind of relationships they would have with their families. There is a lovely scene earlier on between Lady Amanda and Sarek as they discuss how they can best help Spock. Also, I thought it had a good plot, I could barely put it down. There is mention of a sequel at the end of the novel and I'd definitely like to read it but so far it hasn't been published. Collision Course is a book that I would suggest others try, at least those who enjoy Star Trek.

Burned

Title: Burned by Ellen Hopkins
Genre: YA
Rating: 3/5

Pattyn Von Stratten comes from a extremely religious family, one ruled by an abusive and controlling father. The oldest of seven girls, she is expected to help raise them but as her home life continues to decline, she begins to question the ideas that she's been taught by her father and her church. And when she's caught in a compromising position with a boy, particularly one who is not a Mormon, she is sent to live with her aunt for the summer so as not to bother her once-again pregnant mother. There she finds love and acceptance, but what will happen when school starts again in the fall?

I really rather enjoyed Burned. The story was very interesting and it was difficult not to feel for Pattyn. The difficulties she faced and every horrible thing that happened to her really tugged at your heartstrings. You wanted her to overcome the obstacles in the way of her happiness, to get away from her abusive father and from a church that would side in his favour. I was surprised by the ending and don't really feel like everything was resolved. But that's not necessarily a bad thing as it kept me thinking for a while after I finished the book.

As for the text itself, it's laid out in the form of bad poetry. Visually, it's rather appealing and Hopkins has done some interesting stuff with it but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to why she's ended lines where she has except for the visual effect. They do, however, wonderfully mimic how a high school girl would likely write poetry. Overall, Hopkins does an incredible job portraying this angst-ridden young girl and I would recommend Burned to anyone willing to try something a little different.

The Foretelling

Title: The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman
Genre: YA
Rating: 1.5/5

Conceived when her mother was raped by fifty men, Rain is destined to be the next Queen of the Amazons. But her mother can't bear to touch her or look at her and leaves her upbringing to the rest of her Amazon sisters. A born warrior, Rain raises a bear-cub as a sister and dreams of a black horse. Then she begins to see a life beyond what she has been taught and begins to wonder about the forbidden...love, peace, mercy.

I've got to admit I wasn't overly impressed with The Foretelling. The story of the next Amazon queen seemed like such an interesting idea, but it just didn't live up to its promise. The narrative felt like a continuous stream of consciousness with little dialogue, which eventually became kind of annoying. And I found it difficult to relate to Rain so I didn't really care about what happened to her. However, I did find the design of the book to be very interesting. Each chapter had an image, like a pictograph, which related to the chapter and was used in place of asterisks in order to indicate lapses in time. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless they were extremely interested in Amazons and their depiction in literature.

The Friday Night Knitting Club

Title: The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 5/5

Single mother Georgia Walker is the owner of Walker and Daughter, a yarn shop in New York City and home of the Friday Night Knitting Club. Made up of six very different women (and one daughter), the club quickly changes from a place to receive knitting help to an opportunity to share the stories of their lives and find the comfort and companionship they were missing.

Truthfully I found The Friday Night Knitting Club a little slow to start. The first eighty pages were entirely from Georgia's point of view and was filled with her complaints. But as she slowly accepted the club and loosened up, she started to grow on me. And then we got to know the other characters and I was hooked. She introduced each character's personality quirks little by little, letting us get to know them without bombarding us with information. I love the knitting advice that precedes and directly relates to each section; who knew that life could be so easily reflected in a craft? The ending was absolutely moving and truly surprising, and I'm not normally caught off guard by much. The Friday Night Knitting Club is a book that I will recommend often, and I can't wait to read the sequel.

A Place Called Here

Title: A Place Called Here by Cecelia Ahern
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.5/5

When Sandy Shortt is ten years old her classmate Jenny-May Butler disappears. Ever since, Sandy has been obsessed with finding put where missing things go. It's not like a sock just grew a pair of legs and wandered off, is it? Now in her thirties, she runs a missing persons agency and has agreed to help Jack Ruttle look for his missing brother. But on the day they are to meet, Sandy disappears and finds herself in the world of missing things. Now all she wants to do is find her way home.

For the most part, A Place Called Here is a good book. It's no where near as good as PS I Love You but it does have a very intriguing premise. Who hasn't wondered what's happened to the matching sock that disappeared in the wash? And the idea that not just physical objects but actual memories of individuals go missing is interesting but also absolutely heartbreaking. I liked the way flashbacks were used to reveal information and develop Sandy's character but it felt a little like the majority of the story was back story. The weakest part of the story was the ending. It felt rushed after the leisurely way the flashbacks had occurred up to that point. It was also somewhat unbelievable. Overall, A Place Called Here is a good vacation read but not something I'd necessarily read again.

Missing You

Title: Missing You by Meg Cabot
Genre: YA
Rating: 4/5

Missing You is the fifth and final book in Meg Cabot's 1-800-Where-R-You series. It picks up a couple of years after Sanctuary left off. Jess Mastriani, who developed psychic powers after being hit by a bolt of lightning when walking home from school, is living in New York, power-free thanks to a case of post traumatic stress syndrome from helping locate terrorists in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, her attempt at a normal life is cut short when her ex shows up on her doorstep asking for her help in finding his missing sister.

Overall, it's a good book and wraps up the series in a neat little package.. You can tell that there was a gap of time between the writing of the first four books and this one, Cabot's writing style has shifted somewhat, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Jess has matured since the last book, she's no longer a hit first, ask questions later kind of girl. As well, the content is slightly more mature in regards to the romantic relationships of the characters, though I'm sure it will please most fans of the series. Cabot toots her own horn at one point, mentioning the tv series that was based on this series, but she makes it work, Jess claiming that it was a result of all the media interest in her talent, which had been mentioned in the past books. Missing You is a great conclusion to the series and fans will love it.