VANISHED

TITLE: VANISHED

AUTHOR: TIM WEAVER

Pages:514

Date: 30/07/2012

Grade: 4

Details: no. 3 David Raker

            Received from Penguin through

            Book Geeks

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David Raker has made a career finding the lost. A former journalist, he has spent the past four years finding the missing for those who want them back.

When he is first approached by Julia Wren and asked to find her husband the case doesn’t appear too complicated. Sam Wren took the tube train into work on the morning of December 17^th and was never seen again. But, as Raker knows, the tube has cameras everywhere so discovering where Wren went shouldn’t be too hard. Except that watching the security footage again and again doesn’t clarify anything. Sam Wren can be seen getting onto the tube, can be spotted in the carriage at a few of the stations and then isn’t there anymore. He hasn’t been filmed getting off the tube though. Sam Wren has managed to disappear into thin air during the morning rush-hour.

At the same time the police are investigating the disappearances of young men. All the men lived alone and had few social contacts. All the men disappeared without a trace with only their hair, shaved of and left on their pillows, left behind.

After getting into trouble during an earlier, very personal and emotional case, Colm Healy has a difficult time getting himself working on the disappearances but when he does he investigates with dogged determination. He needs this case to re-establish himself as a good investigator, even if his colleagues are waiting for him to fuck up and destroy his career forever.

But, while Healy is swallowing his pride and keeping his head down in order to get his career back, he is also pursuing something and someone else. A pursuit that could cost him his job, and with it his last connection to his old life.

As the two cases appear to connect, Raker is ordered to drop his investigation into Wren’s disappearance. But Raker is not convinced that the police are on the right track, and can’t reconcile what he knows about the missing man with the conclusions the official investigators have come up with. A tenuous cooperation between Raker and Healy brings back memories of past tragedies as well as huge risk for both of them.

This was a good thriller. From the very first moment, when Raker decides to investigate the strange disappearance, nothing is as it seems. Everybody has secrets and Sam Wren is no exception. But Wren’s secrets are better hidden than most, and uncovering what has been hidden for such a long time doesn’t lead to answers rather than more questions and doubts.

This is the third book featuring David Raker and there are references to earlier books and investigations. And while I have no doubt that I would have had a better feel for both Raker and Healy if I had read the previous titles I didn’t feel as if I were missing vital information while reading this book.

Raker is a fascinating character to read about. He has his issues and dark sides but is basically a good man with his heart and priorities in the right place. I wasn’t as sure about Colm Healy. While it is easy to understand why the man was as dark as he was, I couldn’t help feeling that he wouldn’t have been an easy or nice man even before everything went wrong for him.

The story in this book is fascinating with lots of twists and turns quite a few cliff-hangers and shocks even after it all appears to be over.

I’m not sure how I feel about the ending of the book though. To call those final two pages ambiguous would be an understatement. And I guess we will have to wait for Tim Weaver’s next book before we find out what exactly we were told there.

And now for one of those strange but wonderful reading coincidences;

Earlier this month I read both Slave and Need by Sherri Hayes, a story that deals with the modern-day slave-trade. I know there are quite a few books dealing with that particular topic; however, having the subject playing an import role in yet another of my reads so soon was quite surprising.

THE SIREN

TITLE: THE SIREN

AUTHOR: Tiffany Reisz

Pages: 400 (paperback)

Date: 28/07/2012

Grade: 4.5

Details: No. 1 The Original Sinners

            Received from Mira through

            NetGalley

Own / Kindle

Every so often I finish a book and find myself at a complete loss as to what to say about it, or even, quite what I thought about it. And, you’ve guessed it; this is one of those times.

On the surface this is a story about Nora Sutherlin, a famous and very popular author of erotica. Her latest work in progress is different from her previous steamy novels though. This book is more personal and serious and because Nora is convinced this could be her break-through to the mainstream market, she is looking for a new publisher.

Enter Zachary Easton, an English man in New York and editor with a prestigious publisher. When he is asked to edit Nora’s book he is both sceptical and reluctant. He doesn’t believe erotica can ever be a serious work of fiction and with only six weeks before he leaves New York he doesn’t believe there is enough time to turn the book into something that would live up to his exacting standards.

When Zach meets Nora he is barely polite with her but Nora is not easily deterred. She convinces the editor to make a deal with her; if she can rewrite the book into something he approves of within the six weeks available, he will sign her contract.

Both Nora and Zach are tortured souls. Both of them have left the loves of their lives because, as Nora says:

"There are only two reasons why you leave someone you're still in love with - either it's the right thing to do, or it's the only thing to do".

As the two of them work together and seem to get closer, the reader discovers more about Nora and Zach, their pasts and their (lack of) hope for the future. Through ups and downs, shocks and revelations the story and their lives unravel; easy endings do not appear to be an option.

The reader gets glimpses of Nora’s writing, the book within the book, as the story progresses. Some of what we read is meant for Zach and publication; other parts of her writing are only for Nora, memories of times gone by. It serves to give us a better understanding of the complex character that is Nora.

This book is almost impossible to categorise, anything but predictable, shocking and heartbreaking. Nothing is exactly what you expect. This author doesn’t aim for easy answers or convenient happy endings. Tiffany Reisz managed to make me re-assess many of my conventional truths about love, lust and sex. She made me feel deeply for characters who are flawed in ways I couldn’t even imagine, made me root for those who, in another context, I would have labelled villains.

Most characters in this book have secrets they hold very close to their hearts, dark secrets that will change your perception of them as you read along. And yet, despite their pasts and the decisions they make about their futures I couldn’t help feel for the characters by the time the story ended.

This book is probably not for everyone. The contents of this story will stretch the readers comfort levels as far as they will go, and for some, a lot further. Some of the sexual relationships and encounters in this book are beyond extreme. And yet, now that I’ve finished this story I wouldn’t say it was a book about sex. This is a book about relationships, about love, about accepting the truth about who and what you are. This is a story that will have you experiencing virtually every emotion known to men; a story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

I had no idea this was the first book in a planned series when I started reading it and I’m not at all sure where a future book might take me. I do know though that when the next book comes out, I’ll be one of the first trying to get my hands on it. Because, to put it quite simply, Tiffany Reisz tells an intriguing story very well.

Update: You can have a look at what my husband thought about this book here.

NEED by Sherri Hayes; Review and e-book give-away

TITLE: NEED

AUTHOR: SHERRI HAYES

Pages: 285 (paperback)

Date: 25/07/2012

Grade: 5-

Details: no. 2 Finding Anna

            Received from Smith Publicity –

            The Writer's Coffee Shop, through

            NetGalley

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This story starts immediately after the story in Slave finished. We find Brianna Reeves reflecting on what Stephen Coleman told her the previous evening; that even though he had bought her from Ian she is not his slave. While this revelation should make her feel easier, Brianna finds herself more insecure and confused then ever before. If she’s not his slave then what is she, why is he keeping her and what is expected of her? If she’s not his slave does that mean she will have to leave the only place she’s felt safe for a long time? And if she does stay, will she ever be able to be what Stephen would like her to be?

Stephen is facing fears as well now that he has told Brianna that he doesn’t own her. Telling her that she can and should make her own decisions means that she may decide to leave him. And Stephen has only just realised that he has fallen in love for the first time in his life. The thought of losing Brianna fills him with fear and yet he knows that if he wants to have a relationship with her it has to be because she chooses him, freely.

Very slowly and very carefully Stephen continues working at making Brianna feel safer. But this is not easy. Every time it seems like the girl has made a bit of progress something will happen to bring her fears back with a vengeance. Coming face to face with men she was forced to be with while being kept as a slave sends Brianna in to full-blown panic attacks. A man from her past, someone Stephen has an uncomfortable work-related relationship with, confuses the young girl. Brianna’s father, who she doesn’t want to see, is actively looking for his daughter and it is only a matter of time before he will find her, and Stephen’s uncle Richard is still trying to interfere in his nephew’s way of dealing with Brianna.

As Brianna slowly learns to trust Stephen and even more slowly discovers that sex is about pleasure rather than pain, all the outside forces seem to conspire to make their relationship impossible.

Wow! This was one emotional roller-coaster of a read.

It is impossible to read this book or its prequel, ‘Slave’, without having your heart break for Brianna time and again. The thought of young girls being sold as slaves, for men to do with as they please without thought or consequence is horrific and shocking, but it is something that happens, and a fact that should be acknowledged.

I feel Sherri Hayes did a wonderful job describing all the emotions Brianna experiences. Her fears and insecurities made sense and were realistic, her incapability to recognise her feelings towards Stephen was believable and charming and the courage she finds to push herself through her fears is astounding.

While for most of the story I adored and admired Stephen, my feelings towards him were a bit more ambivalent then those I had with regard to Brianna.

Stephen’s need to be completely honest with Brianna had me tied up with nerves on quite a few occasions. I couldn’t help feeling that at times it was too much information too soon, that maybe he might have tried to avoid answering certain of Brianna’s questions. And then I would think about it and realise that he had to be open and honest with her if he wanted Brianna to trust him.

Boy, did I get emotionally involved in this story. Brianna and Stephen have come to life for me while reading the first two books in this series and I find myself rooting for them.

This story is thought-provoking, confrontational and eye-opening. But it is also deeply emotional, romantic and erotic. I can’t imagine anybody putting this book down without being affected by the story. The issues tackled and, most of all, these characters will stay with me for a very long time.

My only complaint after finishing this book is that the story ended on a massive cliff-hanger and that I have no idea when the sequel will be available. I can only hope that will be sooner rather than later and I know that I will be reading it as soon as I can get my hands on it.

I have one word of warning for anybody thinking about reading this book; make sure you read ‘Slave’ first! 

  And now for a first on my blog: I will be giving away e-book copies of both Slave and Need to one lucky reader. I will randomly pick one winner from those who comment below. The give-away will run from July 28^th until August 1^st.  I shall contact the lucky reader on August 2^nd so please make sure to leave your email address with your comment. The winner will have a week to get back to me, after which time I will pick someone else. Good luck!

DEAD RECKONING

TITLE: DEAD RECKONING

AUTHOR: CHARLAINE HARRIS

Pages: 325

Date: 24/07/2012

Grade: 4-

Details: no. 11 Sookie Stackhouse

Library

As always there isn’t a boring moment in Bon Temps for our favourite cocktail waitress, Sookie Stackhouse.

Everything starts with an attack on Merlotte’s, the bar where she works. While the bar’s owner Sam and Sookie are able to stop the fire before it spreads, the big question is who threw the Molotov cocktail and why. While suspicion initially falls on those who have issues with Shape-shifters like Sam, Sookie can’t help feeling that the attack could also have been aimed at her. After all, consorting with Vampires, Were-creatures and Faeries has brought her a fair amount of enemies of her own.

But there are more problems. Eric, her vampire boyfriend/husband is facing huge issues with Victor, the local ruling vampire. And Victor seems determined to provoke Eric into doing something rash so that he will have a reason to end his undead existence. And more than that, Eric and his ‘child’ Pam appear to be hiding something from Sookie, something that could change everything in her life. And of course having two faeries staying in her house brings a whole set of problems of its own. And really, that’s only the top of the iceberg.

Sookie finds herself facing a set of circumstances that will force her to reassess herself, her attitude towards the life she is leading as well as her relationships with those around her.

As always this book brought me a nice balance of supernatural action and more mundane events. With Sookie always trying to strike a balance between all the supernaturals in her life and living an everyday life like most people around her, these stories feel as if they are set in the real world, which makes it easier to relate to them.

On the other hand I do get a bit fed up with Sookie. You’d think that after 11 books she’d either have gotten, if not comfortable with than at least used to all the plotting, killing and animosity around her. Yet it feels as if she’s rediscovering what all the creatures around her are capable of and consider normal all over again in every single book. By now I’ve reached the stage where I want her to either get out of the game or decide that since she’s in it she’s going to deal with it once and for all, and yet she doesn’t.

Having said that, these are easy and comfortable books to read and I do still enjoy catching up with these characters. So I guess that at least for now I will continue to bring these books home from the library for as long as I can find them there.

BARED TO YOU

TITLE: BARED TO YOU

AUTHOR: SILVIA DAY

Pages: 300 (approx)

Date: 23/07/2012

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 1 Crossfire

            Kindle

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“To call either of us virgins would be ridiculous, yet emotionally that was just what we were. Fumbling in the dark and too eager, completely out of our depths and self-conscious, trying to impress and missing all the subtle nuances.”

Eva Tramell is in her twenties and starting a new job and new life in New York City. The very first time she enters the building where she will be working Eva runs into Gideon Cross, a handsome, powerful and intriguing man. A run in that has the atmosphere between them sparkling and leaves Eva breathless and worried.
It isn’t long before it becomes clear that Gideon is equally intrigued by and attracted to Eva and their very first night out together starts with a hot and passionate love-making session in his car. Unfortunately the evening ends with Eva leaving the function they were visiting together alone, in a hurry and without an explanation.
Both Eva and Gideon carry scars from the past; scars that seriously affect their day to day life and especially their ability to have meaningful relationships. They bring out the worst in each other; opening wounds that should remain sealed and drive them apart as much as they can’t stand to be separated.
Every time the two damaged individuals get together there is heat between them. They know how to satisfy each other in ways neither of them knew were possible, while at the same time the depth of their feelings for each other and the emotions their relationship unleashes scare them because of its power to destroy them.
Both Gideon and Eva will have to make adjustments, change long-standing habits and allow a new level of intimacy if their relationship is to stand a chance. Yet their pasts and fears are so close to the surface that a happy ending appears unlikely, if not impossible.
I really enjoyed this book. It is another work of erotic fiction but it is also more than that. Yes, there is a lot of sex in this book and it gets described in quite a lot of tantalizing detail. But those descriptions don’t get in the way of the overall story. A story about two damaged individuals struggling to come to terms with traumatic pasts in order to facilitate a happy future.
While Eva’s past is described in the book and explains a lot, if not all of her behaviour, the reader only gets small hints at what may or may not have caused Gideon’s pain. I guess that is a mystery that may be revealed in a future book. Both their pasts cause our two protagonists to behave in ways that are frustrating and infuriating. There were times I felt like screaming at them when one or the other was once again doing or saying something that was sure to undermine their relationship. Yet, because of the knowledge of their traumatic pasts I found myself able of cutting them more slack than I usually do with characters in romances.

Yes, there are obvious similarities with E.L. James’ Fifty Shades books. The (sexual) theme in this book may not be a BDSM relationship, but there are definite domination related overtones in this book. And, as in the James’ books we are dealing with protagonists who have issues that make a “normal” relationship hard to imagine.

On the other hand, the writing in this book is better and smoother than that which can be found in the Fifty Shades books.

And, I love what I found in the acknowledgements at the end of the book:

“To E.L. James, who wrote a story that captivated readers and created a hunger for more. You rocked it!”

In short I would call this a hot and intriguing love story with characters that are as fascinating as they are infuriating. A sure-fire way to get this reader hooked.

HEAVEN'S WAR

TITLE: HEAVEN’S WAR

AUTHOR: DAVID S. GOYER &

              MICHAEL CASSUTT

Pages: 431

Date: 22/07/2012

Grade: 4

Details: No. 2 Heaven’s Shadow

            Received from Tor

            through Book Geeks

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After two simultaneous but separate missions to an unidentified object in Earth’s orbit go horribly wrong Zack Stuart is the only astronaut staying behind in its interior. Four of his colleagues and rivals are on their way back to earth, the rest have died on the object affectionately named Keanu.

Meanwhile on earth 187 random people have been picked up from the rival space stations in Houston and Bangalore by big flying orbs and are on their way to Keanu. Amongst those abducted are Zack’s 14 year old daughter Rachel, Gabriel Jones the father of the now deceased astronaut who caused a disaster on Keanu and Pavak Radhakrishnan, the son of the commander of the Bangalore space ship who is safely on his way back to earth.

It is now very clear that Keanu is not an asteroid or planet but in fact a space-ship, one that had a good reason to travel to earth, one that wants to recruit humans into its war against a force that could destroy the universe and one that is starting to fail.

The humans on Keanu will have to adjust to their new living arrangements, learn how to survive on a space-ship that appears to want to accommodate them but still holds many dangers, marvels and nightmares. But most of all, they have to figure out a way to make it back to earth in order to protect their home from disaster.

Before I say anything else about this book let me state that if at all possible you should not read this book unless you have read its prequel: Heaven’s Shadow. The story in this book starts at the exact moment the first book ended, and although there are some references to what happened in the first book you need more background information than can be found here if you want to truly enjoy Heaven’s War.

And this truly is a story to enjoy. It is action packed, filled with suspense and with just about enough pure science-fictional fact.

Because the perspective in the story switches between the main characters the reader is introduced to the strange habitats on Keanu on several different levels, ranging from teenage girl to fully qualified scientist. It also means that the book is filled with cliff-hangers. Most chapters, and individual narratives, end on a pivotal moment forcing the reader to keep on reading. But since the chapters you need to read before you arrive at the resolution of your cliff-hanger all end on similar highs there is always this urge to keep on reading.

Another advantage of the alternating narrator set-up is that the reader gets an insight into characters and their motivations without the need for lengthy descriptions. The actions, thoughts and emotions as described by the characters give each of them their own, unique personality.

The space-ship, Keanu, is a marvel consisting of several habitats, all completely geared towards their individual and very diverse inhabitants. As small groups of humans explore various parts of Keanu, the reader gets an insight into the set up of the space-ship as well as the different life-forms it accommodates. Having said that, I did feel that a little more information about the non-human occupants and their role in the struggle against the common enemy would have been helpful. In fact, that lack of information in favour of action would be my one, minor, reservation about this book.

Overall though, this was a gripping space adventure and a true page-turner. This is also very much a story in the middle of a beginning and (as far as I know) the end in the next book. While the book starts where the first book ended, it also finishes at such a moment that the reader is left with no idea what exactly is going on or might be about to happen next. It will be a long wait for the third book and an answer to the questions this story has left the reader with.

DAMAGE

TITLE: DAMAGE

AUTHOR: JOSEPHINE HART

Pages: 216

Date: 18/07/2012

Grade: 4+

Library

“Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive.”

By the time the narrator of this story is fifty he has lived his life almost as if by accident. An unexceptional childhood followed by an impassionate marriage and successful but unfulfilling careers, first as a G.P and subsequently as an upstanding but unremarkable Member of Parliament. A life lived without strong emotions of any kind. A life which, had it ended in the narrator’s fiftieth year, would have been widely respected and totally unremarkable.

Everything changes when he meets Anna Barton, his son’s girlfriend. Although his wife is suspicious of the girl, who is eight year older than her beloved 25 year old son, the narrator feels an instant attraction to her the moment he meets her. An attraction that appears to be mutual since he and Anna start a passionate affair shortly after meeting.

The affair with Anna becomes the narrator’s obsession. For the first time in his life he is experiencing strong emotions and he is unable and unwilling to let go of either those emotions or the woman who has triggered them and is at the centre of them.

Anna is a troubled woman though, with tragedy in her past and almost certainly tragedy in her future. As Anna and the narrator’s son prepare to get married, the affair continues as passionate as ever and disaster must surely wait, just around the corner.

This was not an easy book to read. It is a bit like watching a train-wreck. You know that it’s all going to go horribly wrong but yet you can’t look away, can’t stop reading, even though you are feeling increasingly uncomfortable with what is happening on the page.

From the very first chapter it is clear that this story is not going to have a happy ending:

“But I did not die in my fiftieth year. There are few who know me now who do not regard that as a tragedy.”

From the very first word it is clear that the narrator is speeding his way towards disaster and the reader has no choice but to watch him destroy not only his own life but also that of those around him.

Of course it is proof of the excellent writing that although I did end up feeling extremely uncomfortable about the road to self-destruction the narrator so willingly took I had to follow him to the bitter end.

It is strange to read a book in which the sympathetic characters are the secondary ones. The two main protagonists’ selfish actions make it hard if not impossible for the reader to like them. They are, because of their characters and actions, fascinating to read about though.

This would make a great book for a reading group discussion since it brings some interesting questions to mind.

Does a life-time lived without passion really constitute a life? Or, how much are we willing to excuse or explain away because of trauma early in life? How would I react or behave if I were any of the characters in this story? I could go on.

If I were absolutely honest I should probably mark this book five stars. It is very well written, a compulsive read and thought-provoking. The reason I can’t quite get myself to do so is completely personal; the book made me uncomfortable while I was reading it and still has me feeling that discomfort now that I’m writing about it. I would call this an ugly story very beautifully told.