WISH LIST

TITLE: WISH LIST

AUTHOR: SYLVIA DAY

Pages: 40

Date: 16/12/2012

Grade: 4

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Nicholas James has had a thing for his colleague Stephanie Martin for months now. She’s hot, smart and interesting and by the looks of it completely uninterested in him. When he finds a discarded note which turns out to be Stephanie’s wish list he discovers that she is far from disinterested in him. Luck turns out to be on his side when he pulls Stephanie’s name in the office Secret Santa draw; this is his opportunity to make Stephanie’s secret wishes come true while he gets closer to her.

When Stephanie opens the present from her Secret Santa during the office party she immediately knows who gave it to her and that he must have seen the wish list she wrote one day during a boring meeting. And although she can’t deny that Nick is a very attractive man she also knows that he is a player who doesn’t do serious relationships which means that he is no good for her. She’s been there, has done that and has no intention of going back there. But, one steamy encounter with her Secret Santa later she agrees to give him the opportunity to make all her secret wishes come true. For Nick this means that he has a short time to prove to Stephanie that he is serious about her and take away her doubts. Stephanie on the other hand, only sees the deal as a chance to get the sexual tension between them out of the way.

It soon becomes clear that Stephanie may have to deal with emotions she wasn’t expecting while Nick may have go further than he thought in order to convince this woman that he is serious.

This was a charming short love story. Sylvia Day managed to put a lot of story and character development in only forty pages. The reader gets a real impression of the two characters and what drives them without the story being hijacked by long descriptions. In fact, at least fifty percent of the story is about the intimacy between Nick and Stephanie which is hot and sensual as well as beautiful and touching. And while it is of course completely unrealistic that a woman like Stephanie would get over all her reservations concerning a man like Nick over the course of about four days, it does make for a wonderful, feel good Christmas story. After all, if miracles can’t happen during the Christmas period when can we hope for them?

A charming, uplifting and steamy Christmas love story for anyone looking for about an hour’s worth of romantic and sexy bliss.

BONDS OF TRUST

TITLE: BONDS OF TRUST

AUTHOR: LYNDA AICHER

Pages: 280

Date: 16/12/2012

Grade: 4

Details: no. 1 Wicked Play

              Received from Carina Press

              Through NetGalley

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Cali Reynolds marriage lasted for twenty-two years. Twenty-two years without passion and without sexual fulfilment. Years during which her now ex-husband managed to make her feel that their failure to connect in the bedroom was her fault. Twenty-two years during which she has grown to doubt her every desire. Now that the marriage is over and Cali has spent some time living alone she is at last ready to face those desires, to find out if what she thinks she wants really is what she needs. Deep down inside she has always wanted someone to dominate her in the bedroom and on this night she is going to find out if what she has dreamt of is indeed everything she has imagined it would be. She is going to The Den, a BDSM club, during a night for new-comers to submit herself to a Master and learn the truth.

Jake McCallister has been a Master at the Den for almost five years. When he is asked to have a look at one of the novices that evening he can’t help thinking that the 44 year old he is looking at might be at his club for all the wrong reasons. But the woman, Cali, makes him curious as well. So instead of handing her over to one of the other Doms for her introduction to the life-style he decides to do the job himself only to discover that Cali is perfect. She may be new to this experience but every move she makes, every reaction of her body indicates that she was made to be a submissive. And before the night is over, before Cali flees in a turmoil of confused feelings and emotions, Jake knows that he, who has never wanted to claim a sub, wants to spend more time with her.

From that very first moment it is clear that Cali and Jake were made for each other. Both of them thrive in each others company. The sensations and emotions they experience  while together overwhelm, scare and delight them. The need to be together is strong, but it is quite possible that the forces keeping them apart are even stronger. Between Cali’s shame and Jake’s fear of commitment the obstacles they will have to overcome are almost as big as the love they feel for each other.

This is a love story. Yes, it is a very erotic work of fiction and a lot of the story is of a very sexual nature, but more than anything else this is the story of two people finding their perfect partner; finding that which they thought they could never have. The sex in this story is very descriptive but in a sensual and sensitive way. This author isn’t out to shock her readers, quite the opposite in fact. She shows that love and connections come in various different guises and that finding them depends on finding the right person to share them with.

I really appreciated that the author allowed me to get to know her characters beyond the bed/play-room. While their relationship develops mostly during their “scenes” together, the reader gets real glimpses at who they are and what motivates them through their interactions with the other people around them. This makes both Cali and Jake into fully developed characters whose feelings and actions make sense and who are easy to like and understand.

I was also delighted to read a story about a forty-four year old woman. All too often the women in these erotic romances are young (think twenties up to early thirties), and although there is nothing wrong with that, it makes a wonderful change to read about a woman only a little bit younger than I am for a change. I like the message this conveys; you don’t need to be young to fall into love and/or lust because it is never too late to fully embrace what you are and need. We are never too old to make the changes necessary to live our best lives.

I am looking forward to reading the future books in this series. If this book sets the standard I know I may expect more hours spent in reading bliss.

LAURA

TITLE: LAURA
AUTHOR: VERA CASPARY
Pages: 171
Date: 15/12/2012
Grade: 4+
Details: Received from Vintage
              Through Nudge
Own

The body of a young woman is found in the doorway of an elegant New York apartment. The woman’s face has been blown away by a shotgun but since the apartment belongs to Laura Hunt who lived there alone, the body is soon identified as being hers. Mark McPherson, a detective working for the New York Police Department doesn’t usually investigate murders but has been assigned this case anyway. And it isn’t long before he finds himself intrigued by the woman who was Laura Hunt; an independent career woman in an age in which those were rare and not quite accepted yet; a woman who was proud of her ability to look after herself but still wanted and needed that big love in her life.  And the men closest to Laura are fascinating McPherson too. The vaguely familiar fiance the detective can’t quite place and the suave and self-obsessed friend, Waldo Lydecker who seems as eager to praise the dead girl to the heavens as he is to show up her limitations. Laura was a woman who inspired passions in those who knew her and much to his amazement, McPherson finds himself falling for the deceased woman he has never met while alive. When he returns to Laura’s apartment one stormy night, McPherson makes a shocking discovery; one that will turn his case on its head and cause new suspicions to arise as well as new threats to emerge.

This was a fascinating mystery, quite unlike anything I’ve read in the recent past. Originally published in 1943 this book is probably very much a product of its time and in many ways it is a classic mystery; a gruesome murder described in little detail with a limited cast of suspects. One of the things that makes this book extra-ordinary is that the book is narrated by three different characters in turn and in several different formats. With that many narrators there is always the risk of giving away too much information, of the solution to the mystery becoming obvious long before the end of the story. It is due to the cleverness of the author that this wasn’t the case in this book. Although I did zoom into the guilty party fairly early on in the book that had nothing to do with what that particular character said or wrote; it was pure instinct. Giving several characters the opportunity to write or tell their story in their own words does require some suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader though. If you had committed a murder and were writing about that and subsequent events you would mention the fact that you had committed the murder. After all, your papers or journal would be private to you so there would be no reason to be secretive. Of course no such revelations are to be found in the papers our investigator has at his disposal, which, while it does mean the mystery stays unresolved until the very end, does make the story less realistic.

On the other hand, the author has to be applauded for the way in which she manages to give the various characters in this story their own, unique voice. Laura sounds nothing like the McPherson and nobody could ever sound like Waldo Lydecker. Another thing Mrs. Capari did very well was convey the atmosphere and environment in which the story takes place without indulging in lengthy descriptions. The hints the reader gets about the characters and their surroundings are subtle, clever and very revealing. They paint a vivid picture of the true natures of the characaters and of the world they inhabit.

I would call this a literary mystery. This book is as much about the writing, about style and about the quirks of people as it is about the mystery of who killed the beautiful young woman. It is also a book with a sense of humour; Waldo Lydecker, who narrates the first part of the book, doesn’t like mysteries yet is writing about the murder of his friend, Laura, with a certain amount of glee.

Despite the book only having 171 pages this is not a quick read. The writing requires attention and concentration from the reader and I found myself taking short periods of time out of my reading in order to visualize something which had just been described.

I would call this a clever and literary mystery. A good book for anyone who enjoys beautiful writing with their bloodshed.

THE BLACK BOX

TITLE: THE BLACK BOX

AUTHOR: MICHAEL CONNELLY

Pages: 403

Date: 12/12/2012

Grade: 5

Details: no. 18 Harry Bosch

Library

“He believed that every case had a black box. A piece of evidence, a person, a positioning of facts that brought a certain understanding and helped explain what had happened and why.”

In 1992, during the days that followed the acquittal of the police officers who had savagely beaten Rodney King, all hell broke loose in Los Angeles; rioting, looting and random violence where the order of the day. And while most of the police force was busy trying to stop the riots and regain control of the city, Harry Bosch and his partner were being driven from murder victim to murder victim in order to get as many details and evidence as they could before the bodies were removed and the investigation postponed to a later date. One of those bodies belonged to a young Danish journalist, killed execution style. And although Harry retrieved a bullet casing from the scene the case never even came close to being solved. Now, twenty years later, Bosch has reopened the case in the hope of at last getting justice for the young woman who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. With new ballistic evidence available to him, it looks as if Bosch has a real chance of getting answers for the journalist’s family. But as the evidence piles up and Bosch discovers more about the journalist and why she was in L.A. at the time, his investigation takes an unexpected and terrifying turn.

Of course this wouldn’t be a Harry Bosch story if he didn’t find himself at odds with his superiors. His quest for justice always seems to conflict with their administrative and political objectives. And, although most of this book deals with the old murder and the present day investigations, we also get glimpses of Bosch’ private life; his, at times difficult, relationship with Hannah and his struggles with being a parent to a teenage daughter. And as far as the parenting is concerned, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for our hero at times. While it is true that he came to his daughter and parenting very late, I wish somebody would let him know that dealing with a teenager is always fraught with emotional ups and downs, regardless of how good a parent someone is.

Anybody who has been reading my reviews regularly will know that I’m a huge fan of Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch and have been since I first discovered them in 2003. The mysteries in these books are always well plotted and fascinating to read. I love that Harry Bosch is all police officer and always on a quest for the truth, and I adore his determination to get justice for the victims even if it means breaking the rules or putting his own life on the line. While I don’t quite believe that any police officer in the real world would get away with Harry’s breaches of the rules, they do add an extra dimension to the story and greatly increase the tension.

My only worry about this series of books is that it must be nearing its end. With Harry getting ever closer to forced retirement I dread the day when he will be forced to say goodbye to the job he is so good at. I’m sure there are at least a few more books to come before that day arrives, but still; my reading year wouldn’t be the same without an encounter with one of my favourite crime characters. Of course, if Harry’s daughter indeed does decide to follow in her father’s footsteps there are opportunities there for a whole new series of books but still…

Overall I would call this a very well written, exquisitely plotted and unputdownable mystery-thriller. A must read for anyone who enjoys this genre.

On a final note, I love it when one great author name-checks a book by another great author, as Michael Connelly does in The Black Box when he has Harry’s daughter Maddy reading “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green for a school assignment.

DOUBLE TIME

TITLE: DOUBLE TIME

AUTHOR: OLIVIA CUNNING

Pages: 416

Date: 10/12/2012

Grade: 4-

Details: no. 3 Sinners on Tour

              Received from Source Books

             Through NetGalley

Own/Kindle

Trey Mills is in turmoil. Having loved his fellow Sinner, Brian for twelve years, even if his love has gone unanswered, he has finally reached the realisation that Brian doesn’t, and never will, feel the same. Not only is Brian happily married, he is now also the father of a baby boy and totally wrapped up in family life; a part of Brian’s life in which Trey will never have a place. So Trey decides to put both Brian and his wild ways behind him.

When Trey hears Reagan Elliot audition for the position of replacement guitarist in his brother’s band he is initially convinced he is listening to Brian playing the guitar. When he subsequently lays eyes on the girl the attraction is instant, and not just for him. When Reagan joins the Sinners for the last leg of their tour, she and Trey get ever closer. But Trey is holding a part of himself back. Afraid to lose the first person he has felt connected to in years he hides his bisexual tendencies, convinced she will run a mile as soon as she finds out. But holding a part of himself back is costing Trey and things get even more complicated when he meets Ethan, Reagan’s friend and roommate. It is instantly clear that not only does Ethan love Reagan; he is also, like Trey, bisexual. And Ethan is about to join Reagan and Trey on their tour, as Reagan’s bodyguard. When Reagan at last discovers Trey’s secret she surprises both men in her life with the solution she comes up with. And although having a three-way relationship comes with a host of very exciting and pleasurable experiences, there will also be a few kinks to work through for our trio before they can fully acknowledge the depths of their feelings for each other.

Very early on in this book I found myself having an issue with the story-line. The way in which Trey seemed to fall for Reagan because her guitar playing sounded so much like Brian’s felt both too easy and a bit creepy. This worry faded into the background though as I got swept up in the story of and the heat between the two characters. It didn’t take me long to accept that Trey’s feelings for Reagan were all about her and not about the man he couldn’t have and from that point on I could just sit back and enjoy the story.

Having said that, “too easy” seems to apply to a lot of this story. The way Trey and Reagan fell for each other seemed too easy, as did the way Ethan fell for Trey and the way in which the relationship between the three of them just seemed to work almost from the very first moment. Don’t get me wrong, I love a story in which love finds a way and I dislike books in which dramas seem to be created just to bring some tension into the narrative. But still, it all ran a bit too smoothly for me in this book. Not that it interfered with my reading enjoyment or made me reluctant to continue reading, it just left me feeling that it would be nice if life and love were indeed that easy.

There is a bit of a stalker side-story in this book that brought some of the tension that was missing from the love triangle. It didn’t take main stage in this book but kept the reader guessing until the very end which is something I always like.

Living with a singer-song writer daughter and sound-technician husband, the whole music business side of the story was fascinating for me. Not so much because I have a thing about hot rockers –although I have to say the rockers in this book are very hot – but because I could relate to some of it.

As far as the writing is concerned, this is an easy to read book. The characters are all described in such a way that the reader gets to care for them, the dialogue sparkles and is quite funny at times and the sex scenes are very steamy. And while I’m on the topic of the sex scenes, this book is probably not for those with a prudish mind. The action is described in full detail between all characters be it male-female, male-male or male-female-male. If you don’t enjoy reading that sort of thing, do yourself a favour and stay away from this book.

In short this was a hot and fascinating read; part of a series I will now have to go and read the other books in.

WICKED BUSINESS

TITLE: WICKED BUSINESS

AUTHOR: JANET EVANOVICH

Pages: 341

Date: 09/12/2012

Grade: 4-

Details: no. 2 Lizzy & Diesel

              Received from Headline Review

              Through Nudge

Own

Lizzy Tucker is a pastry chef who up until recently thought of herself as perfectly normal. That was before she met Diesel though. Diesel is not quite human although he looks just like a gorgeous, even hot, man. Diesel, no other names, has revealed to Lizzy that she has the gift to detect special powers in objects. It is a power Diesel doesn’t have (although he does have plenty other ones) and one he needs in his quest to stop the world from descending into hell. When the story starts a Harvard English professor has plunged to death from his balcony. And because Diesel is convinced this death has something to do with his quest, he and Lizzy visit the scene and, thanks to Diesel’s monkey, Carl, recover a small key. A key that holds a clue to the whereabouts of a Saligia Stone, one of seven stones which, when brought together, will mean the end of the world. This particular stone is connected to both true love and lust and it is up to Diesel and Lizzy to find it before others do. Because there are others who want this and the other stones for their own, evil, purposes. First of all there is Diesel’s cousin Wulf and his scary assistant Hatchet. But there is also another adversary, known only by the name Anarchy who is determined to get her hands on the stone regardless of the costs involved. A mad-cap hunt from clue to clue, from impossible situation to even more impossible situation follows. Assisted by Diesel’s monkey, Lizzy’s friend Glo, who may or may not be a witch, and her unflappable employer Clara, the unlikely duo sets out to find the stone, save the world while trying to keep their hands off each other. Because giving in to the attraction between them would put a stop to everything.

Confused? That doesn’t surprise me. But, you are just going to have to take my word for it when I say that the story makes a lot more sense when you are actually reading it. At the same time, this is not a serious story. In fact, this is a “suspend your disbelief” sort of read on many levels. Of course there is the fantasy element of the seven stones that need to be saved, and the special powers Lizzy, Wulf, Diesel and several other characters have. But even “normal” elements in this story are far from that. People don’t have as casual a reaction to being threatened or hurt as the characters in this story do. But, that is all part of the fantasy Janet Evanovich has created for her readers, and for some reason it all makes a weird sort of sense while you’re in the middle of the story.

Of course, Janet Evanovich, best known for her Stephanie Plum books, has a talent for creating quirky, loveable and entertaining characters. She knows how to put them in impossible situations and get them out again, against the odds. The dialogue between the characters is funny and sparkles, regularly puts a smile on the reader’s  face and even brings the occasional laugh out loud moment. The story is fast-paced without a single boring moment and very easy to read.

This is the second book in a series, and although I didn’t read the first one, I can’t say that caused me any problems. Everything the reader really needs to know is explained without taking the flow out of the story. It is quite possible that I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read the prequel, but I never felt as if I was missing out on vital information.

In short, this is a fun read, not to be taken (too) seriously. Fast-paced and light-hearted this is the perfect book for a rainy weekend or any other time you need some light relief.

DELUSION IN DEATH

TITLE: DELUSION IN DEATH

AUTHOR: J.D. ROBB

Pages: 388

Date: 06/12/2012

Grade: 5

Details: no. 35 Eve Dallas

Library

Picture the scene: Early evening. A busy day in work is over and you’re enjoying happy hour with friends. The blind date between your best friend and your boyfriend’s best friend is working out just fine; it is a good evening. And then you start snapping at your friend, at strangers and finally at your boyfriend. You pick up a fork and stick it in your boyfriend’s eye… and then all hell breaks lose.

When Eve Dallas arrives on the scene there are 80 dead bodies and about 10 survivors have been taken to hospital. This is a sight that shocks even our stoic lieutenant, who thought that by now she had seen it all. What could have caused a bar full of people to start attacking each other until most of them were dead? When the cause of the killing proves to be an airborne cocktail of drugs, leading to horrific hallucinations and violence, the question becomes whether the investigators are dealing with terrorism or a personal vendetta.  But, for the moment at least, Eve is treating it as “just” another murder case. Assisted by her usual team and her husband Roarke, who happens to own the bar, Eve investigates the big businesses in the area and those who work there. It isn’t long before a link to the Urban Wars and biological warfare is discovered and Eve finds herself accepting help from unexpected sources in order to uncover a ruthless killer who doesn’t think twice about using excessive means to achieve personal revenge.

When I finished this book I found myself wondering about the contrast between Nora Roberts’ romances and these mysteries she writes as J.D. Robb. How did the woman who writes romances that, without fail, cheer me up end up imagining crimes as deprived as the one described in this book? How does anyone come up with a scenario like this one? I have absolutely no idea, but I will say that it made for a chilling and totally engrossing thriller. Chilling, mainly because it was made quite plausible that somebody could be deprived enough to go to these lengths to achieve a personal goal.  Chilling also because chemical mixtures such as these could already exist in reality. The idea behind this mystery turned this story into one that was almost impossible to put down. Not that any of J.D. Robb’s previous books have been slow reads for me, but this story seemed to take the level of tension up a few notches.

Of course, all the regular elements that make me love this series so much were very much present in this book too. The interaction between Eve and the world around her; the relationship between Roarke and his at times stubborn wife; the fascinating picture of life in the near future and the way in which Eve continues to grow and get better at dealing with her friends and even her enemies.

Even after more than thirty books in this series, I still find myself eagerly awaiting each new instalment. Very often when I read a long series of books featuring the same characters I find myself getting bored. Not in this case though. These books continue to grip and excite me. Part of the reason for this addiction is the way in which the author writes. She always manages to portray her characters and the world they inhabit in such a way that they become real for me. I care about Eve and Roarke and all the other characters and view every new book as an opportunity to catch up with old friends who never let me down.  It is very comforting to know that 2013 will be bringing me two more encounters with these characters and the fascinating world they live in.