Have gone a little crazy with books this last couple of months, sometimes the mood takes me and I have to have, must, need, want ...

Anyway once things are settled here I'll sit down and read, lots, and possibly review, some... For some reason I seem to have bought a lot of children's fiction, some I remember from my childhood and then the new stuff too.  The difference in style of writing over the years is pretty amazing.

List of some of the children's books I'll be reading around Christmas time anyway: Angie Sage's Septiumus Heap series (5 books), Cornelia Funke's Ink series (3 books), Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant series (3 books), Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series (3 books), Jenny Nimmo's The Snow Spider trilogy, Brian Jacques' Redwall series (first 2 books) and Mary Stewart's The Little Broomstick, Ludo and the Star Horse and A Walk in Wolf Wood.

As for the adult stuff, some non fiction as well.  Waiting for Hitler by Midge Gillies, Fred Dibnah's Age of Steam, John Peel A Life in Music by Michael Heatley, Dear Fatty by Dawn French, That's Another Story by Julie Walters and The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale.  Not going to list the adult fiction I'd be here all night.

That's all for now, really must buy some book shelves.

ISBN: 978-0749936457

Publisher: Piatkus Books

Copyright: © 2004 by MaryJanice Davidson Alongi

Genre: Paranormal, Chick-Lit, Comedy

288 Pages, Paperback

There are bad days and then there are BAD DAYS! Betsy Taylor probably had the worst bad day ever. Her birthday, she's late for work then she loses her job, on returning home she finds a phone message from her step-monster (mother), and then she's knocked down by a car when she goes to save her cat. Next thing she knows she wakes up in a hideous pink suit and terrible shoes with orange make up on her face, and to make matters worse she's lying in a coffin.

This book was a pleasure to read, it tells the tale of Betsy who dies and comes back as a vampire, she has problems with drinking blood, and most things that harm other vamps don't seem to have any effect on her. Betsy is a sassy, 6 feet tall, blond haired ex-model, who loves a good cat fight and really does not like to be told what to do.

It appears that she is the long foretold Queen of the undead, but Betsy really does not want to be, not that the other Vampires intend to let her live her death in peace. The problem is though, she has a very deep well of tenderness that means she cannot turn her back, and unlimited access to the latest designer shoe collection helps too.

I found myself laughing out loud as I was reading and I definitely intend to read the other books in this series. A very easy read with a steamy sex scene or two, marvellous dialogue, well drawn characters and a chuckle factor that is off the scale.

ISBN: 0330432737

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Ltd

Copyright: © Helen Fielding 2003

Illustrations copyright © Mick Brownfield 2003

Genre: Chick Lit, Humour, Adventure

344 Pages, Hardcover

I don't normally do this, but here is an excerpt from the cover of the book.

From the white heat of Miami to the implants of LA, the glittering waters of the Caribbean to the deserts of Arabia, Olivia Joules pits herself against the forces of terror, armed with a hatpin, razor-sharp wits and a very special underwired bra.

Olivia Joules is a reporter who believes she is destined for more exciting things than covering the latest fashion show or beauty event. Unfortunately she reads more into situations than is called for and ends up as something of a joke. Then one day her imagination runs away with her and saves her life, only to lead her into a far more dangerous series of events.

She travels ostensibly for a beauty story to Miami, LA, the Caribbean and Egypt, following the story but also following someone she believes is a terrorist. Dealing with guns, sharks, people trying to kill her and of course people not believing a word she says. The imaginative way she deals with bugging devices brings a smile to my lips every time I think of it.

I can't compare this story to Bridget Jones having never read the book or watched the film, but the humour appealed to me so much. The snappy dialogue and the flights of fancy all screamed aloud that Helen Fielding somehow "knew me", and so with that connection came probably the easiest read I've had in years.

It's never going to shake the world, it won't change long held opinions, but it made me laugh a lot, hopefully if you decide to read this story it will brighten your day too.

ISBN: 0751537284

Publisher: Times Warner Book Group UK

Copyright © Elizabeth Kostova 2005

720 Pages, Paperback

Genre: Supernatural, Mystery, Literary Fiction

"My dear and unfortunate successor" those words, found by our narrator, at the beginning of a letter belonging to her father, open the door to a supernatural history connected by a series of books, pages blank apart from a woodcut print of a dragon and the word Drakulya. A tale of monsters, murder, fear and above all curiosity.

The Historian is a retelling of the tale of Dracula through a series of letters, documents and memories discovered by the narrator, a young girl, in 1972, her father and mother in 1954 and her father's mentor in 1930. It travels mainly through libraries, universities and churches of Western and Communist Europe, and touches America and England though it spans not just four decades but centuries.

As with any tale of vampires there are deaths and mysteries though these become almost secondary to the main theme of the driving need to find Vlad Tepes' tomb and the whereabouts of certain missing characters.

I enjoyed this book though would have enjoyed it more if it had been shorter, unfortunately it did go on a bit and I found myself sighing when I had to read through another verbose passage of description.

It also ends on a question, a sure sign to me that the story is not yet over. I'm not quite certain that I would read a sequel, to be honest I'm not sure how much more could be written about Dracula's history.

So in summary an enjoyable story, well researched, but unfortunately overlong.

ISBN: 978-1-60693-005-2

Publisher: Eloquent Books

Copyright: © 2008 Bernard J. Rossi

Author’s Website: Bernard J. Rossi

242 Pages, Ebook

Genre: Supernatural, Thriller, Crime

The story unfolds in Cairns, Australia; a tale of love, grief, violence and death, but throughout the words spoken by the narrator at the start, "Jack never meant to hurt anyone", should be kept at the forefront of your mind.

And while the grisly work of a murder evolves upon the beaches and the efforts of the police trying to solve the case persist among the tourists, hotels and town; the mind is the place that holds many more clues and a bigger chance of apprehending the criminal. That is - Jack’s mind.

Jack Firebrace has a strong will, so much so that he is able to control most aspects of his life, and influence the people around him without their being aware of it. He helps people by using a benevolent form of mind control. But perhaps this time his interference has set a train of events in motion that he did not anticipate, because people are dying in Cairns.

When I started this book I wasn’t sure where it was headed and it took me a while to settle down and give my attention fully. Once I had though I was gripped by the characters and relationships that unfolded.

The main story is a set of serial murders and the solving of the crimes but there are many other sub-plots woven in and around this main theme and all seasoned with a touch of the supernatural.

Although I think that the novel sometimes gets a little bogged down in places, in the end Rossi adeptly juggles the numerous stories and then catches them one by one and lays them out to form a complete tale, albeit one that does not quite finish, in this book at any rate.

I enjoyed my trip to Cairns, though I’m thankful I was only a spectator to the events.

ISBN: 0 330 37625 X

Publisher: Pan Books an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Website: www.panmacmillan.com

Copyright © James Herbert 1986

393 Pages, Paperback

I was expecting a horror story, as James Herbert is pretty famous for those, but I didn’t really get one with this book. I wasn’t disappointed though I just had to switch my expectations to another track.

Mike Stringer, the narrator of this tale, and his partner Midge (Margaret) Gudgeon relocate from busy London to the countryside, close to the New Forest. Their new home is Gramarye, a run down cottage set in woodland and close to the village of Cantrip. Odd though it may seem when they eventually move in, but the cottage wasn’t in such disrepair as they first thought, and the woodland animals are all so very friendly, almost tame.

Life is good, but there are bad times coming. The people from the Synergist Temple begin to call. The vicar from Cantrip comes with dire warnings. And just who exactly is that dark figure who keeps watching the house?

This was an enjoyable and easy read for me. Having read most of James Herbert’s books old and new I wasn’t surprised that the story greeted me like an old friend. Characters were funny and real, even the ones that weren’t human.

The story runs along and takes you with it, there are twists and turns but you can usually see them coming so they don’t come as any great surprise. An easy read but not one to stay in the mind after it’s finished and put back on the book shelf.

ISBN: 978-0-7528-8167-6

Publisher: Orion Books Ltd

Website: www.orionbooks.co.uk

Copyright © Diane Setterfield 2006

456 Pages, Paperback

I started reading and immediately liked Margaret Lea the narrator. There was something in her quiet manner that reached out through the pages of the book, took my hand and gently lead me through the history of Angelfield House and the story of Vida Winter.

Vida is an author coming to the end of her life and wishes to have her biography written. She wants to “tell the truth” as she puts it. Margaret is her biographer. As the tale unfolds you are drawn into the dark places and secrets of Vida’s childhood and consequent to those revelations, you are entrusted with Margaret’s own secrets and fears.

The prose was magical to me, quite beautiful, and put me in mind of a modern day Jane Austen. Descriptions and characters were so well written that I can still see them now.

My opinion - A ghost story. A mystery. A love story. Whatever you choose to call it, this was a book that was recommended to me by quite a few people, well they were all dead right. A great story and a wonderful experience.

ISBN: 0 14 00 1440 3

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Website: www.penguin.co.uk

Copyright © The Estate of John Wyndham 1957

220 Pages, Paperback

This science fiction story takes place in a quiet, sleepy, very English village. For 24 hours the village is isolated, no one can enter if they try they immediately become unconscious. After 24 hours everything returns to normal… for a while at least. That period is referred to as the “Dayout”. Life continues as normal until the women, all the women, discover they have a condition that for most of them is incomprehensible.

The story moves along quite gently, much at the pace of Midwich itself I would imagine, with much debate and philosophising on evolution, invasion, survival and general differences between male and female opinion and emotion. But inexorably the pace increases as the situation becomes intolerable. Leading finally to a shocking but inevitable conclusion.

This is one of my favourite Wyndham novels.

ISBN: 0 00 615804 8

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers

Website: www.harpercollins.co.uk

Copyright © Devoran Trustees Ltd 1967

343 Pages, Paperback

A group of allied soldiers are dropped by parachute into Germany in order to find a way inside Schloss Adler (the castle of the eagle), the combined headquarters of the German Secret Service and the Gestapo. They have to rescue Lieutenant General Carnaby, an American general who is the overall co-ordinator for Operation Overlord, the Second Front, before he talks.

Someone though is sabotaging their efforts; can a member of the six British and one American Special Forces team be a traitor? The commanding officer, Smith, has brought a woman with him too, a fact unknown to the other team members. Added to that are the problems of the elite Alpenkorps being stationed at the foot of the mountain and the Castle, built on the side of the mountain, being only accessible by cable car.

This book was an extremely enjoyable read, with the twists and turns and plot loops, focussing on one then another as the guilty party. With the finale as exciting and explosive as one could wish for.

Although I already knew the story from watching the movie countless times (staring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood), it was definitely well worth reading the original, especially for the ironic wit of Schaffer and Smith’s exchanges.

All in all, a World War II thriller, action packed and full of suspense, which I have come to expect from MacLean’s writing. I wasn’t disappointed at all.

ISBN: 978 0 7515 4035 2

Publisher: Sphere An Imprint of Little Brown Book Group

Website: www.littlebrown.co.uk

Copyright © Jennifer Lee Carrell 2007

Author Website: www.jenniferleecarrell.com

480 Pages, Paperback

Sometimes the wealth of Shakespeare law is a little overpowering. Though the trick Carrell uses of Kate Stanley knowing virtually all there is to know about the Bard and explaining it in layman’s terms to Ben Pearl, the British security expert, is a good plot continuation. It also explains it all to us as we’re running to keep up with the characters when they jump from country to country and back again, trying to keep one step ahead of a serial killer, the FBI and the British Police.

Unfortunately for me though, the characters are not fleshed out enough, their histories, feelings etc., I wish there had been more background on them to compensate for the in-depth information on Shakespeare. Because of this the book felt a little uneven, though it is still a good read. I would describe it as an exciting whodunit with a Shakespeare lecture thrown in.

I learned a lot about Shakespeare that I wasn’t aware of and a little about the old west and how popular Shakespeare was in the mining camps and western towns; definitely something that I’d like to find out more about.