The Librain……retired

I read two books this week; one was really enjoyable and the other, well… read on to find out my verdict!

All By Myself, Alone by Mary Higgins Clark

My first book of the week was All By Myself, Alone by Mary Higgins Clark. Here is the blurb:

Fleeing a disastrous and humiliating arrest of her husband-to-be on the eve of their wedding, Celia Kilbride, a gems and jewelry expert, hopes to escape from public attention by lecturing on a brand-new cruise ship—the Queen Charlotte.

On board she meets eighty-six-year-old Lady Emily Haywood, “Lady Em,” as she is known throughout the world. Immensely wealthy, Lady Em is the owner of a priceless emerald necklace that she intends to leave to the Smithsonian after the cruise.

Three days out to sea Lady Em is found dead—and the necklace is missing. Is it the work of her apparently devoted assistant, Brenda Martin, or her lawyer-executor, Roger Pearson, and his wife, Yvonne, both of whom she had invited to join them on the cruise? Or is it Professor Henry Longworth, an acclaimed Shakespeare scholar who is lecturing on board? Or Alan Davidson, a guest on the ship who is planning to spread his wife’s ashes at sea? The list of suspects is large and growing.

Celia, with the help of her new friends Willy and Alvirah Meehan, who are celebrating their forty-fifth wedding anniversary, sets out to find the killer, not realizing that she has put herself in mortal danger before the ship reaches its final destination.

I decided to read something light and easy, which sounds an odd description of a murder-mystery! My review on Goodreads may shed some light:

Well, I have classified this as a mystery as I thought that the author probably intended it to be, but I guessed the “baddie” after a few pages! The only reason I bothered to finish this book was because it was light reading and I wasn’t well. This is simply a very badly written book, full of stereotypes and lazy plotting. My recommendation is: don’t bother.

Yes, I only gave this book one star!

The Painted Man by Peter V Brett

My second read of the week was much more successful. This is the blurb for Peter V Brett’s The Painted Man, #01 in his Demon Cycle series:

As darkness falls after sunset, the corelings rise—demons who possess supernatural powers and burn with a consuming hatred of humanity. For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards—symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile. It was not always this way. Once, men and women battled the corelings on equal terms, but those days are gone. Night by night the demons grow stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault. Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the past. Together, they will stand against the night.

Oh, I really enjoy a rollicking read like this one! I gave it four stars and wrote the following review:

I really love the kind of book which immerses the reader so far into a fantasy world that the real world fades into the background. This is just that kind of book, for me. The kind of book where you simply shed any disbelief and join in the adventure.

The tale follows three main characters as they grow up and develop into young adults along the way. Fearsome demons visit their world at night, causing terror, mayhem and death to the people, who fight or cower away according to their strength of character. The world building in this book is excellent and many of the secondary characters are well drawn too. There are some plot holes and logic flaws, but I enjoyed engaging in the story.

Since I finished the book, I have put in several requests at the library for the rest of the series. The next book is already awaiting collection 😀.

The rest of the books in my to-read pile seem to be very thick, for some reason. Years ago, my parents used to choose books for me according to their thickness as I read so fast, even as a child. Anyway, my next read will be Echo City by Tim Lebbon and I will give you my verdict next week.

Happy Reading to you all!

Best wishes,

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Ooh! I have just noticed that I have now clocked up 100 books in 2018, according to Goodreads 📖📚📖📚📖!  This week, I have read two very different books. Both were very enjoyable, so I count that as a reading success.

Green Rider by Kristen Britain

The first was Green Rider by Kristen Britain, #01 in her Green Rider series. Here is the blurb:

On her long journey home from school after a fight which will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G’ladheon ponders her future as she trudges through the immense forest called Green Cloak. But her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves as a galloping horse bursts from the woods, the rider slumped over his mount’s neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan that he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king, and that he bears a “life and death” message for King Zachary. He begs Karigan to carry his message, warning her not to read it, and when she reluctantly agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission “for love of country.” As he bestows upon her the golden winged-horse brooch which is the symbol of his office, he whispers on his dying breath, “Beware the shadow man…”

Karigan’s promise changes her life forever. Pursued by unknown assassins, following a path only her horse seems to know, and accompanied by the silent specter of the original messenger, she herself becomes a legendary Green Rider. Caught up in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination.

Oh, I love a bit of fantasy adventure! This is what I wrote on the Goodreads site (I gave the book three stars):

An enjoyable, if rather derivative, fantasy adventure. I enjoyed the characters, particularly the development of the central female. The plot was also exciting enough with plenty going on to keep me hooked. There were some shortfalls, however, which prevented me from giving this four stars. Some of the writing was odd – you can tell that this is a first book. For example, some of the vocabulary and grammatical construction grated on me. Also the derivative nature of the main storyline and some characters – I felt that a lot of this has been done already and done better!

Nevertheless, it was a good read and, if my local library has the rest of the series, I will definitely read another one.

After I wrote this review, I found out to my annoyance that the library does have a lot of the series, but not book #02! As they appear to be old copies, I think that the set was probably donated some time ago and the staff may be reluctant to purchase a new copy to fill in the gap. I will have to think about buying it myself.

The Blue Death by Joan Brady

My second read of the week was a complete change: Joan Brady’s The Blue Death. Here is the blurb:

For generations the Freyls have ruled Springfield, Illinois, capital of a state of great lakes and rivers. Now convicted killer David Marion threatens their invincibility, and he threatens it from within their own ranks.

Water: it’s blue gold, and the price on world markets is soaring. When Springfield gets a new mayor, it finds its supply under threat, not only from corporations out for the money but from a disease that appears from nowhere, that nobody can identify and nobody can treat.

None of this interests David Marion until his own past surfaces and he finds himself caught between multinational leviathans at war over America’s heartland.

I gave this book four stars as I really enjoyed reading it. This is my review:

This was a really interesting read. It quickly became clear that these characters had been in previous books, but I don’t think that this detracted much from my enjoyment of this book. Politics and the machinations of the rich and powerful battling for supremacy with international corporations were the central themes. Many of the characters were intriguing, if not very likeable, some were dangerous and highly unpleasant. The author has a slightly quirky style of writing with a dose of very black humour, which I found very entertaining. The whole book was a very good read, even if it left a rather bleak aftertaste. I will definitely look for more by this author.

In fact, when I have finished writing this post I will seek out more by Joan Brady on our local library online catalogue.

Right, so that’s all for this week. I will now read through the blurbs of the other books on my pile and decide which one to tackle next. I have six to choose from 😍😍😍.

Happy Reading to you all!

Best wishes,

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