The Five Fakirs of Faizabad (Children of the Lamp, #6) by P. B. Kerr‏

Description:

John and Philippa Gaunt are quickly drawn into yet another mystery when the world's luck tips wildly out of balance. The key to the world's fate lies with five fakirs who were buried alive, each of whom guards a secret that can answer a great question of the universe (Goodreads). 

My Thoughts:

Book six, The Five Fakirs of Faizabad, of Children of the Lamp series takes us yet on another adventure. This time book takes us to Bumby, a small town in England. Then to Pompeii, Italy. Then onto Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. And our final destination Tibet. I said this before, one of the reason that I love this series is because of all the adventures take place in different country, China, India, Italy and so on. Each book takes you on a different journey, but also give you some background history to the place. 

In this book, John, Philippa, Nimrod, Groanin are all separated on their journey, they are pursuing different path but toward the same purpose. I really enjoyed the storyline in this book, it has some very interesting premises to it. Also writing was excellent, it flows very nicely, author knows how to play with words. But on the other hand this was straight forward and easy read. One other thing that I like about this series is humour, I find myself laughing all the time when I am reading this series. Six books in and I am not bored of the series, this is a bonus. I do not want to tell you much about the story line because I do not want to ruin the story for you. You but John, Philippa, Nimrod, Groanin and few other characters are yet again trying to save the world. This time luck has sifted and it appears that there is unusual amount of bad luck going around. Also they have to find and protect the five fakirs from the evil Djinn. Five fakirs are ancient and each one of them holds the secret knowledge of the world.

In this book we meet some new characters, Moo and jinx, also bigfoot makes an appearance. I loved Groanin in this book; some of the story was told from his POV which was very humorous. Groanin is a very entertaining character, even though he can be dumb sometimes but it endearing dumb and not annoying dumb. I loved the scene between him and the big bear. I have to say that book five is my favourite book so far, it appeals to me as a reader the most. But I am sad to say that there is only one book left in this series. I have already checked out book six, The Grave Robbers Of Genghis Khan, from my local library and can not wait to read it.

Overall this was an excellent read and I loved every minute of it. This book shows us how much Philippa and John have grown and how they are becoming more independent.  I loved how this book ended, there were few suprised at the end but I liked them.  The ending in this book was perhaps more scientific, if you will, then anything else.  I did not expect it, but the author did a good job explaining the workings of physics behind some of the concepts.  There was no cliffhangers, which I liked cause I hate those.  I am said that this series almost over, only one more book in the series left to read and that's it.  I will have to find another great series to read. 

I give this books 5/5 STARS – Happy Reading!!!

Children of the Lamp series:

The Akhenaten Adventure

The Blue Djinn of Babylon

The Cobra King of Kathmandu

The Day of the Djinn Warriors

The Eye Of The Forest

The Five Fakirs of Faizabad

The Grave Robbers Of Genghis Khan

The Shadow Dragons (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica #4) by James A. Owen‏

Description:

The Caretakers and the legendary Don Quixote must save the Archipelago in thefourth book in Owen's Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, in which thefate of both worlds is at stake. Illustrations (Goodreads). 



My Thoughts:

I just finished reading The Shadow Dragons, book 4 in The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica #4 series. I been reading this series for some time and I have to say that I just love it. What I really like about this series it that it has so much imagination, adventures, and lot of fun. 

This story takes yet onto another adventure with our three friends, John, Jack and Charles, plus Rose and Quixote have to save the worlds from shadow king. This book and previous book play with time, a lot. As a reader you have to pay attention as to what is going on, because you might end up with not knowing what the hell is going on. In this book and previous two, if I recall correctly, there was a lot of time travel from one world to another. Several times I was bit confused about the timeline but eventually I got hang of it. I have to give it to MR. Owen he did a good job with time travel. 

Characters were well developed and have grown a lot since book one. I really like John, Jack and Charles, they are such a well constructed characters. I love their friendship, love their kindness, humor, tenacity. I love how they are always ready to help others and how well they take to their responsibilities. I also like that they are not perfect or all knowing but rather in many ways they are ignorant as well. Rose was another character that I like reading about and I hope to see her in the next book. She was such a wonderful character. I also love the fact that she is Mordred’s daughter. 

Overall this was a very good read and can not wait to read book five The Dragon’s Apprentice. What I like most about these books is the sheer number of literary characters mentioned, Poe, Burton, Mary Shelley and many more. I always loved book that have real literary peoples as characters in the story, I do not know what it is. I love how the author uses their works, os some aspects of their works to tell a story. 

I give this books 4/5 STARS – Happy Reading!!!

The Imaginarium Geographica Books:

Here, There Be Dragons

The SDragon earch for the Red

The Indigo King

The Shadow Dragons

The Dragon's Apprentice

The Dragons of Winter – Coming August 28^th, 2012

The First Dragon - Coming 2013

Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan‏

Description:

Kami Glass is in love with someone she's never met—a boy she's talked to in her head since she was born. This has made her an outsider in the sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale, but she has learned ways to turn that to her advantage. Her life seems to be in order, until disturbing events begin to occur. There has been screaming in the woods and the manor overlooking the town has lit up for the first time in 10 years. . . . The Lynburn family, who ruled the town a generation ago and who all left without warning, have returned. Now Kami can see that the town she has known and loved all her life is hiding a multitude of secrets—and a murderer. The key to it all just might be the boy in her head. The boy she thought was imaginary is real, and definitely and deliciously dangerous (Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

I got this book from NetGalley for review; it took me few days to read this book. When I saw this book ion NetGalley it sounded very interesting and good so I thought I give it a try. I have to say that I really did not know what to expect from this book and I have not read any reviews from other bloggers on this book. Book was alright for me, it could have been better but it was not bad. 

I have to say that I found the book bit weird, just the way it was written and how the characters interacted with each other and situation around them. At first I did not know how to take this book, do I like do not like it? I don’t there was something about this book that I find hard to put down into wards. I think that it took me sever chapters to get used to the style of writing that the author is using. Also I found it hard to connect with characters, Kami Glass, Angela, Jared, Ash and Holly. I felt that the characters were too detached from the story, or author trying to make them detached from the story. Also the interaction between Kami and Jared was kind of cold and not very romantic, I thought it was going to be romantic since the description says that Kami is in love with a boy she talks to in her head and has never met before. But when they actually meat they are more strangers and cold toward each other which is not what I expected. Actually it was bit disappointing. Also there was no chemistry between the two or attraction. So I have a hard time seeing them in love. The way this book was written there were no indication that Kami is in love with this boy.

Another thing that bother me about this book is how sudden the POV changes from Kami to Jared. The POV change was to sudden and haw the time I ended up being confused because I would have to reread the paragraph because I was confused as to what was happening. The transition from one POV to next should have been smoother and more defined.

The magic system and how it works was not well explain, that is when we find what the big secret is. Even now that I have I have finished reading the book I am not sure how the magical system works. Personally I think that there was not enough background story on the magical system and Sorry-in-the Vail. 

Overall this was a good story with a lot of potential but the author did not explore that potential to the fullest. I wish that there was more world and magical system build-up, character development. To tell you true Kami was not as an interesting character as I thought she would be. I have to say that I thought she was humorous and loved her sense of adventure and need to investigate mystery. I also liked the fact that author did not make Kami an outcast because she was bit strange. Or being bullied for difference. I will read book two when it comes out, I am interested to see what happens next. I give this book 3/5 STARS – Happy Reading.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver‏

Description:

What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing (Goodreads). 


My Thoughts:

I seen this book around the book stores and blogs, when I saw that my local library had a copy I got it so I can read it. so what do I think of this book? I have to say that I was not crazy about this book, but I did not hate it. Characters were very well developed even though they are not the most lovable characters. Samantha Kingston is a seventeen year old senior in high school, she is very popular but she is mean bitch, like the rest of her friends. I never been big on books about popularity and mean girls. I had a hard time liking Samantha and her friends especially in the first part of the book. In the second part of the book Samantha becomes much more likable but I feel that’s what the author wants me to feel. Here we have a mean girl, a bully who we dislike and then something happens and the mean girl becomes a nice girl. It was hard for me to believe that all of sudden Samantha has a change of heart and start caring how other people feel.

I liked the story line, same day being repeated number of different times and each time gives us different results. But I felt that there was no transition between mean and Bitchy Samantha to nice Samantha. But rather all of sudden Samantha cares about other people’s feeling and starts seeing herself as a mean girl. This made the story less believable for me. I really cannot relate to any of the characters because I have never been bullied or been a bully. Once in high school one girl tried to bully me, but I have a policy - if you mess with me you better watch out because I will mess with you too and ain’t going to be pretty. Needless to say she never said a boo to me again.

I never understood people’s need for popularity and being all that in high school. The way I see it popularity never did anything good for Samantha, she and her friends all have low self-esteem, poor body image, drinking and having sex too early, and abandoning their friends for more popular friends. Rather they just became very destructive towards themselves. I have nothing against popular people but just because you a popular does not equal being mean or a bitch or an asshole.

Overall this was a good read and I liked it, but I did not see what's all the fuss about. It was well written and the story line was interesting enough, I really liked the concept of one day repeating day after day until you get it right. I guess you do not have to love the characters to enjoy a book; I really did not like Samantha and her friends, even when Samantha was starting to reform. To me it felt that she was trying to fix all the wrongs she did because she wants to live and not because it is the right thing to do. I give this book 3/5 STARS – Happy Reading!!!

Other reviewed books by Lauren Oliver:

Delirium (Delirium, # 1)

Northern Lights by Nora Roberts‏

Description:

Lunacy was Nate Burke's last chance. As a Baltimore cop, he'd watched his partner die on the street-and the guilt still haunts him. With nowhere else to go, he accepts the job as Chief of Police in this tiny, remote Alaskan town. Aside from sorting out a run-in between a couple of motor vehicles and a moose, he finds his first weeks on the job are relatively quiet. But just as he wonders whether this has been all a big mistake, an unexpected kiss on New Year's Eve under the brilliant Northern Lights of the Alaska sky lifts his spirit and convinces him to stay just a little longer.

Meg Galloway, born and raised in Lunacy, is used to being alone. She was a young girl when her father disappeared, and she has learned to be independent, flying her small plane, living on the outskirts of town with just her huskies for company. After her New Year's kiss with the Chief of Police, she allows herself to give in to passion-while remaining determined to keep things as simple as possible. But there's something about Nate's sad eyes that gets under her skin and warms her frozen heart.

And now, things in Lunacy are heating up. Years ago, on one of the majestic mountains shadowing the town, a crime occurred that is unsolved to this day-and Nate suspects that a killer still walks the snowy streets. His investigation will unearth the secrets and suspicions that lurk beneath the placid surface, as well as bring out the big-city survival instincts that made him a cop in the first place. And his discovery will threaten the new life-and the new love-that he has finally found for himself (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I got this book from my local library, it’s been a while since I read any Nora Roberts books. The reason I wanted to read this book was because I saw that there was a movie based on this book. So I thoughts to myself I will read the book first and then I am going to watch the movie. I have not seen the movie yet, but I am planning to do so sometime soon. 

Northern Lights was a good read but I have to say that this book was too long. It was around five hundred and seventy five pages, in my opinion it was two hundred pages too long. This story could have been told in 350 pages tops and nothing would have been lost story line wise. I was getting bored towards the end and inpatient, I just wanted it over with. The story line and the setting was very good and I enjoyed reading about Alaska and their winter and spring. It was interesting and I wanted to visit this place and try living there. But then I got over it because I do not like winters and cold. But I do like snow which does not make sense I know. How can you like snow but hate winters and cold? What can I say sometimes I do not make sense!

Nate Burke moves to Lunacy Alaska after his partner gets killed in line of duty, he moves there looking for a new start something that will not remind him of his previous life. I liked Nate, he was a well constructed character, he is smart, attractive, brave, kind, good at his job and does not kiss ass. I do not think that I have read any Nora Roberts book that were written from male POV. Like I said it’s been a while since I read anything by Nora Roberts. Meg Galloway, was also a fun character, I liked how free and independent she is. I like the fact that she does not conform to the stereotypical female role that we usually see in romance books. But rather we have a female who is a bush flyer, knows how to hunt moose and bear and other wild like. She knows how to survive in wilderness of Alaska. I liked the Nate and Meg together, I liked the fact that it was not love at first site, but rather lust at first site. I liked the way their relationship progressed throughout the book. Also I liked Meg’s mother and how their relationship is messed up. I think Meg thinks herself different than her mother but underneath it all they are the same.

The author does a good job with the mystery part of the story, finding of Pat Galloway’s in a cave. The murder of Meg’s father was interesting twist to the story, but I have to say that half way through the storyline becomes boring. It is boring because it is so slow moving. It was boring even with another “suicide” that occurs. It was just to slow moving for my taste and that is why I thought that the book could be 200 pages shorter. 

Overall this was a good read. It was well written and there was a lot of character development, beautiful and interesting setting. Mystery was well done, bit on the long side. I give this book 3/5 STARS – Happy Reading!!!

Time Out by Jill Shalvis

Description:

Sign up for recreational adult programs now!
Class: How to Drive Him Crazy

Instructional program for women unexpectedly facing the totally dishy guy from their past. Everyone Welcome!

NHL coach Mark Diego’s plan to spend his off-season volunteering in his hometown goes awry when he learns that not only is he coaching teenage girls, but that the program is coordinated by energetic (and five feet two inches of trouble) coordinator Rainey Saunders, his childhood friend–and the woman he could never stand to see dating any other guy…

When their tempers flare, Mark and Rainey discover their fireworks don’t just burn angry–they burn very, very, hot! But that’ll just sweeten the victory. Because Mark always plays to win. And with Rainey, he’s planning on playing very dirty too… (Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

I got this book from NetGalley for a review; I sometimes like to read Harlequin romance novels. I find them entertaining; I cannot read too many of them one after another but from time to time I like to read one or two. When I was browsing through Harlequin section on NEtGalley I saw this book and thought it looked fun. 

Rainey was a fun character to read about, same for Mark. I have to say there was a lot of chemistry between the two of them. Rainey had a major crush on Mark when they were younger, highschool. But nothing ever happened not because she never tried. But she has been avoiding him for years, but now she no longer can avoid him. He Is volunteering at the rec center where she works. She is still attracted to him and he to her. It’s not long before they both end up in bed and have some hot sex.

Jill Shalvis obviously knows how to write and hot and steamy romance novel. There was a lot of chemistry between Rainey and Mark; but there was not a lot to the story line which I can get past since this is Harlequin and romance is the focal point. 

Overall this was a very entertaining and fun read. I have read few other books by this author and liked all of them. If you like reading Harlequin romances then you might enjoy this book. It has a lot of hot and steamy sex in it. But if you are not big on hot and steamy sex in your books than this might not be a book for you. 

I give this book 4/5 STARS – Happy Reading!!!

Timepiece (Hourglass, #2) by Myra McEntire‏

Description:

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second countsA threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

Timepiece is book two in Hourglass series, I got this book from NetGalley so thank you for letting me review this book. I have to say that I was bit surprised that this book was written from Kaleb’s POV. See, I did not know this when I started to read the book and I was bit confused. I thought that book two will also be from Emerson’s POV. It took me few pages to get my head around the fact that I am reading the book from another characters POV. Another think is that I forgot all about the main characters, their names and so on. It’s been a while since I read book one. I had to get myself familiar with the characters and it did not help that the book was from another character’s POV. But all was good in the end J.  

So what did I think of this book? It was alright, same as book one. There was no improvement to the story line and there was not a lot of character growth. Characters were very constant, stuck in the same place from beginning to the end of the book. Kaleb was alright character but towards the end I got sick of him thinking that everything was his fault. I wanted to shake him and tell to get the hell over it. I mean really the guilt trip gets boring after a while and when you are reading about the same thing page after page it gets annoying. 

The romance between Kaleb and Lily was boring, no chemistry and book could have been better off with them being friends and Kaleb pining after Emerson. The friendship between Kaleb and Michael, Emerson, and others was alright but there was not a lot of time dedicated to that, basically it was skimmed over. Another part that I found confusing, maybe confusing is not the right ward but not well portrayed is the time travel and the rips. I wish that there was more on that, after all this is about time travel and rips and other time related abilities. But the author does not give you much but rather brief glances, there is not a lot of explanation on how the time travel and rips work, no physics explanation. All the author tells you is that physics is behind it. Also Kaleb’s ability to take other people’s memories and read their emotions was quite neat, but I wanted to know more. The author does not tell you how this works rather reader is left in dark. Also are there any repercussions on Kaleb from taking other people’s memories, you cannot tell me that this can not affect an individual. Sometimes it’s hard to live with one owns memories let alone someone else’s.

Overall, as I already said above this was alright read. I was bit disappointed that there was not much improvement since book one. However I do think that the author has some good ideas about the story line, time related abilities, which are quite neat. Also I am interested to see who the Infinityglass is! I also wander from who’s POV will the book three be told? Timepiece was bit confusing since the time travel was all over the place, no pun intended. Also the ending was anticlimactic and boring, I expected something else. 

Time travel needs more explanations and clarifications, more character growth but under all these shortcoming this series has a lot of potential and I hope that next book is much better. 

I give this book 3/5 STARS – Happy Reading!!!

Hourglass Series: 

1. Hourglass

2. Timepiece - coming soon July 12th, 2012

The Eye of the forest (Children of the Lamp) by P. B. Kerr

Description:

John and Philippa Gaunt are quickly drawn into yet another mystery when the world's luck tips wildly out of balance. The key to the world's fate lies with five fakirs who were buried alive, each of whom guards a secret that can answer a great question of the universe. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

This time fifth book in Children of the Lamp series takes us to Peru.  One thing that I love about this series that each book takes us to a different country or different continent.  Also with each book the author used the local myths or legends and incorporates them into the story line. 

I loved the characters in these books, Philippa and John, Nimrod, Groanin, even Buck, Mr. and Mrs Gaunt, and few other characters.  The twins have grown a lot since the beginning of the series.  I love the world that the author has created, it is the best part of this series.  There is a lot of details about the myth and legends. 

I found this book sad at the end of it, not tear jerking sad but still sad as to what happens to Buck.  But I kind of was expecting it to happen because Buck has always struggled with his good and evil side.  Another character that I thought was amusing was Zadie, she was amusing.  I could just picture her tap dancing with the toothbrush in her mouth. 

Overall this was another excelent book, very well written, lots of character growth and world buildup.  It had everything exciting adventure, good story line, bit of myth and legend, friendship, humour, mystery and of course magic.  I might have already said this before I think that if you love HP books than you might like this series too. 

I give this book 5/5 STARS - Happy Reading!

Children of the Lamp Series:

1. The Akhenaten Adventure

2. The Blue Djinn of Babylon

3. The Cobra King of Kathmandu

4. The Day of the Djinn Warriors

5. The Eye Of The Forest

6. The Five Fakirs of Faizabad

7. The Grave Robbers Of Genghis Khan

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff‏

Description:

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time, until her brother Obie is kidnapped—and Daphne realizes she may be partially responsible.

Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying. With the help of the human boy she believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie’s whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way (Goodreads).

My Thoughts:

I’ve been aware of this book for quite some time but I didn’t want to buy the hardcover so I was patiently waiting for it to come in a softcover. But fortunately for me my library had this book in their collection, so I was able to get it from there. I was bit vary of this book because I read The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff and I did not think it was that good. But since this book was free at the library I thought I give it a try. I have to say that The Space Between was better than The Replacement was, but not by much. 

Daphne, daughter of Lucifer and Lilith, is a demon who has never been to the surface of Earth. I liked Daphne, she was very much different character than what I am used to reading about. This was a good thing about this book. Another good thing about this book was the author manages to make me as a reader sympathise with the Daphne and other demons. Also makes you dislike Azrael the angel of death. Even though I liked Daphne as a character I wished that there was more to her character, she struck me as boring and very boring actually. Same for Obie. I was not a big fan of the relationship between the two. I would have been fine with them being friends and nothing more. There was no chemistry and the story did not provoke a lot of emotional reaction from me as a reader. The only emotional reaction I can think of was my dislike of Azrael, but that’s about it.

The book was written from two different POV, which I found bit confusing at the beginning. I was bit confused who was narrating the story, Daphne or Obie; it took me few chapters to get used to the two different POVs. I have to say that there was not a lot of character growth in this book, I felt that both Obie and Daphne were very monotonous and constant throughout the book. I think that the first part of the book was better than the second half. Once we get into the second part of the book things start to go downwards. The ending was not my favourite, I wish that they left it off with Obie being gone but of course not, they have to be together. 

Overall this was alright read for me, there was nothing to get to excited about. I do think that the plot idea was great and intriguing but the execution was poor. Daphne’s world was not developed, there is no layout of how the demons and angel work and interact. Rather you are left to figure that yourself using whatever knowledge you have about demons and angels (I hope I am making sense). So in a sense the author does not tell you what this world is like but rather you are left hanging a bit.

I give this book 3/5 STARS – Happy Reading!

Other Books Review by this Author:

The Replacement

Don't Fear the Reaper by Michelle Muto

Description:

Book 1 of the Netherworld series

Grief-stricken by the murder of her twin, Keely Morrison is convinced suicide is her ticket to eternal peace and a chance to reunite with her sister. When Keely succeeds in taking her own life, she discovers death isn’t at all what she expected. Instead, she’s trapped in a netherworld on Earth and her only hope for reconnecting with her sister and navigating the afterlife is a bounty-hunting reaper and a sardonic, possibly unscrupulous, demon. But when the demon offers Keely her greatest temptation—revenge on her sister’s murderer—she must uncover his motives and determine who she can trust. Because, as Keely soon learns, both reaper and demon are keeping secrets and she fears the worst is true—that her every decision will change how, and with whom, she spends eternity (Goodreads). 

Thoughts:

I do not remember where I got this ebook from, all I know that it's been a while since I got it but never got around to reading it.  I have always like reading books about ghosts and reapers and or any kind of supernatural.  So I thought I give this one a try! 

Keely Morrison commits suicide in her parents bathtub, after her twin sister dies.  At first I did not have much sympathy for Keely, especially after she becomes a ghost and keeps saying that she is sorry and that she really did not mean to commit suicide.  I am sorry but that did not work for me, it is bit too late now.  Maybe it makes me look like an unfeeling bitch, but I had a hard time sympathising with Keely.  
It was not till the end of the book, when Keely finds her sister that I start feeling some sympathy towards Keely's situation.  There were some external influences that drove her to commit suicide. 

I have to say that I found the demons, reapers, angels and ghosts (I think that's what they were) bit confusing.  I needed more information on how the relations between them works, who and what they are.  I wish that the author was bit more clear on how this after death world worked.  As a reader you are given glimpses but not enough.  The world that Keely is in needs more work, development; characters were alright, not my favourite characters.  There was a lot of room for growth but I felt that the characters staid constant. 

Overall this was alright read.  If I get the chace I will read book two in the series if there is one.  I give this book 3/5 STARS - Happy Reading!

Jim Henson's The Storyteller (Graphic Novel)

Description:

Archaia Comics released a 120-page hardcover anthology graphic novel based on Jim Henson's The Storyteller on December 6, 2011.
According to Archaia Comic's Editor in Chief, Stephen Christy, there are three unused teleplays written by Anthony Minghella for the original series. Archaia took one of these unproduced scripts and adapted it in comic book format.

My Thoughts:

Jim Henson's The Storyteller graphic novel, I got this from my local library.  I found it on the display shelf.  I liked the cover and the title and I thought to myself its been a while since I read a graphic novel.  I am not a big reader of graphic novels, I usually forget about them. 

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel, it was funny and the stories were good.  It was well written and the illustrations were very well done.  This graphic novel contains number of different stories, for example Puss in Boots, The Milkmaid & Her Pail, The Frog Who Became an Emperor  and more.  My favourite of the stories was The Milkmaid & Her Pail it was the funniest story out of the bunch.  Puss in Boots was my second favourite, I loved the story about the cats and dogs, now that was funny. 

I believe the illustrations of each story were done by different illustrators, and you can see the differences in their works.  But all were good.  Overall this was a good graphic novel and it makes me want to read more graphic novels.  I give this novel 5/5 STARS - Happy Reading!

The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg‏

Description:

It begins with the sudden revelation of astonishing secrets—secrets that have shaped the personalities and fates of three siblings, and now threaten to tear them apart. In renowned author Elizabeth Berg’s moving new novel, unearthed truths force one seemingly ordinary family to reexamine their disparate lives and to ask themselves: Is it too late to mend the hurts of the past?

Laura Bartone anticipates her annual family reunion in Minnesota with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Yet this year’s gathering will prove to be much more trying than either she or her siblings imagined. As soon as she arrives, Laura realizes that something is not right with her sister. Forever wrapped up in events of long ago, Caroline is the family’s restless black sheep. When Caroline confronts Laura and their brother, Steve, with devastating allegations about their mother, the three have a difficult time reconciling their varying experiences in the same house. But a sudden misfortune will lead them all to face the past, their own culpability, and their common need for love and forgiveness (Goodreads). 

My Thoughts:

I got this book from the library, I found it on the new arrivals shelf that they have at the library. I never read anything by Elizabeth Berg before so I thought I give this book a try.

What do I think of this book? I am really not sure what I think of this book, I did not dislike it or hate it. I did not love it either, I guess I liked it. But I have to say that I felt that this book was not finished. The way that it finished it felt like I was left hanging; throughout the whole book I felt that there was not enough information. I wanted to know more about the mother and daughter relationship. The abuse that Laura’s sister suffered at the hands of her mother, even the abuse from her father who ignored it when he knew what was happening. I had hard time identifying with Laura, I found that she was not an easy character to like. Laura’s relationship with her parents and sister and brother is not a close one, it is very detached I would say. They are not affectionate or a happy family, but they are not an unhappy family either.

Even though I did not love this book, I liked it and it did hold my interest to the end. I was bit disappointed with the end though, It was anticlimactic and disappointing. I wanted to see what happens between Laura’s sister and her mother, do they come to some kind of agreement. Does the mother acknowledge the abuse to the daughter and where do they go from there? I think that I liked Laura more towards the end of the book because she stands by her sister to the end even though she has doubts and is reluctant to believe her.

Overall I liked this book, it was very well written and but I felt like there was not a lot character growth and development. But I think that I like Berg’s style of writing so I will give a try to some of her other books. If you have any suggestion about some of her books that I should read let me know. I give this book 4/5 STARS – Happy Reading!

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

Description:

There is no problem that a library card can't solve. 

 The Andreas family is one of readers. Their father, a renowned Shakespeare professor who speaks almost entirely in verse, has named his three daughters after famous Shakespearean women. When the sisters return to their childhood home, ostensibly to care for their ailing mother, but really to lick their wounds and bury their secrets, they are horrified to find the others there. See, we love each other. We just don't happen to like each other very much. But the sisters soon discover that everything they've been running from-one another, their small hometown, and themselves-might offer more than they ever expected (Goodreads). 

My Thoughts:

I’ve had my eye on this book for some time, I really liked the title of this book. I checked the library and saw that they had the book and I requested it right away. I am trying to be good and not to buy too many books. I really did not know what to expect from this book; even though I read the description I still thought that it was going to be different. I do not know why I expected  it to be different. 

Three sisters, all three very much different but yet the same in many ways. I have to say that the sisters were not my favourite characters, but still I was engaged in their lives and their problems. Personally I do not think that they are very lovable characters, they are messed up characters though. Which I did not understand how they get so messed up and insecure about their lives and themselves. They did not have bad or traumatic childhood cause if they did I could understand why they turned out the way they did. But I guess you do not have to be traumatized to become messed up in you adult life. Don’t get me wrong they were not too messed up, but rather they like to ignore what stares them right in the face.

I really liked what the author did with the relationship between the three sisters. I really like the quote

     “See we love each other.  We just don't happen to like  

                                               each other very much”.       

How can you love someone but not like them? 

I really like the relationship the sisters had with their parents, especially their mother. They take care of their mother when she needs them the most. One sister is learning how to let go of everything, stop being a control freak. One is learning how to be more responsible and settle down rather than being a nomad. One is trying to let go of material goods that define her and she is also trying to find herself; finding someone that she can like and respect.  I especially like the love that these characters have for books.  I find it quite amusing that their father communicates to them by using quotes from Shakespeare.  Maybe that is why they are so messed up lol.   

Overall this was a good read, it was well written and there was a lot of character development and growth.  However I have to say that I did not love this book, but I did like it, hell I read it in two days.  Usually if I do not like the book it takes me much longer to read it. 

I give this book 4/5 STARS - Happy Reading.