~REVIEW of David Nicholls' ONE DAY~

Opening Line: "I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference"

So I’m going to try to write a somewhat sensible review here that doesn’t come across as all gushy fan-girl. I will say (hopefully only once) that I adored this book but you should know that I'm a bit of a sucker for a tragedy too. ONE DAY was brilliant in every way; making me laugh and cry while filling me with nostalgia and longing. And because I’m the same age as Dexter and Emma the time frame here was also totally relatable (see nostalgia) with little details I had forgotten about from the past two decades.

Equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious yet also suspenseful as each chapter takes place a year to the day after the last one so you have to figure out what’s happened in that time between. And of course you want the H/h to get together so you’re waiting with bated breathe for them to finally “see” each other too. In the end this also made me want to seize the day like it’s my last, phone up all my long lost friends and lovers and look at old photographs. Hmmm and I haven’t even gotten into the genius of the writing yet (how do you put that into words?)

I knew that writing a review here was going to be difficult (when you love a book this much there doesn’t seem to be enough correct words to do it justice) and I promised myself to just keep this short and to the point so here goes... This is one of the most hilarious, perceptive, witty, moving and heartbreaking books I have ever read.

Told in 5 parts in alternating POV’s and over a span of twenty years Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley meet in 1988. Em has just graduated from university and hooked up with that boy she’s seen around for ages. He is Dexter, beautiful, pretentious and in his mind destined for greatness. As the sun rises they drink wine and talk about their futures. They have their whole lives stretching out ahead of them in an endless number of days and isn’t it going to be wonderful they can achieve anything they want to.

Starting as lovers Dexter and Emma continue as friends and the book joins them on July 15th of each year (St Swithin’s day) through their 20’s and 30’s and into their 40’s. As anyone in their 40’s knows, life happens and it doesn’t always go as planned, missed opportunities and the like.

“When I was younger everything seemed possible. Now nothing does.”

Through phone calls and letters, in different countries and towns, through assorted relationships, jobs and life’s little surprises and ruts we join Em and Dex each year in a unique snapshot of their life. They don’t always get along but they do think about each other everyday in some way and in case you haven’t figured it out this is ultimately a love story.

I can’t say much more about this without giving it all away. But when I read the last word I wanted to start it again and nothing I’ve tried to read since compares. Cheers.

“Live each day as if it’s your last, that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that?”

~REVIEW of Nicholas Sparks' NIGHTS IN RODANTHE~

Opening line: "Three years earlier, on a warm November morning Adrienne Willis had returned to the inn and at first glance had thought it unchanged, as if the small inn were impervious to the sun and sand and salted mist."

Even in a book that's only 222 pages long Nicholas Sparks manages to weave his magic. Building a level of suspense as we await breathless to learn of Paul's fate. Reminisent of The Bridges of Madison County this is a quick, easy read but a great story nontheless.

The story begins with Adrienne telling her widowed daughter the tale of her brief love affair fourteen years earlier with a surgeon named Paul. We then alternate between Paul and Adrienne's points of view as we learn the story of their lives and what brought them each to divorce before they found themselves at the inn in Rodanthe.

With a violent storm brewing our protagonists share a walk on the beach and two meals together then fall hopelessly in love. (This did feel a little rushed to me but whatever it's Nicholas Sparks we all know where he's going) After five blissful days together Paul leaves Rodanthe to join his son at the medical clinic in Ecuador. Promising to return to Adrienne at Christmas so they can have their HEA but...well it's Nicholas Sparks isn't it.

This is a quick, smooth read with well developed characters and the typical tugging of the heartstrings we have all come to expect from Sparks. Cheers

“The greater the love, the greater the tragedy when it’s over those two elements always go together”

~REVIEW of Steven Galloway's THE CELLIST OF SEREJEVO~

Opening line: “It screamed downward, splitting air and sky without effort.”

A few years ago while I was travelling in Europe I met a guy from Sarajevo and we became friends. At one point he asked me if I knew anything about what had happened in his country. I replied that I knew very little, only what I had seen on the news. Sasha laughed and never said another word on the subject which at the time I found strange. Now I know why, what could he say that I'd possibly understand?

This is a beautifully written, haunting and thought provoking story that I only wish I could say I liked more. Because it is so well done though I also found it painful to read, depressing and absolutely futile, leaving me feeling angry at the whole world. Which I guess is the point and the ultimate result of any war.

I think what surprised me most is how little I knew about this conflict especially when you consider that it happened between 1992 and 1996. I mean that’s not that long ago and it’s not like this happened in a third world country either, this was modern Europe. I just finished reading a book set during the Second World War about the siege of Leningrad and this reads almost the same. How is that possible? How was this even allowed to happen?

Inspired by a real event this novel follows the lives of an unnamed cellist along with three others trying to survive in a besieged, war torn Sarajevo. It begins in the midst of a country gone mad, a mortar attack has just killed 22 people waiting in line to buy bread. Our cellist decides that to honour the dead for the next 22 days he will play at the point of impact. At 4 o’clock he dons his ragged tuxedo, sits in the bomb crater and plays. This simple courageous act creates a moment of peace and beauty among the rubble it also makes him a target.

Meanwhile a female sniper named “Arrow” is ordered to keep the cellist alive. Crouched from her perch in a bombed out building she waits for the counter-sniper who has surely been sent to kill him. She remembers back to a time when she went to college and flirted with boys at nightclubs and wonders how her life has became this?

The two other characters we follow disturbed me the most; An elderly baker on his way to work on his day off to get his daily ration of bread and a father making the long trek to “the brewery” to collect water for his family. A simple walk through the remains of the city has become a perilous journey. Mortars fall and the “men on the hill” go about their deadly business. Nobody is safe. Crossing the street had become a game of “Serajavan roulette” as the snipers pick off pedestrians. Should I cross now? Should I walk, run, crouch, crawl, go with a group? How do they decide who to shoot? But you need water and you have to eat. You have to make it across the intersection to keep your family alive.

These two men show us the city of Sarajevo as they walk through its remains and it very much becomes a character of its own here. The city shows us beauty and resilience and the men show us bravery, paralysing fear and humanity.

~REVIEW of Rob Sheffield's LOVE IS A MIX TAPE~

~Heartbreaking and hilarious bit of 90's pop culture~

Opening line:"The playback:late night, Brooklyn, a pot of coffee, and a chair by the window. I'm listening to a mix tape from 1993."

Before I-pods and ripped CDs we all made mix tapes. I'm sure most of us over a certain age still have them safely hidden away somewhere, never quite having had the nerve to throw them out (broken cases and all) We named these tapes, gave them away to friends or lovers and assigned them different purposes. Remember the break-up tape, the I'm so infatuated with you tape, the party tape, workout tape, road trip tape, stolen off the radio tape etc, etc. It took hours to create a mix tape, attempting to get the songs in perfect order without cutting off the last one. Now imagine, nearly 20 years later having the courage to scour through and listen to all those tapes again. The joy of rediscovery, the nostalgia, the OMG I forgot all about that song which reminds me of that party, boy, girl, car moment. You might also experience pain or sadness over that long lost love. Well this is what LOVE IS A MIX TAPE is all about.

I absolutely adored this book. Rob Sheffield style of writing is so honest, natural and funny that you'll feel like your talking with an old friend. He manages too capture the spirit of the 90's perfectly too as he tells a moving autobiographical account of his years spent with wife Renee. Anyone who lived through that time and is into pop culture will find something relatable here.

  

This is also a tragic love story and on the very first page we learn that Renee has died, we just don't know how or why. We then flash back to the time to before they met as Rob experiences an awkward adolescence and discovers his love of Indie rock. One night Rob meets the sweet Southern girl of his dreams and although only 25 they soon marry. It's not a perfect marriage however; they're broke most of the time, they fight, they get a dog, they drink Zima (remember Zima?) but they always listen to music as one. Rob and Renee ultimately get 7 years together and even though I knew that Renee was going to die when it actually happened I was left stunned. Sheffield depicts the ache of new love and utter helplessness of losing it beautifully and following Rob through the next grief stricken chapters was at times hard to take.

Throughout this story it is always about the music and each chapter begins with a dated mix tape complete with side A/B track listings. Some of the tapes were made by Renee others by Rob but you're sure to have a lot of moments remembering your own life's soundtrack as you journey along with the music. You might even find a couple of new favourites. Cheers

~REVIEW of Laura Whitcomb's A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT~

Opening Line: "Someone was looking at me, a disturbing sensation if you're dead."

This is one of the best books that I've read in a long time. And although it's being touted as teen fiction this can absolutely be enjoyed by adults and as one I'll be recommending it to all my friends. It's just a beautiful story of fated romance no matter what your age.

 A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT tells the story of a girl named Helen who's been dead for a 130 years. She is now a ghost or "light" as the author calls her existence. In order to keep from plunging into hell Helen must cling to a human host, never leaving their side. She has had many hosts over her years, her latest being Mr.Brown, an English teacher. It's in his classroom that she meets James, the first person able to see her since she died.

James was "light" until recently when he took over the body of his host during his drug overdose. Helen and James begin meeting and quickly fall in love. Eventually James convinces Helen that she should also inhabit a host so that they can both be human and together they choose Jenny. The only problem with Jenny is that her parents are religious fanatics and James's host Billy is a former drug addict with questionable friends. This makes living their hosts lives and maintaining a relationship kinda tricky.

The writing here is beautiful and the story original and interesting. The obstacles our lovers have to face as they try to find their HEA are incredible. This book had me up late at night and I will be thinking about it for a long time to come. Highly recommended for all ages. Cheers!

~REVIEW of Nicholas Sparks' DEAR JOHN~

                              

Opening Line: My name is John Tyree. I was born in 1977, and I grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina..."

You can always tell you're reading a great book when you find yourself skipping ahead into the final chapters to see how things will be resolved, even though you've vowed you wouldn't. Love doesn't always have a happy ending (especially when it comes to a Nicholas Sparks novel) and this is a wonderful, albeit quick tear-jerking romance.

Our hero John grew up with a silent, meticulously organized father that he didn't understand. In his teens he began to rebel, hanging out, playing pool and drinking. This continues for a number of years with John working menial jobs, getting several tattoos and going nowhere fast. Eventually John decides its time to grow up and he joins the army. In fact it's during 2 weeks leave that he first meets Savannah, diving into the ocean to rescue her sinking purse. Savannah is your stereotypical good-girl; raised in a stable family she's kind, pretty and hopes to save the world. It's also love at first sight for our couple despite the warnings from her tattoo phobic college friends. Together the pair plans a future together, counting down the days until John's discharge as Savannah helps him understand his father and he in turn feels contentment for the first time in his life.

On Sept 11 everything changes as John in a moment of patriotic loyalty chooses to re-up in the army, putting a hold on their marriage plans while he enters the war in Iraq. The two try to maintain a long distance relationship but the war changes John and the years apart put a strain on their deep love. When John's father grows ill he returns home but will he be too late to save both his relationship with his father and the love of his life?

I fell in love with John's character and surprisingly his father too. Each is well written and they felt like real people. I also enjoyed reading about John's military career and the reasons that take men into a war. Savannah as the heroine was a little too perfect for me but their heartbreaking love story and the regret that they both share will keep you up into the wee hours, and leave you wondering about John long after you've finished reading its bittersweet ending.

Another great read from Nicholas Sparks that I would definitely recommend. Oh, and John if you're out there, I'm single...

~REVIEW of Lora Leigh's WILD CARD~

Wild Card (Elite Ops, #1)

Opening Line: "Nathan Malone stood in the clinical white office he had been brought to"

This one is a keeper. One of those books that you can't stop reading and then find yourself sad as you approach the end because you don't want it to be over. WILD CARD is a beautiful romance with scorching hot love scenes, plenty of action and a sexy alpha male hero that literally jumps off the pages at you. Bound in leather chaps and just daring you to get on the back of his Harley. What an escape, I loved it.

Navy Seal Nathan Malone was happily married to his young wife Sabella. His last mission was supposed to be simple, infiltrate a Columbian drug cartel and rescue three young girls. But things went disastrously wrong and Nathan finds himself at the hands of Diego Fuentes the evil crime lord. He is held captive for 3 years, pumped full of experimental drugs, tortured and beaten beyond recognition. When he's finally rescued there isn't much left of the man he used to be. Scared inside and out, Nathan now feels that he's too damaged and violent to ever return to his wife and joins a team of covert ops. After several reconstructive surgeries Nathan Malone becomes Noah Blake aka "Wildcard." The man his wife loved is now gone forever.

Several years later a new mission (ironically enough) takes Noah back to his hometown and puts him undercover as a mechanic in Sabella's garage. He'd assumed that after 6 years his wife would have moved on with her life but she hasn't ever let Nathan go. After learning of Nathan's death Sabella didn't leave the house for 3 years, barely functioning, she dreams of him. There's is a love that will last forever, she tells herself. Only after almost losing their home and business does she manage to pull herself together enough to rejoin the world. Sabella initially has no idea that the sexy new Harley riding mechanic is her dead husband but something draws her to him and awakens feelings she had thought long buried. Nathan is stunned that Sabella isn't the agreeable little wallflower that he remembers as his wife anymore. Where did this tough, no nonsense woman come from?

This establishes the characters into their plotlines and that's when the story really gets going. The sex scenes are amazingly hot but they are also filled with such tenderness and longing that you will simply sigh. Lora Leigh pushes the boundaries further each time Noah and Bella are together and just when you think they couldn't possibly do anything else sexually, that it's just going to be another sex scene, she manages to make it different and even more exciting. The running internal dialogue is also well done here and heartbreaking as Noah struggles with the ghost of the man he used to be and Sabella tries to not let on that she knows who he really is. The endings full of suspense and I wasn't certain until the last few pages if our couple would truly get their HEA or if our testosterone filled hero would leave again.

For an erotic Romance this is a very involved story and surprisingly long at 415 pages. Lora Leigh however had me enamoured from beginning to end and I feel that this is some of her best work. The unconditional love between the main characters was beautifully written, the story interesting and suspenseful. My only complaint would be the sloppy mistakes overlooked by her editor.

This is a story that I won't soon forget. Highly recommended.

-It's now been a few days since I finished reading Wildcard and an interesting thing has happened. I can no longer remember the sex scenes but I still find myself thinking about the love story.
Go Siorai, Forever my soul.

~REVIEW of J.R Ward's LOVER UNBOUND~

 ~AWESOME, WITH AN UNCONVENTIONAL ENDING~

-Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #5)
 

Opening Line: "I am so not feeling all this cowhide"

 

Book 5 in JR Wards sexy Black Dagger Brotherhood series is all about Vishous and "Doc" Jane. It's another great addition and I really enjoyed witnessing V let his guard down and fall in love. I found him to be surprisingly considerate and gentle especially for someone who's into sadomasochism. His falling for Jane is believable and makes sense as she's his intellectual equal and he respects her for it. She's also one of the few (human or Vampire) able to put Vishous in his place. Their story is erotic, suspenseful and ultimately heartbreaking, with revelations and surprises galore. I would suggest however that newbie's read this series in order, to get the full affect and intricate back story.

LOVER UNBOUND sees everyone from previous books returning and there's a lot of growth involved within the story as a whole. As usual JR has several distinct plotlines running simultaneously and a host of secondary returning characters who continue to grow and evolve.

As we begin Vishous is having dirty thoughts about his roommate. Even though he's disgusted with himself he can't seem to stop wanting what he can't have, and watching Butch all lovey-dovey with his wife Marissa is driving him crazy. Good thing he has his S &M outfitted Penthouse and a list of females eager to be bound and dominated. Its while at his `love nest' that the Scribe Virgin makes an appearance blowing his mind with some life changing news and demanding that V become `Primale' (basically he must marry a harem of chosen females and propagate the declining vampire race) Not really V's cup of tea but that's the least of his problems as that very night sees him getting shot in the chest and taken to a human hospital where he's operated on by trauma surgeon Jane Whitcomb. Jane is a no nonsense woman; strong, brilliant and forthright she's also head of the department and has an interest in genetics, so when Jane see's V's unusual heart and characteristic Vampire traits she's more than intrigued.

Interestingly all the brothers `feel' V's injury and know instinctively that something is wrong. When they eventually find him the boys have to extract V from the hospital and cover up any evidence that he was ever there. This is a great scene as Phury, Rhage and Butch short out video monitors and alarms, fitz computer files and `scrub' nurses minds. To make things even more complicated V insists on kidnapping Jane so she can continue to care for him back at the mansion.

And... back at the mansion; Wrath is livid that Jane has been brought into the Brotherhood's world. Only allowing her to stay until V has recovered then she must be `scrubbed' and released. Butch is sick from inhaling Lessers and after Jane witness's a healing session she assumes V and Butch are a couple. This doesn't bode well for V who keeps thinking "mine" whenever he looks at her. Luckily he's able to perform certain acts in her dreams (nice.) Bella is having some complications with the pregnancy which in turn is making Zsadist a little crazy. John Mathew, Blay, Quinn and Lash continue their training and wait for `the change.' We are introduced to Cormina and JR gives us a fascinating look into the Scribe Virgins world. The Lessers remain relatively quiet throughout our story until towards the end and then, wow! We also get flashbacks of Vishous in his father's war camp and discover why he got his tattoos. V's darker sexual tendencies are also explored and in a very touching scene he and Butch talk about their feelings for each other.

Phury again plays a major role as we are set up brilliantly for the next book (LOVER ENSHRINED) He's having some major issues with anger management and feelings towards his twin's wife which is causing him to overindulge in `red smoke'. Ultimately Phury sacrifices again for the good of others.

This great book was a re-read for me and as you can tell a lot happens. Unfortunately I still had a hard time with the ending, it just doesn't sit right even knowing the outcome. All I will say is that its an untraditional HEA and you'd better have some Kleenex handy. The closing chapters do however contain one of my favourite scenes from the entire series and once you've read the hot chocolate scene you`ll know what I mean...Sigh

Highly recommended for fans of the sexy yet troubled Black Dagger Brotherhood.