Title: The Young Warrior Author: Oliver La Farge In: The Mammoth Book of Westerns (Jon E. Lewis) Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Westerns Dates read: 23rd July 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2013 5th sentence, 74th page: His power would be destroyed, his eyes dimmed, his medicine would not protect him.
The young warrior of the plains is about to face a battle… wil he win?
This was an easy, light and pleasant read. It was a nice break within my reading of bigger, more complex books. The journey is fun, it’s easy to understand what is happening and just a generally well-written diversion. I didn’t find the story line intense and unforgettable (hence the lower star rating). But I did find the whole adventure very fun.
This is quick, sharp and shiny. Perfectly enjoyable and fantastically written. Something that I love in a good short story. You’re thrown into the action from the very beginning and pulled through the young warriors battle and journey. It’s a little open ended and in conclusive. Which is something that I do enjoy in a good short story.
You can imagine at the end of this story that the warriors continue on to battle yet another fight. Another day on the plains. Another moment in which they have to fight for a better future.
Title: Human Acts Author: Han Kang Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Asia, Historical fiction, War Dates read: 22nd – 23rd July 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Portobello Year: 2014 5th sentence, 74th page: How can that be possible?
Gwangju, South Korea, 1980. In the wake of a viciously suppressed student uprising, a boy searches for his friend’s corpse, a consciousness searches for its abandoned body, and a brutalised country searches for a voice. In a sequence of interconnected chapters the victims and the bereaved encounter censorship, denial, forgiveness and the echoing agony of the original trauma.
Human Acts is a universal book, utterly modern and profoundly timeless. Already a controversial bestseller and award-winning book in Korea, it confirms Han Kang as a writer of immense importance.
This was nothing like what I expected. Although, to be fair. I really didn’t know what to expect – after all, this is my first piece of Korean Literature. And my first novel that has been translated from this language. It was a great story. And I loved the ways in which some of the idiosyncrasies of another language worked their way into this story.
Effectively, this story works as six separate tales. That are all interrelated. They tell the stories of people whose lives were interconnected when their world came crashing down in war. I loved the set up – it showed so many different perspectives to the same events. And at different points. Some were in the present day, some in the past.
At the end of this novel. My heart just. Hurt. Seriously. Hurt. It was such a tragic tale. And. Just. Wow. So much heart pain. I sat there, staring at all of the happy books on my shelves that had far happier stories in it…
Some of the war stories that I’ve read have a bit of a positive light and spin. This is not one of those stories. There is such a feeling of tragedy. This is just all about the atrocities of humanity. And the horrible things that we do to one another. It is completely obvious why this is an award-winning novel. Definitely one that I would like to return to in the future…
Title: Blood on the Wall Author: Heather Graham In: Home Improvement (Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy, Vampires, Werewolves Dates read: 23rd July 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: And, of course, because DeFeo’s ancestor, Antoine Montville, had been suspected of Satanism, but something like it.
A young man just wants to build up his own cult and reputation. But when a werewolf comes to town, things are turned on their head and he finally realises that maybe he’s not been making the best decisions…
I really didn’t expect all of the twists and turns that reared their ugly heads throughout this short story. Every time I thought that I could predict what was going on, something else reared its head and surprised me. It was incredibly fun and welcome. I love when a story like this completely takes me by surprise.
One of the things that I love about this story is that the cultist in this story isn’t paranormal. And the one that you think is kind of normal? Not so much. It literally turns everything on its head throughout this story. In the best way possible.
This is a fantastic short story – it involves vampires, werewolves, crimes and cults. It kind of has everything that I love in a short story. Even if it is slightly, unexpectedly off-kilter to what I am used to. And all of those surprises… I’ll definitely be reading this one again!
Title: Artemis Author: Andy Weir Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Science fiction, Space Dates read: 9th – 22nd July 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Del Rey Year: 2017 5th sentence, 74th page: Combined with a hijab (head cloth) to cover my hair, only my eyes were visible.
Welcome to Artemis. The first city on the moon. Population 2,000. Mostly tourists. Some criminals.
Jazz Bashara is one of the criminals. She lives in a poor area of Artemis and subsidises her work as a porter with smuggling contraband onto the moon. But it’s not enough.
So when she’s offered the chance to make a lot of money she jumps at it. Now all she needs to do is plan the perfect crime in one of the most dangerous places in the universe – and survive it.
Alright. I’ve heard the name Andy Weir multiple times over the years. And now I completely understand why I’ve heard such positive things! And why he’s so popular. Just because… wow. This book was amazing. It was phenomenal. It was funny. It was witty. And I absolutely adored reading this book… I plan to do so again and again and again.
One of the things I loved about this story was that it felt seriously realistic. It felt like there was a complete chance of Artemis being built on the moon. With all of the seedy complications and secrets which such a world entails. Somehow, Weir manages to mix science fiction and imagination with known science to bring about a great story that feels completely, totally and happily realistic.
There is something ridiculously fun about Jazz throughout this… no matter what she does. She seems to just get into more and more trouble. It creates this giant rollercoaster ride. Every time you think that she’s getting herself safe and the problem might be solved… she manages to get into a whole other kind of trouble. The only reason that fact didn’t take me completely by surprise… I could see how many pages of the book were left.
There are so many brilliant and witty one-liners in this novel. I spent a lot of time reading this out loud to my partner. Sharing those great lines and moments with someone who had no idea what I was reading. But, probably appreciated the humour that such simple moments throughout the story bought to our nightly rituals. Not only is this a fantastic adventure story set on the moon, but there’s also a slow unravelling of Jazz’s past that coincides with everything. Upping the stakes and pulling you even further into the beautiful story.
Title: Truganini: Journey Through the Apocalypse Author: Cassandra Pybus Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Australian authors, Biographies, History, Indigenous Australians Dates read: 2nd – 20th July 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Allen & Unwin Year: 2020 5th sentence, 74th page: She was grieving the loss of their youngest son nine months earlier, and it was also time to reconnect with his five surviving children.
Cassandra Pybus’ ancestors told a story of an old Aboriginal woman who would wander across their farm on Bruny Island, just off the coast of south-east Tasmania, throughout the 1850s and 1860s. As a child, Cassandra didn’t know this woman was Truganini, and that she was walking over the country of her clan, the Nuenonne, of whom she was the last.
The name of Truganini is vaguely familiar to most Australians as ‘the last of her race’. She has become an international icon for a monumental tragedy: the extinction of the original people of Tasmania within her lifetime. For nearly seven decades she lived through a psychological and cultural shift more extreme than most human imaginations could conjure. She is a hugely significant figure in Australian history and we should know about how she lived, not simply that she died. Her life was much more than a regrettable tragedy. Now Cassandra has examined the original eyewitness accounts to write Truganini’s extraordinary story.
A lively, intelligent, sensual woman, Truganini managed to survive the devastating decade of the 1820s when the clans of south-eastern Tasmania were all but extinguished. Taken away from Bruny Island in 1830, she spent five years on a journey around Tasmania, across rugged highland and through barely penetrable forests, with the self-styled missionary George Augustus Robinson, who was collecting all the surviving people to send them into exile on Flinders Island. She managed to avoid a long incarceration on Flinders Island when Robinson took her to Victoria where she was implicated in the murder of two white men. Acquitted of murder, she was returned to Tasmania where she lived for another thirty-five years. Her story is both inspiring and herat-wrenching, and it is told in full in this book for the first time.
This was an amazing, must-read for all Aussies. It was one though that I would read a chapter and then pick up another, happier book. There is this tragic feeling that runs all the way through. There aren’t happy moments. This doesn’t give you hope for the future. Instead, it reminds you of the many atrocities which we really should be condemned for… but it’s well-worth the read. And impossible to forget.
The whole journey in this book is somewhat heartbreaking. But the very end of it… that was just a whole other level. Particularly considering Truganini feared her body being taken for science and begged someone to bury it in the deepest water she knew… only to find out that when she passed… her body was taken and mounted in a museum. I just couldn’t believe the horror of that and the cruelty. There was just something so incomprehensible and… just… no… about the whole situation.
I’m always trying to find out as much as I can about Australian history. And for me, this was a fantastic piece of that. I knew next to nothing about the plight of Indigenous Australians in Tasmania when the settlers came. Although I still feel like I know next to nothing… I felt like there was so much more that was revealed in this novel. Alright, it probably wasn’t’ my favourite biography, Pybus has a slightly drier writing style than what I prefer. But overall, it was somewhat amazing and a great way to highlight the plight and true journey of one well-known Indigenous Australian.
I received this book at the beginning of the year. And my biggest regret? That I didn’t read it sooner. This is a book that I think all Australians should read. One that is amazing and impossible to forget. Definitely at the top of my suggestions pile…
Title: Angel’s Peak Author: Robyn Carr Series: Virgin River #9 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Contemporary romance Dates read: 21st – 29th July 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Mira Year: 2010 5th sentence, 74th page: It hadn’t been that long since Franci had been a college coed.
FOUR YEARS AGO, AIR FORCE SWEETHEARTS FRANCI DUNCAN AND SEAN RIORDAN REACHED AN IMPASSE. SHE WANTED MARRIAGE AND A FAMILY. HE DIDN’T. BUT A CHANCE MEETING PROVES THAT THE BITTER BREAKUP HASN’T COOLED THEIR SIZZLING CHEMISTRY.
Sean has settled down in spite of himself – he’s not the cocky young fighter pilot he was when Franci left, and he wants them to try again. After all, they have a history… but that’s not all they share.
Franci’s secret reason for walking away when Sean refused to commit is now three and a half: a redheaded cherub named Rosie who shares her daddy’s emerald-green eyes. Sean is stunned – and furious with Franci for the deception.
News travels fast in Virgin River, and soon the whole town is taking sides. Rebuilding their trust could take a small miracle – and the kind of love that can move mountains.
I had to pause in my reading of this about a quarter of the way in. I loved the premise. I loved the beginning. And then you find out about T.J…. the guy that Franci had been dating. And wow. WHAT. A. DOUCHE. I was just so disgusted and frustrated by him that I put the book aside for a while and moved onto something with a less douche-baggish obstacle to overcome.
Luckily, following this moment of heck no feelings. The story seriously picks up. It fairly quickly becomes apparent that Franci has more of a brain than you had anticipated – and didn’t succumb to the wiles of such a deplorable man. And that he really wasn’t as much of an obstacle. In actual fact, that giant hurdle that the main couple need to overcome… well, it was overcome a lot quicker than anticipated. Which, allowed for room for something that I love in Robyn Carr’s writing and Virgin River series – that the romance wasn’t really just about one couple. The other couples from past books and the potential future couples are all living their lives too.
The Virgin River series, as it develops is becoming more and more about family. In this story, not only is the obstacle about children, but whole families are drawn in. Firstly, there are the two grandmothers / mothers who are constantly renegotiating their relationships. Then, there’s the friendships, in-laws and all sorts of ties that we all have. It’s beautiful that this series is able to tie in all of the characters and give them each of their own happily ever afters.
Not only did I absolutely adore this story. Partly because although it is about Luke’s brother, but it also helps to set up the next little mini-trilogy. Primarily, it’s helping to set up Erin and Aiden, siblings of characters that I’ve already kind of fallen in love with…now I need to hunt out Moonlight Road and get my happy on all over again.
Title: Forbidden Falls Author: Robyn Carr Series: Virgin River #8 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Contemporary romance Dates read: 7th – 20th July 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Mira Year: 2009 5th sentence, 74th page: Besides, there wasn’t a bubble or streak on those baseboards.
Welcome back to VIRGIN RIVER with the books that started it all…
Reverend Noah Kincaid moved to Virgin River to reopen an abandoned church he bought on eBay. Like Noah, the place is a little empty inside, but all it may need is some loving care…
The young widower arrives ready to roll up his sleeves and build a place of worship and welcome, but he needs some help. And the Lord works in mysterious ways.
With her tight shirts and short skirts, pastor’s assistant is not a phrase that springs to mind when Noah meets brassy, beautiful Alicia Baldwin. the former exotic dancer needs a respectable job so she can regain custody of her children. And Noah can’t help but admire her spunk and motherly determination. Noah and Alicia are an unlikely team to revitalize a church, much less build a future. The couple has so many differences, but in Virgin River anything is possible, and happiness is never out of the question.
It did take me a little longer to get into this Virgin River bookthan I most of the others. As much as I loved the idea of the story and enjoyed both Ellie and Noah. I just didn’t bond with them quite as quickly. Yet, once I hit that halfway point, I was completely hooked. And somehow that made that moment of attachment all the more sweet…
I love that the big complication in Ellie and Noah’s relationship was all based on the custody of her children. Again, Carr finds ways to create a story in which the issues are so much more adult. And the older I get, the more I feel like these are some seriously intense and realistic complications. Instead of there being another man, or a complication which involves one or the other being seriously stupid (like in many romances) it is the idea of family and children which cause potential bumps in the road. Bumps which are completely adorable and just jump off the page.
I’ve been reading a lot of romances lately. It seems to be my latest fad. I have never read a book that features a man of the cloth as the lead male though. Actually, I don’t think I’ve read any book which features a priest or any kind of man of the cloth as any kind of main character. It was an interesting departure from what I’m used to. And, considering I have a few hang ups with the Church, it was something that I surprisingly seriously enjoyed. Add to that that he is partnered with a woman who seems to be the absolute opposite to him in every manner, shape and form… it was a great, humorous and very, very cute romance.
Not only is Forbidden Fallsa great romance between Noah and Ellie. Vanni and Paul also have a number of challenges that they have to overcome again. And Shelby and Luke get married. I love that although their happily ever afters have kind of occurred… there are still so many challenges that they have to overcome. So many moments that make them stand back and realise that even after you find your happily ever after person, you will still continuously battle to have the life that you’ve always wanted. And the way that Vanni and Paul face their latest battle… wow. My heart goes out to them.
What does it mean to be queer? What does it mean to be human? In this powerful #OwnVoices collection, twelve of Australia’s finest writers from the LGBTQIA+ community explore the stories of family, friends, lvoer and strangers the connections that form us.
This is an amazing collection. A great taste of some of the amazing talent that Australia has to offer. And a unique theme – LGBTQI+. It’s definitely a theme that is slowly filling more and more of my shelves. But it’s one that I’m definitely actively hunting for more of. I now have all twelve of the authors in my collection on my wishlist…
Each and every one of the stories in this collection are thoughtful and intriguing. They ran the gamut of emotions – some had me in tears, others had me hooting with laughter. But, what they all had in common? They had a great, thought-provoking theme that drew me in from the very beginning.
This is my first #LoveOzYA collection. And when I bought this, I did buy a few others. Now, I am exceedingly grateful for the fact… I can’t wait to enjoy more of the beautiful Qussie work on my shelves!
Title: Harbor Lights Author: Sherryl Woods Series: Chesapeake Shores #3 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Contemporary romance Dates read: 20th – 21st July 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Mira Year: 2009 5th sentence, 74th page: His father’s belated transformation was hard to buy, but there was at least some evidence to support it.
Struggling in his role as a newly single father, former army medic Kevin O’Brien moves home to Chesapeake Shores. He wants a haven for himself and his toddler son, surrounded by the family he knows he can count on, and a future that’s nothing like his past. But Kevin is suddenly facing a risk he hadn’t anticipated, in the form of Main Street bookseller Shanna Carlyle.
Shanna immediately recognizes Kevin as a wounded soul – she’s had way too much experience with the type. Still, this charming O’Brien man and his son are almost impossible to resist.
Then, just when the barriers are toppling, someone from Shanna’s past appears. Confronted with a threat to their hard-won serenity, Kevin and Shanna face their toughest challenge – learning to trust again.
From the very outset of this novel, and from her introduction in Flowers on Main, I knew that Kevin’s wife was going to die. And it was kind of tragic. But also something that I was gleefully anticipating… there’s not enough of her to become attached to. And I mostly just really wanted to get started on Kevin’s life and journey. Some of the extra complications of their relationship were not foreseen though. Which made the whole story all that much more intriguing.
As much as the loss of his wife makes Kevin’s backstory and the complications he brings to the relationship is a little sad. It is Shanna’s backstory which was really heart breaking. No wonder she had so many hang ups. But she was also one of the sweetest, kindest characters that I’ve read in a while. I love all of that softness and tenderness that she brings to the story line.
Most love stories which are of this calibre are all about finding a second chance and moving on from the past. This is partly what happens in this novel. But, mostly, it is about hope and finding a way to have their own happily ever after. It’s about moving on and carving out a life for yourself after your heart and life has been shattered.
This was a more complex romance than what I’ve been reading lately. But it was what I seriously enjoyed about this. I love that there were many, many moments of difficulties and emotions. Not something that I always find in a good romance. It was a story that made you hope / think that no matter what horrible things happen… there is always the chance of creating a new happily ever after for yourself. In spite of everything that may go wrong.
Title: Flowers on Main Author: Sherryl Woods Series: Chesapeake Shores #2 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Contemporary romance Dates read: 19th – 20th July 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Mira Year: 2009 5th sentence, 74th page: Nell said, sounding vaguely wary, but definitely not surprised.
When her last two plays are dismal failures and her relationship with her temperamental mentor falls apart, writer Bree O’Brien abandons Chicago and the regional theater where she hoped to make a name for herself to return home. Opening Flowers on Main promises to bring her a new challenge and a new kind of fulfillment.
But not all is peaceful and serene in Chesapeake Shores, with her estranged mother on the scene and her ex-lover on the warpath. Jake Collins has plenty of reasons to want Bree out of his life, but none of those are a match for the one reason he wants her to stay: he’s still in love with her.
Jake might be able to get past that old hurt if he knew Bree was home to stay, but is she? The only way to know for sure is to take a dangerous leap of faith.
Bree is the quiet, lovely O’Brien sister. So I seriously looked forward to reading her story. After all, she’s the quiet sane sister. And sometimes they’re the ones that are the most ridiculously fun. Particularly when you begin to find out about the things in her past which made her run. And the lead man in this story? Jake… he’s just gorgeous. And underhanded. And wonderful.
There seems to be a bit of a recurring theme in the Chesapeake Shores books so far… that of reigniting love; second chances; and getting rid of naysayers. I love the idea that even though there have been bad moments in the past, there is always a chance for redemption. For Abbey it was walking back to the life that she said goodbye to. But, for Bree, it was so much more intense and complicated. The fact that Bree and Jake were able to get over their own past… it gives you hope for the future. Or at least, it gives me hope.
I love that one of the obstacles to the relationship in this novel were due to, in part, needing to just grow the hell up. And, you know, get over the past and find a way into the future. It’s something that I think we all sometimes need to keep in mind. And, as someone, who has been in a relationship since I was in my teens… I can completely understand both sides of the conflict in this… which is probably what I enjoyed so much about Woods’writing in this novel – it was realistic in its approach to emotions and feelings.
After finishing this novel, I weirdly really want a flower shop. I have no idea why. As much as I enjoy flowers – I’m not great at growing them, and I’ve never tried to arrange them. This is another one of those stories that act as a fantastic reminder that having an insanely high-powered career isn’t necessarily going to make you happy. And that giving up such a thing can sometimes lead to never-ending happiness.
Earth and Skye 