Tuesday, May 29, 2012

New Reads:

New Reads: *IMM (1)

"In My Mailbox" Today I received a signed copy of The Weepers: The Other Life



From the inside jacket flap:
  Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker for more than three years. Her grandfather's body has been in the freezer for the last six months, her parents are at each other's throats ... and two minutes ago, they ran out of food.
Sherry and her father must leave the safety of the bunker. What they find is an empty Los Angeles, destroyed by bombs and haunted by "Weepers" -savage humans infected with a rabies virus.
  While searching for food, Sherry's father disappears and Sherry is saved by Joshua, a hunter. He takes her to Safehaven, a vineyard where a handful of survivors are picking up the pieces of their "other lives," before the virus changed everything. Sherry must find a way to help her family, stay alive, and decide whether Joshua is their savior or greatest danger as his desire for vengeance threatens them all.
Susanne Winnaker's debut novel is a page-turner that is not easy to forget.


Can't wait to read this one!!
~Lynne of TwoReads

*learn more about the IMM activity at The Story Siren

Monday, May 28, 2012

Review: Eirelan by Liam O'Shiel

Favourite Books:

Eirelan by Liam O'Shiel


Book Synopsis: "As Uinseann often says, we must be content with life and love and the beauty of the Earth. All the rest is dust in the wind." - Liadan Conmaicne Laigain.

Enter into a familiar world that is unfamiliar, a friendly world that is threatening, a world where honor and sacrifice are expected of all. You will meet many wonderful people in this world, and some not so wonderful at all. Conor, Fethnaid, Oran, Liadan, Padraic, Mairin, Aideen, Uinseann, Bradaigh -- they travel a road unlike ours. It is a dangerous road, yet one well worth exploring.

In Eirelan you will live for two months with men and women, old and young, fighters and writers, poets and ship captains, who cannot take for granted that anything they treasure will survive another year, let alone be the inheritance of their children. They dream of a life without fear and struggle. They long for a life filled with love and family and friendships instead of bloodshed and loss and desperate undertakings.

The first of five books set in this time and place, Eirelan tells the story of a two-month struggle for existence fought in the Province Year 999, also known as AD 3953


~ Richi of Tworeads

My Review:  This is a beautifully and intelligently written book making a nice change from your typical fantasy novel. 

The characters are very realistic, diverse and have great personalities. Some are adventurous and ambitious others are more thoughtful and content with a quiet life, but they are all strong and interesting. They also have realistic emotions, fears (mostly concern for those they care about), and how they deal with the deaths of their friends, comrades and those serving under them.

One of my favourite things was at the start of each chapter is a short piece of writing, typically a journal entry, letter or poem written by one characters, these give great insights into the characters and really helps you connect with them.

Another thing I enjoyed was seeing the world from the 'enemies' point of view, it was great to see them as ordinary people too and not your typical evil fantasy villains.

Most of the problems are fairly minor, lack of maps and appendix (although these can be found on the books excellent web site www.eirelan.com), as well as quite a number of spelling mistakes. I understand that these are to be corrected in the second edition of this book.

I really enjoyed this book and I am REALLY looking forward to the second book in the series. See my full review .

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Review: Just Add Magic by Cindy Callaghan

She's Reading: Just Add Magic by Cindy Callaghan


Back cover synopsis:
When Kelly Quinn and her two BFF's discover a dusty old cookbook while cleaning out an attic, the girls decide to try a few of the mysterious recipes that are inside.
But the ancient book bears on eerie warning, and it doesn't take long for the girls to realize that their dishes are linked to strange occurrences. The Keep 'Em Quiet Cobbler actually silences Kelly's pesky little brother and the Hexberry Tart brings an annoying curse to mean girl Charlotte. And there is the Love Bug Juice, which seems to have quite the effect on those cute Rusamano boys...
 Could these recipes really be magical? Who wrote them and where did they come from? And most important of all, what kind of trouble are the girls stirring up for themselves? Things are about to get just a little too hot in Kelly Quinn's kitchen...

*Goodreads First Read giveaway
*Received matching bookmarks and the book was signed by the author *squee!*

~Lynne @tworeads

 rating: 4 stars - click here to read my Goodreads review