The Caregiver by Astrid 'Artistikem' Cruz Review

Title: The Caregiver

Author: Astrid 'Artistikem' Cruz 

My Rating: 3/5

Part of a series? Yes

Genre(s): Crime, Thriller

Description/Blurb:

Scarlett Lang always dreamt of becoming an Interpol agent. When her hard work pays off and she's given the chance to work as an undercover agent with London's biggest drug lord, Armand Sayer, she can't help being ecstatic about it. She's employed by Armand's sister (to aid in his recovery from a gun attack) as both caregiver and bodyguard. Her resourcefulness in both areas helps her win much more than Armand's trust, to the dismay of both his right-hand man and her ex-boyfriend / colleague. As she makes her way into the business she swore to help tear down, she's faced with the dilemma of choosing between being loyal to her profession or her heart. And we all know it can't be both.

My review: 

This book deals with more violence than the average crime novel with a female protagonist  Scarlett isn't an investigator really she's more of a hit-man (hit-woman?) which made a nice change. There's not really an overly complicated plot or loads of detail for the reader to get bogged down in which makes it a nice light read, easily readable in an hour or two.

I did have a couple of issues believing that the book was set in London though, it felt a lot more like some of the American cities I've read about. I'm not sure if it's because I'm more familiar with London than cities in the U.S. so it's harder for me to just go with the flow of the plot or something along those lines. I felt that maybe there was a bit too much gun crime going on, normally you read of more stabbings than gun crime in the papers so that didn't really feel right with me. There also weren't many landmarks mentioned so you could easily have been in any generic city. 

Anyway despite that little niggle I still found the book enjoyable, it was good for a quick read. I might even end up reading the sequel to learn more about Scarlett's past as I don't think we learnt enough about it in this book, I love to know what motivates a character when I'm reading but I appreciate that because this book is a rather short one an in-depth run down of Scarlett's history would have felt out of place and slowed down plot development massively.

I would quite happily recommend this book to anybody who wants a short, fast paced thriller or somebody who fancies a break from traditional romance novels. 

The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler review

Title: The Bookstore

Author: Deborah Meyler

My Rating: 2/5

Part of a series? Not at the time of writing this. 

Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance, Chick lit, New York.

Description/Blurb:

Impressionable and idealistic, Esme Garland is a young British woman who finds herself studying art history in New York. She loves her apartment and is passionate about the city and her boyfriend; her future couldn’t look brighter. Until she finds out that she’s pregnant.

Esme’s boyfriend, Mitchell van Leuven, is old-money rich, handsome, successful, and irretrievably damaged. When he dumps Esme—just before she tries to tell him about the baby—she resolves to manage alone. She will keep the child and her scholarship, while finding a part-time job to make ends meet. But that is easier said than done, especially on a student visa.

The Owl is a shabby, second-hand bookstore on the Upper West Side, an all-day, all-night haven for a colorful crew of characters: handsome and taciturn guitar player Luke; Chester, who hyperventilates at the mention of Lolita; George, the owner, who lives on protein shakes and idealism; and a motley company of the timeless, the tactless, and the homeless. The Owl becomes a nexus of good in a difficult world for Esme—but will it be enough to sustain her? Even when Mitchell, repentant and charming, comes back on the scene?

My review: 

Warning this review may be a bit harsh.

This book made me feel seriously guilty for reading books on my ipad, the second hand bookshop in this story is built up so well, you can imagine the atmosphere and how the small number of staff care for and interact with each other really pulls on the heartstrings when you think of all the business they must have lost through eBooks and websites like Amazon.

Reading this left me quite frustrated at times, I lost count of the number of times I wanted to shout at Esme (the main character) or slap some sense into her. She makes bad decision after bad decision in her relationships; she could have got rid of the boyfriend to save herself all the games. The relationship with Mitchell didn't really make much sense anyway. The author puts Esme across as this intelligent women who’s independent enough to cross the Atlantic to further her education and then decide she’s capable of raising a baby on her own, yet she becomes completely dependent on the love/approval of a man who to be quite frank is a complete arse (not to mention not particularly well developed as a character). I know this is a trait that is fairly common amongst chick-lit romances but at least the author could give us a consistent character.

Another slight niggle I had with the book were the frequent literary and art references, some of them quite obscure. I don’t usually mind the odd reference, they’re one of the reasons why I found jasper fforde’s ‘Thursday Next’ books so enjoyable, however there is a point where they get too much. They didn't really add too much to the plot other than to verify Esme’s knowledge of Art History so the reader is able to just over look them and move on but if you are the curious type and not a literature or art buff you may find yourself having a sneaky Google every now and then.

The author appears to make the occasional attempt at social commentary in the book through the bookstore owner’s habit of paying a couple of homeless people to do odd jobs such as clean the windows and then through Esme’s thoughts on these people and the life they live (don’t want to give out too many spoilers).

While I do have to say that this book wasn't 100% to my own personal taste, I have to give this book 2/5 instead of say 1/5 is because I do believe that some people, particularly fans of chick-lit, might enjoy it. I didn't find any structural problems such as odd spelling or grammar which would make the book difficult to read, all my nit-picking was with the characters and story itself so I can see somebody picking this book for a slower paced holiday read.

The Other Side by Sabrina D. Guthrie Review

Title: The Other Side

Author: Sabrina D. Guthrie

My Rating: 3.5/5

Part of a series? No

Genre(s): Quick-read, Fantasy, Romance.

Description/Blurb:

Starting college wasn’t supposed to include the spirit realm but when Brynn’s apartment turns out to be haunted, she is startled to discover she can see spirits, and they can see her. 

The dead leads her down a road of discovery, and when her life becomes entangled with a mysterious stranger who turns out to be her guardian angel, she soon finds herself choosing between letting go or giving in to a forbidden attraction.

My review: 

This is a wonderful short love story with some light urban fantasy elements. I really enjoyed reading it as a way to fall asleep at night, it wasn't scary enough to make me worry about nightmares and there's nothing like a nice battle for love and good over evil to help a person feel all warm and fuzzy.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys a bit of light fantasy and for fans of romance.

Trust in Advertising by Victoria Michaels Review

Title: Trust in Advertising

Author: Victoria Michaels

My Rating: 2.5/5

Part of a series? No

Genre(s): Chick lit, Some humour, Adult, Romance.

Description/Blurb: 

Lexi White finds herself at a crossroads. After putting everything on hold to care for her ailing father, it’s finally time for her to start living her life again. An exciting new job holds the promise of a fresh start, until she comes face to face with someone from her past who has always stopped her dead in her tracks, and who evidently still has the power to make her forget her own name. This time around, Lexi’s a grown woman who refuses to back away from her dreams, even if it requires working with her old high school crush. Side by side. Every day. Will he end up being her downfall or exactly what she needs?

My review: 

 quite liked the premise of this book, the idea of meeting your old high school crush several years down the line and having to deal with the awkwardness. I can sympathise a bit with Lexi on that, I think I know way more about my crushes than they ever knew about me! It was also quite refreshing to read a romance book without a load of smut, sometimes it can be quite boring when half the book is some form of sex and fantasy. However I couldn't rate this book any more than three stars because there wasn't enough plot development for my liking. I found that the story developed painfully slowly for most of the book, then everything was rushed at the end after Lexi and Vincent decided that they loved each other enough to put the events of the book (trying not to be too spoilery here!) behind them and have a relationship.

The Academy: Game On by Monica Seles Review

Title: The Academy: Game On

Author: Monica Seles

My Rating: 2.5/5

Part of a series? Yes, this is book one of 'The Academy' series 

Genre(s): Sport, Young Adult, School, Romance. 

Description/Blurb:

The Academy is the hottest international sports school for teen athletes. There are only two ways in: money – and lots of it – or enough talent to earn a scholarship.

Young tennis star Maya’s dreams have finally come true! She’s got the scholarship. She’s got the drive. She’s on her way from small town to pro career . . . But when Maya starts boarding at the sports training school, her fantasy of the Academy doesn't quite match the reality – because where there are beautiful, talented teens, there’s plenty of drama.

My review: 

Although I found the book a bit slow to start with and got a bit bogged down with all the explaining how ostentatious the academy is, the story itself was enjoyable. It reminded me a little of the chestnut hill books (except here we have a range of sports and not horse riding).

It was interesting watching the relationship with Jake, the son who didn't quite seem to fit in with the 'perfect' sports family and the friendships with the other girls. Just when you think someone is going to turn out to be a genuinely nice person they show their true colours. 

With this book being quite short and the language simple it makes it a good read for older children and people who may struggle with concentrating on reading.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Review

Title: The Night Circus

Author: Erin Morgenstern

My Rating: 4/5

Part of a series? No

Genre(s): Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Romance. 

Description/Blurb:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

My review: 

After looking at some of the reviews on goodreads I thought that I might find myself too bogged down in the detail to really enjoy the book but decided to give it a go anyway. I'm glad I did. When the writer takes you through the circus (with no character POV)I actually felt like I was there and might see any of the characters around the corner. Covering the POV of more than one character really helped me sympathise with the characters more, allowing the reader to make judgements based on motivation and not just the actions which may have unintended consequences. Well that and I get a bit obsessive over characters when I really get into and book and end up wanting to understand them completely. 

The basics of the story, competition between magician types/falling in love with the 'other side' is not the most original it's still enjoyable with the detail and little quirks of the sub-plots more than making up for that in my opinion.

The Year of the Great Seventh by Teresa Orts Review

Title: The Year of the Great Seventh

Author: Teresa Orts

My Rating: 4.5/5

Part of a series? There is a sequel in the works. 

Genre(s): Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance. 

Description/Blurb:

Sophie has always felt out of step—an outsider, even amongst friends in her high school with all the hype about celebrity culture. Her life in L.A. seems to have been already written for her, but when her junior year starts, it all takes a drastic turn. When she crosses paths with the school's heartthrob, Nate Werner, they fall for each other in a way neither can understand. What they don’t know is that by giving in to their desires, they are unlocking an ancient Egyptian prophecy that threatens to return Earth to the dark ages.

To undo the curse, Nate and Sophie embark on an adventure that takes them across the country. But their quest is not only to save the world as they know it. It is also a fight for their very survival. Behind the scenes, there are those that are counting on them to fail.

My review: 

The year of the great Seventh is refreshingly different from a lot of the young adult books I've been reading lately, I liked how deep the author went with the mythology and I was sitting there trying to figure out the meaning of the prophecy along with Sophie (though I must admit I didn't manage to work anything out for myself). It was also quite nice to hear about L.A. without it all being about glitz and glamour with the main character being obsessed with designer *insert designer item here*, which I have seen in a couple of books to the extent where I felt like I was reading a fashion magazine but anyway back to the point! It was new and refreshing, sort of like the His Dark Materials trilogy (mainly because of the attention to detail) meets the film the Mummy.

The book itself is not written as if it is aimed at young adults in particular, ok the characters are high school students but the writing itself is a bit more mature than what goes on in a typical teenagers head, this combined with the power of the story itself (really trying not to give away spoilers in this review so I apologise for being vague) makes this a book I would recommend to older readers as well. I also liked that the characters reactions to the events are consistent and wouldn't be unexpected in real life, the characters don't automatically forget about the way others have acted in the past and the protagonists don't brush off fatal situations as if they were nothing which makes the characters much more relatable in my eyes. 

I would recommend the Great Seventh to anyone who likes mystery with perhaps a bit of fantasy thrown in and I can honestly say that I will find myself rereading this book at some stage and reading the sequel, especially after the dramatic set up for it at the end of the book!

Gateway to Reality by Becca J. Campbell Review

Title: Gateway to Reality

Author: Becca J. Campbell

My Rating: 2/5

Part of a series? No, but the ending did leave the possibility of a sequel. 

Genre(s): Sci-fi, fantasy, smidge of romance. 

Description/Blurb:

Talented artists shouldn’t be waiting tables, scraping by, and living mediocre lives. But that’s exactly what art school graduate Wes Teague is doing.

Then he wakes from a bizarre dream, haunted by the sense that his life isn't real. A harrowing truth presents itself--the real world lies in his dreams, not when he's wide awake.
The dream world he enters each night is rich and vibrant. Chicago appears the same on the surface, but chaos runs rampant as gravity, physics, and other laws of nature become fluid, changing unexpectedly. There, Wes's parents, brother, and sister are strangers. His girlfriend Emily doesn’t recognize him. Wes longs to return, to unlearn the truth about his dual reality.
Wes would sacrifice almost anything to get back to blissful ignorance in a false world.
But now he has feelings for the real Emily.

My review: 

The Gateway to reality is a fairly interesting sci fi/fantasy read, I don't think I've ever read anything completely like it before. We have the true reality which is like a dream world where there is no logic and no rules and then we have a fake version of reality which is like our universe, poor Wes finds himself thrown into life in the 'real world' where his girlfriend and family don't know him and a mysterious man who seems to have answers seems to be watching him.

Although this story wasn't quite my cup of tea it does raise some interesting points about the human condition. Campbell seems to suggest that we need rules and logic to stay sane, and when allowed to do anything they want when they want people need to escape somewhere with a set schedule, where they have to go to work and pay the bills.  The reader also gets to see how people in this world deal with grief and see how events people aren't necessarily aware of may affect the subconscious. However I was a little bit disappointed when the author didn't explore some of these issues further, it felt like the book was a bit too short as it had the potential to really explore the human psyche. 

I like how the author really fleshed out the character of Emily, she could have ended up as the standard love interest who ignores the main character while staring wistfully off into the distance, but she was actually made quite realistic. Emily acted how you'd expect someone to act when a man they barely know comes up to them for the first couple of times, though she did become trusting a bit too quickly for my liking (especially considering her past)but the book was only short so any more time spent with Emily completely rejecting Wes would have made the plot drag a bit.

This is not a book I'd personally want to reread but I think it would be a great read for somebody who enjoys reading about alternate realities, universes completely different to our own or has a lot of appreciation for the creative process (due to the way things get done in the 'real world'). 

Sweet by Uzuri M. Wilkerson Review

Title: Sweet

Author: Uzuri M. Wilkerson

My rating: 2.5/5

Part of a series? This is book one in the Bitten series

Genre(s): Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Vampire, Adult fiction, Romance.

Description/Blurb:

Witnessing a brutal murder at work is only the beginning of Celia's problems. The fact that the victim is a vampire only proves to complicate her life even more. The vampires of New England have always had an undetected existence among humans but with the unprovoked death of one of their own, the lust for revenge has begun. Celia's concerns are magnified when a hunter from Dallas arrives in town. With Jay's sexy smile and rugged ways, Celia finds herself wanting to spend time with him despite being mysteriously linked to the nest that is threatening to become extinct if Jay gets his way. When four bodies are found drained of blood; Jay teams up with a local bunch to take out all the undead which coincidentally, includes her boyfriend Victor. Celia won't stand seeing anything happen to Victor but refuses to hurt Jay as well. Confusion, lust, rage and violence intertwine as worlds collide. Celia will soon discover that her neat little existence is not what it seems as her cryptic past and present start to unravel.

My review: 

A fascinating urban fantasy story set in modern Boston. The reader gets to read the story through the eyes of our human barmaid Celia, her vampire boyfriend Victor and the mysterious vampire hunter Jay. 

For the most part the characters are diverse and believable, neither ‘side’ can be described as evil the vampires are individuals and the hunters are individuals, some are good, some are bad and others are a tad misguided. However there are a couple of hiccups, Celia’s friend Trixie seems to take her brutal introduction to the supernatural world a lot easier than seemed natural in the story.

The editing of the book could also have been a bit more thorough as you do come across the odd spelling mistake or unusual bit of grammar. I would still recommend this book to an urban fantasy fan though as you get sucked into the story so quickly it’s easy to stop noticing these things and they don’t take away from the enjoyment of the story. 

The author made use of the existing vampire mythology (sunlight burns, sleep in the day, stakes etc.) as well as adding a bit herself/using less common attributes e.g. the different forms of glamour, losing humanity and becoming almost animal like over time to give a couples of examples that don’t give away anything. This does help the book stand out slightly as it doesn’t sound like a rehashed version of Dracula or a folk tale and keeps the whole vampire mythology thing fresh.

Now I know I haven’t been 100% positive in this review and gushing all over the book like it’s the best thing since sliced bread so for my final point I’m going to just say this; I enjoyed the book and I’m hooked enough to be planning to buy the sequel.