Three for £1

The sun was hiding behind some clouds today so I decided to do some long overdue grocery shopping, with a quick visit to the Pound shop for a few bargains.  As usual I couldn't resist a wee look at the book shelves and low and behold I came out with not one but three books for £1.00 that's 33.3p each (wow).  Can't beat that with a big stick. 

When I've finished 'The Catalyst by Chris Adonn' I'll start reading 'The Mesmerist by Barbara Ewing', seems to have some good ratings at Goodreads.

Revelations will be my first 'Blue Bloods' novel, looks promising.

Beyond 9 to 5 I picked to make 3, not sure about this as it's written by a psychologist, I've nothing against psychologists but having taken short psychology and sociology courses I didn't like the way people are pigeon holed but hey who I'm I to criticise.  Will give it a go sometime though.     

Full House - Maeve Binchy (Quick Read)

Waterstones Synopsis

Dee loves her children very much, but now they are all grown up, shouldn't they leave home? Rosie moved out when she got married, but it didn't work out, so now she is back with her parents. Helen is a teacher, and doesn't earn enough for a place of her own. Anthony writes songs, and is just waiting for the day when someone will pay him for them. Until then, all three are happy at home. It doesn't cost them anything, and surely their parents like having a full house? When a crisis occurs, Dee decides things have to change for the whole family ...whether they like it or not.

Just spent a beautiful day in and out of the garden enjoying the glorious sunshine reading Full House in between housework of course.

My Review

A nice little read for a single sitting whilst indulging yourself.  Maive Binchey does a pretty good job of describing modern family life with stay at home offspring.  No doubt every mother will identify with some if not all of protagonist Dee's mistakes and grievances.  I am certainly guilty of one or two misdemenours.  (I justify myself by putting it down to having only one child, I would never let three away with it......would I?).  

A light gentle read to while away a few hours although everything is resolved rather too quickly but with only 117 pages to play with it's necessary.

The Sicilian Amulet – Jo Manning

On a recent trip to Dublin I found a lovely wee bookshop in Malahide.  Naturally I had to buy a book and as usual being on the hunt for a bargain I was drawn to a hardcopy of The Sicilian Amulet with a price tag of €3.  It had an interesting title and the cover was appealing.  Well, the old adage applies …… never judge a book by its cover.

Amazon Synopsis

Jane Holland finds herself strangely drawn to Sicily and is introduced to a prince named Lorenzo, who gives her an amulet. His grandfather Maurizio made two and gave the other one to a beautiful peasant woman. Later, Jane discovers that her great-aunt had a scandalous affair with a married man. Are the spirits of Maurizio and Caterina working through Jane and Lorenzo to bring closure to that tragic love affair?

My Review

I laboured through the book as some part of the story did entice me (perhaps entice is too strong a word more accurately peaked my interest).  However the love story, which accounts for a large percentage of the novel I found just too ‘Mills and Boon’ for my liking.  I also found the writing, to be kind, less than sophisticated and the narative predictable. 

I would describe this novel as chick lit which may appeal to YA’s, (maybe I’m just in my grumpy old woman phase). 

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict - Laurie Viera Rigler

Goodreads Blurb

After nursing a broken engagement with Jane Austen novels and Absolut, Courtney Stone wakes up and finds herself not in her Los Angeles bedroom or even in her own body, but inside the bedchamber of a woman in Regency England. Who but an Austen addict like herself could concoct such a fantasy?

Not only is Courtney stuck in another woman’s life, she is forced to pretend she actually is that woman; and despite knowing nothing about her, she manages to fool even the most astute observer. But not even her level of Austen mania has prepared Courtney for the chamber pots and filthy coaching inns of nineteenth-century England, let alone the realities of being a single woman who must fend off suffocating chaperones, condom-less seducers, and marriages of convenience.

This looking-glass Austen world is not without its charms, however. There are journeys to Bath and London, balls in the Assembly Rooms, and the enigmatic Mr. Edgeworth, who may not be a familiar species of philanderer after all. But when Courtney’s borrowed brain serves up memories that are not her own, the ultimate identity crisis ensues. Will she ever get her real life back, and does she even want to?( 

My Review

I confess I have never read a Jane Austen novel (yes honestly), I only picked this novel up because it was buy one get one free for 99p.  To my surprise I found it an enjoyable read and as a result it may have inspired me to dust one of Jane Austen's novels of my shelf and give it a try (one day).

The modern twist made what could have been the usual 'will they, won't they' scenario, which I can find tedious and frustrating, much more interesting. 

A light, enjoyable 'holiday' read.

No Time For Goodbye - Linwood Barclay

Goodreads Blurb

Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke one morning to discover that her entire family–mother, father,brother–had vanished. No note, no trace, no return. Ever. Now, twenty-five years later, she’ll learn the devastating truth.

Sometimes it’s better not to know. . . .

My Review

A good page turner full of suspense, kept me guessing most of the way through.  Not so much a ‘who done it’ as a ‘who did what’.  Maybe I’m just in reading form at the moment but yet again I was gripped from the beginning, every time I put the book down I had to lift it soon after to find out what comes next. 

A well paced mystery/thriller with very visual storytelling and interesting characters.  It would certainly inspire me to read more of his novels.

I would have awarded 5 stars but the last quarter of the book was not as (I struggle for a word here) perhaps strong....  It was faster paced towards the end and certainly tied up all loose ends but.... maybe less innovative is what I am trying to say. But don't be put off it is still a good read.