23.7.10

See you in a week!!

Right, I am going on my holiday today!! Dot Scribbles shall be sailing round the Med on a rather large ship whilst reading lots of books and sipping the odd cocktail!! I shall be back next Saturday and hopefully will have many reviews to share with you! See you in a week!

22.7.10

Book Review: Time of Death by Alex Barclay

FBI agent Ren Bryce's hunt for some of the country's most dangerous killers is about to turn into a nightmare. There is unfinished business between those she is pursuing, and soon she is forced to confront both personal and professional traumas.
Then someone close to Ren is murdered and secrets from her past look set to be revealed, throwing her into a world of fear, paranoia and danger.
Dark forces are at work and someone is determined to destroy Ren's life. But time is running out and Ren must catch a killer before he catches her...

I hadn't ready anything by Alex Barclay before but I very much enjoyed Time of Death. I've thought about this review for a while and I have decided not to talk too much about the plot as it would be far too easy to spoil it for others. The book is very fast paced though, we visit several locations but I think this just adds to the reader's understanding of how desperate Ren Bryce is to catch the killer.
FBI agent Ren Bryce made the book for me, she is an excellent character. Ren suffers from Bipolar as does one of my closest friends and Alex Barclay describes the condition perfectly whilst exploring how it would effect somebody with Bipolar to work is such a high risk and stressful job. Ren is chasing a killer whilst trying to protect her family which seems to be falling apart and also trying to keep the explosive secrets from her past well and truly hidden. I loved how Alex Barclay shows Ren's thoughts alongside the dialogue, it's like being let in on the secret of what she is actually thinking.
There is a lot going on in Time of Death and quite a few characters to keep up with. I sometimes find that a bit annoying but instead I was very impressed with the way that Alex Barclay brought everything together.
This is a proper page turner that I am sure will appeal to many readers. I really liked Alex Barclay's writing style and shall be on the lookout for her future books.

Many thanks to Harper for sending me this book to review, it is published today!

20.7.10

New to Dot Scribbles Shelves

I have been completely spoilt this week and my postman has been very busy with lots of packages being delivered for Dot Scribbles!!
The lovely people at Simon & Schuster sent me a goodie bag of books as I wasn't able to attend their blogger's event, I'm really looking forward to reading these books, here's what I got:

Pictures of Lily by Paige Toon- Ten years ago when Lily was just sixteen, she fell in love with someone she really shouldn't have fallen in love with. Now, living in Sydney and engaged to another man, she can't forget the one that got away. Then her past comes back to haunt her, and she has to make a decision that will break her heart- and the heart of at least one of the men who love her.

Bad Day in Blackrock by Kevin Power- One August night in Dublin, Conor Harris was killed by three kicks to the head. Bang Bang Bang. This is the worst thing that ever happened to us. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell.


The White Woman On The Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey- When George and Sabine Harwood arrive in Trindad from Englnd George is immediately seduced by the beguiling island. But Sabine feels isolated, heat-fatigued, and ill at ease. Her only solace is her growing fixation with Eric Williams, the charismatic leader of Trinidad's new national party, to whom she pours out all her hopes and fears for the future in letters that she never brings herself to send. As the years progress, George and Sabine's marriage endures for better and for worse. When George discovers Sabine's cache of letters, he realises just how many secrets she's kept from him- and he from her- over the decades. And he is seized by an urgent, desperate need to prove his love for her...


Eleven by Mark Watson- Find out how eleven lives are affected by a single chain of events in this extraordinary new novel by one of Britain's best loved comedians.


Daugfhters of Fortune by Tara Hyland- William Melville's daughters are heiresses to the world' most exclusive fashion dynasty. Beautiful and rich, they are envied by all. But behind the glittering facade of their lives, each girl hides a dark secret that threatens to tear their family apart.Smart, ambitious Elizabeth knows how to manipulate every man she meets, except the one who counts: her father. Gentle, naive Caitlin, the illegitimate child, struggling to fit into a world of privilege while staying true to herself. Stunning, spoilt Amber, the party girl with a weakness for bad boys; more fragile than anyone realises. As each of them seeks to carve out their own destiny, Elizabeth, Caitlin and Amber face difficult choices, which will take them in wildly different directions. But as old wounds resurface and threaten to destroy the foundations of the Melville empire, their paths will cross again. Because the simple truth is that, no matter how far you go, you cannot escape the claims of family.

I have been sent three books for review this week and they all look very interesting, they are:

The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton (Headline) A rural idyll: that's what Catherine is seeking when she sells her house in England and moves to a tiny hamlet in the Cevennes mountains. With her divorce in the past and her children grown, she is free to make a new start, and to set up a new business as a seamstress. But this is a harsh and lonely place when you're no longer here on holiday. There is French Bureaucracy to contend with, not to mention the mountain weather, and the reserve of her neighbours, including the intriguing Patrick Castagnol. And that's before the arrival of Catherine's sister, Bryony...


Up Close and Personal by Leonie Fox (Penguin 5th August) Yasmin is a straight-talking game player who's got no-strings sex down to a T. So why is she suddenly craving commitment from the one man she' can't have? Nicole is trapped in a passionless marriage but tangled up in a passionate affair. Should she risk the safety of her happy-ever-after for something that's oh-so-sexy but oh-so-risky? They both envy Juliet, who seems to have it all. She's bagged a gorgeous toy boy of a husband, but is she still entertaining naughty thoughts about a dangerous old flame? These girls will go to the ends of the earth for one another... and any lengths to get their men. But when everything starts to unravel, will they choose friendship- or sex?


Juliet by Anne Fortier (Harper 19th August) When Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety deposit box in Siena, she is told it will lead her to an old family treasure. Soon she is launched on a precarious journey into the history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose love for a young man named Romeo inspired Shakespeare's unforgettable story. As Julie crosses paths with the families who turned medieval Siena upside down, she begins to realize that the notorious curse- 'a plague on both your houses' is still at work.

Finally my lovely sister has lent me this book which I have heard brilliant things about:


The Last Letter from your Lover by Jojo Moyes (Hodder & Stoughton) Romantic and poignant, Jojo Moyes's novel of passion, adultery and heartbreak is also a quiet lament of the lost art of the love letter.


15.7.10

Book Review: Wicked Games by Sasha Wagstaff

Debonair and dynamic, millionaire Judd Harrington has returned from LA a glittering success. But as he stares across the valley at Lochlin Maguire's beautiful country house, all he can think of is revenge.
Meanwhile Judd's arch-rival has troubles of his own. Lochlin's record label is losing major talent to an unknown competitor, his wife Tavvy is distracted and he can't seem to see eye to eye with his son Shay.
Ubenknownst to Lochlin, his talented singer daughter Iris has fallen for irresistible racing driver Ace Harrington in LA. Ace is under orders from Judd to break Iris's heart. What he hadn't bargained for was losing his own in the process. Can he go against his father's wishes? Or will Judd's wicked games ruin love's young dream?
OK, I am sorry to be really gushing but I thought this book was brilliant! Let me give you an idea of what Sasha Wagstaff has packed into her story: Love, glamour, revenge, rock stars, LA, New York, London, racing drivers, affairs, greed, domestic abuse, record deals, beautiful mansions, power and rivalry. Phew, quite a lot isn't it, I couldn't put it down, I just wanted to know more and more.
The characters that Sasha Wagstaff has created are really believable as well, although Judd is the bad guy she does not make Lochlin out to be Mr Perfect either. But Judd has to be one of my favourite villains of the year, he is just vile, at first I thought that she had created a stereo-typical bad guy, womanising and demoralising others but as the book goes on you start to see that he is really vile and hell bent on revenge. By pitting the two families together Sasha Wagstaff is able to bring in several story lines which keep you turning the pages but they all come together so it doesn't get confusing at any point.
I really did love this book, I'm going to check out her previous one Changing Grooms as I imagine it will be just as good!

Many thanks to Helena at Headline for sending me a copy to review, Wicked Games is published today.

13.7.10

Book Review: The Passage by Justin Cronin

Deep in the jungles of eastern Colombia, Professor Jonas Lear has finally found what he's been searching for- and wishes to God he hadn't.
In Memphis Tennessee, a six year old girl called Amy is left at the convent of the Sisters of Mercy and wonders why her mother has abandoned her.
In a maximum security jail in Nevada, a convicted murderer called Giles Babcock has the same strange nightmare, over and over again while he waits for a lethal injection.
In a remote community in the Californian mountains, a young man called Peter waits for his beloved brother to return home so he can kill him.
Bound together in ways they cannot comprehend, for each of them a door is about to open on a future they could not have imagined. And a journey is about to begin. An epic journey that will take them through a world transformed by man's darkest dreams, to the very heart of what it means to be human.
And beyond. 
You cannot escape the fact that The Passage is huge, at 766 pages, it's only in hardback at the moment too which makes it feel even bigger. I loved the cover of this book but I have to say that it wasn't a book that you could just pop into your bag and it was far too heavy for bath reading.
I did enjoy it though and I can see what most of the hype is about. I had already ordered the book when I learned about the vampire element of it; it wouldn't have put me off as I am quite partial to the odd vampire but it may have stopped others from reading it. Justin Cronin's vampires are not the traditional sort, there's no swirling capes or changing into bats. However, the vampires in The Passage are terrifying creations able to tear a human up in seconds without any control over their desire to do so.
The Passage is a page turner but I will admit that I found the first part of the book far more gripping than the second. Cronin introduces the characters and sets up the events in the first part, the subsequent parts of the book have a very different feel to them and there were some parts that felt like a bit of a chore to get through.
If you like a good paced thriller then you will very much enjoy The Passage. Justin Cronin has written a very clever and powerful book which looks at the many aspects of human nature. Juts prepare yourself for the long haul and no reading in the bath, it's worth it though!

8.7.10

Book Review: I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk

I Heart Paris is the third book in the I Heart series by Lindsey Kelk, I haven't read the other two but I shall be catching up with them as I really enjoyed this one.
Angela Clarke is on her adventures again, her boyfriend Alex who is in a rock band asks her to go on a week long trip to Paris where he has a gig, at the same time, the ultra trendy Belle magazine ask Angela to do a travel piece so it's not long before she is packing her bags and heading for the airport. Things however do not go smoothly, Angela falls in love with Paris but everything is against her. Someone is trying to sabotage her article and then Alex's gorgeous Parisian ex-girlfriend shows up. Angela is very tempted to run away back to her old life in London; she has to decide if what she wants is worth fighting for.
Lindsey Kelk has written a brilliant book, I really loved the character of Angela Clarke, she feels very real but incredibly entertaining at the same time. She is placed into so many difficult situations throughout the book and I loved wondering how she was going to get out of the latest one.
This book very much made me want to go to Paris again; I wanted to wander around with Angela, visiting the beautiful shops and bustling cafes. If you are looking for a good, entertaining read then I would highly recommend this one. As I said, don't need to have read the other two in the series to understand I Heart Paris. I am going to read the previous ones though as I would love to know about the adventures that Angela has already got up to!

Many thanks to the lovely people at Harper for sending me a copy to review, this book is published today.

7.7.10

New to Dot Scribbles' Shelves

I have been very good this week in that I didn't actually buy any books myself, my shelves are pretty full so I am trying to be good for a while, doubt it will last long!!

I was sent two books to review this week:


Sidney Sheldon's After The Darkness by Tilly Bagshawe (Harper 5th August) What happens when a woman who has everything, loses it all? And when a woman who has nothing, realises she has nothing to lose? Grace Brookstein is young, beautiful and the wife of billionaire Lenny Brookstein when the US stock market goes into a terrifying freefall. Oblivious and seemingly unscathed, Grace continues her charmed life, until the death of her husband in a tragic sailing 'accident' forces her to face reality. Was it possible that Lenny had conned thousands of people out of millions of dollars to live like a king, and how much did Grace know? Untangling a spiralling web of vicious lies and well planned deceit, Grace soon puts her own life in danger in an attempt to prove her innocence. Filled with the passion, glamour, twists and driving suspense that made Sidney Sheldon a bestselling legend, After the Darkness continues the grand tradition set by the master himself.

Cathy's Ring by Stewart / Weisman / Brigg (Bloomsbury 2nd August) You only live twice. My rich boyfriend, Victor is broke. My potential other boyfriend, Denny, is broken. There are creepy guys stalking my best friend. And there are three dead bodies underneath my window. All I have left is my sketch book, a variety pack of lip gloss in Assorted Candy Flavour and a healthy dose of fear.

Then my lovely, lovely sister who knows I have a slight obsession with books turned up with four for me! Here they are:

Mother Country by Libby Purves (Flame) Even her closest friend agreed that Shark Grayson wasn't fit to keep her baby. A heroin addict, living in a sordid London squat, she was already close to death when her American lover took charge of the situation by force, and carried off the baby Alexander to give him a loving home in the Mid-West and an affluent future. But now Alex is twenty-seven, orphaned again and afflicted by a sense of lost roots and a romantic vision of what he sees as the magical and sacred, heroic and democratic, happy and glorious realm of England. A business trip provides the chance to go and track his unknown relatives, and so another innocent American arrives in the intricate, strangely bad-tempered country that part of him yearns to belong to. He finds friendship, in homely Doreen Clark; encounters some startlingly predatory girls; and confronts mystery (and truly terrible soup) in the eccentric alternative health centre run by the austere Julia. He discovers that while some British people are very hard indeed to get along with- like the aloof Lady Vernon and the tricksy gambler Alan- some turn out to be, after all, more closely akin to him than he could ever have imagined.


Secrets of a Family Album by Isla Dewar (Headline) Obsessively neat Lily, a writer who writes about writers, is asked to interview the enigmatic journalist and photographer Rita Boothe. Leafing through a book of Rita's from the early seventies, Lily notices a picture of the incandescently sexy young woman sitting in a limousine swigging Jack Daniels. It's her mother, Mattie. Lily isn't shocked. She's jealous. She wants to be like that, beautiful, abandoned. But Mattie is no longer meltingly gorgeous. In their neglected house, she and her husband scrape by and bicker. Upstairs, Grandpa flirts on the Internet. Marie, Lily's sister, is facing a custody suit and her brother Rory avoids coming home. Lily is usually one to sort the family out, but she's tired of being boring and dependable. She wants to let go, be a woman of wicked mystery and intrigue. Like the one in the photograph.


Light on Snow by Anita Shreve (Abacus) Walking through new-fallen snow in the forest near their home, twelve-year-old Nicky Dillon and her father come upon something inconceivable: there in the pristine winter scene, an abandoned infant wails, its survival made possible only by the coincidence of their having chosen this path for their evening stroll. Anita Shreve delivers her most powerful novel yet- a mesmerising story of the secrets we keep and the secrets we unearth, and the power of forgiveness to mend even the most battered souls.

Sea Room by Adam Nicholson (Harper Collins) Have you ever wondered what it would be like to own your own islands? 20 years ago it happened to Adam Nicholson. Aged 21, he inherited the Shiants, 3 lonely islands set in a dangerous sea 5 miles off Lewis; only a stone bothy for accommodation- and one of the most beautiful places on the planet. A world of hermits and stories, of birds and boats, of fisherman and sheep, Sea Room is these island's story, written with passion and poetry- a celebration for all of us of an island life. 


So there you go, have you read any of these? I am making good headway with The Passage but it is HUGE so will probably take me longer than normal!

5.7.10

Book Review: Pastworld by Ian Beck

To Eve, a lifelong resident of PASTWORLD, horse-drawn carriages and gas lamps are modern technology. Eve doesn't even know she's living in a simulation- until she is forced to flee the only home she's ever known, and to confront the truth about her city and herself.
To Caleb, a tourist visiting PASTWORLD, the theme park is the perfect antidote to the stifling conformity and regulations of 2048. Until he finds himself at the scene of a murder, holding the knife, and suddenly becomes a fugitive from an antiquated justice system.
And in the midst of it all, a dark and deadly figure prowls, claiming victim after victim. He's the Fantom, a creature both of the past and of the future, in whose dark purpose Caleb and Eve will find their destinies combined.
I was completely intrigued by the above blurb when this book arrived in the post. I was worried that I would find Pastworld too far fetched but after starting and finishing it in one day, I have to say that I think it is a fantastic book that will will appeal to young adults but I am sure to many adult readers also.
It's such a good idea and PASTWORLD, the Victorian simulation created by the Buckland Corporation is entirely believable. I thought it was very clever to have residents such as Eve who thought her world was entirely real juxtaposed with the character of Jago who she befriends; he has to explain how everything is simulated, right down to the sky which is in fact a large dome with projected images.
The Fantom is a terrifying creation, if anything, the more we learn about him, the scarier he becomes. We slowly discover how Eve and the Fantom are linked, what on earth does this kind, caring girl and a brutal murderer have in common?
I love anything to do with the Victorian era and Ian Beck describes the Victorian London simulation perfectly. He talks of the fog, the stench, the poverty, the death, the Fagan like characters and you can picture all that he describes in your mind.
Pastworld is one of my favourite Young Adult books that I have read so far this year. As I said, I started and finished this book in one day, once I had started I couldn't put it down so obviously I would very much reccommend it.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of this book to review, it is published today. If you would like to see a trailer for the book then just click here.

2.7.10

Book Review: Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey + Free Book!!

It's been centureis since Isabeu St. Croix survived the French Revolution . Now she's made her way back to the living, and must face the ultimate test by confronting the evil British lord who turned her into a vampire and left her buried for two hundred years. That's if she can control her affetion for Logan Drake, a vampire whose bite is as sweet as the revenge she seeks.
This is the second book in the Drake Chronicles, I loved My Love Lies Bleeding but sadly this one just didn't do it for me. I'm not sure what it was as I still very much enjoyed Alyxandra Harvey's wriritng style. I just found it really hard to get into the story of Isabeu. Myabe it is becasue she is a relatively new character; I founfd myself wanting to know more about Solange and Lucy and Nicholas who we had been so closely following in the first book. Isabeau and Logan's relationship was interesting but it was nowhere as near as intense as the relationship im the first book of the series.
Please don't let my review put you off as I still think that this is a really good series and I shall be reading the third book to find out what happens next.

Thank you to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of this book, Blood Feud is published on Monday, 5th July.

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As I said, I really loved My Love Lies Bleeding, the lovely people at Bloomsbury are giving away the first book in the series. For 24 hours from midday on Monday July 5th if you click HERE then you will be able to download the book for free, how good is that!!

All change here!

I have made the decision to stop doing written reviews on here for a little while. I shall keep this page open but for the time being I sha...