November books

Categories: uncategorized

Tags: books, reading

Date: 30 November 2010 19:23:11

House Rules by Jodi Picoult is actually quite a dense read for a Picoult book. Emma is a single mother of two boys, Jacob and Theo. Jacob is 18-years-old and has Aspergers and as a result he has many quirks, the most striking one is his passion for CSI type programmes. He has a habit of turning up at crime scenes to give the police 'advice' and he set sup crime scenes in his house. This is all fine until he is arrested for murder and put on trial. A daunting enough process for anyone, but especially for a young man whose disorder makes him look guiltier than most. A good book, although not always an easy read as it is narrated chapter by chapter by different characters in the story. Well worth a read though.

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The Love Resort by Faith Bleasdale is one of the worst and most surreal books I have ever read. I can't even bring myself to tell you what the storyline is about because I am quite embarrassed to have read it (and even laughed at the ridiculousness of it on occasions!!!) The characters were shallow, the plot absolutely ridiculous and the writing wasn't very good. Avoid, unless you are drunk or desperate.

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Reading in Bed by Sue Gee is a nice read. Georgia and Dido have been friends since school, now retired their lives are taken up with their children and grandchildren. Georgia's husband died a few years ago and Dido finds out that her husband has been chasing a younger bit of skirt, things which change their worlds as they have known them. This was quite a good book with nicely developed main characters, although some of the other characters seem a little shallow. There was one thing that really, really annoyed me throughout this book though. The author seemed to have a complete aversion to speech marks. She never, ever used them to denote dialogue and I found it made it hard to follow at times!

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I really enjoyed Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts. Jude Murray flees Chicago to rural Ireland to stay a while in a cottage belonging to a distant (and dead) relative! She becomes fascinated by local folklore and decides to write a book. Of course she meets and falls in love with a hot Irish-man who is charming and silver tongued and their is a perfect happy ending! It was a nicely predictable book and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I should also say that this author is The Mister's nemesis. When he lived in Canada for a few months he worked in a bookshop and apparently Nora Roberts is such a prolific author that he used to have to spend ages putting all her new books out on display. I think he has an aversion to anything to has every written now!

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Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner is a reasonably good book but the plotline is pretty ridiculous. Addie and Val were best friends at school, although they had a big falling out. Many years later Val, now a successful TV meterologist, turns up on Addie's doorstep saying she has run over a boy they used to go to school with whilst they were at a school reunion. They decide to go back and see if he is ok, but when they get there he is nowhere to be seen. What follows is a ridiculous tale of them trying to avoid the law, whilst also trying to work out what happened to him.

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Judge & Jury by James Patterson and Andrew Cross is a much better read than some of the Patterson collaborations I have read. Andie DeGrasse is a wannabe acress who ends up serving jury service for the trial of the century for Mafia Don Dominic Cavello. It is a good read with exciting twists and turns. Andie teams up with the police officer who has been following this criminal for years, and between them they manage to get justice where the legal system fails.

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I really enjoyed The Chandler's Daughter by Victor Pemberton even thought I know that these books probably appeal most to women of a certain age. Admitting to enjoying his books is a little like admitting a guilty secret! Set in 1937 Grace Higgs is a young woman who works with her father on his mobile grocery shop. When her father dies she is forced to continue with the business, whilst also finding out that he kept many secrets from her, all of which impact her life in a positive way. A schmaltzy war-time romance but I enjoyed it.

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You've Been Warned by James Patterson and Howard Roughan is not just one of the worst Patterson books I have ever read, it is one of the worst books I have ever read and Amazon reviews seem to agree with this. Patterson has written a 'supernatural thriller', that is a book that has no real storyline, doesn't really make sense and actually doesn't have an ending. It's crap. Don't bother reading it, even if someone gives it to you free!

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Scandalous by Tilly Bagshawe is a cracking read. Sasha Miller goes to Cambridge University to study physics and whilst there she makes a revolutionary discovery which her professor, Theo (who she has been having an affair with) steals and makes his fortune and becomes a scientific celebrity. The book springs forward to several years later and Sahsa hs left science behind and moved to America where she becomes a ball-busting business woman, all with the intention of ruining Theo's life. She manages to achieve this by teaming up with Theo's ex-wife and his downfall is dramatic and public. A good fast-paced book.

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Step on a Crack by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge is the first in the Michael Bennett novels, one of which I read last month (I think!) I like this new character and this book really sets the scene for him more than anything else. He is the father of 10 adopted children and in this story his wife is dying of cancer. Not only that, some of the most famous people in the country and gathered in the cathedral for the funeral of the former first-lady when they are taken hostage. So, whilst Detective Bennett is coping with his wife dying he is also being superman and trying to bring an end of the situation. I enjoyed it.

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Pretty Little Things but Jilliane Hoffman is quite a disturbing book about a bunch of teenage girls who go missing and turn up several months later after being imprisoned by their captor. When the dead bodies start appearing they are posed in an 'artistic fashion' and a photograph of the scene is sent to a local journalist. Not a bad book for this genre, although I worked out who the killer was ages before it was revealed. Fifteen love to Auntie Doris!

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Tears of the Moon by Nora Roberts is the second in her Irish Trilogy, and is not really as good as the first. This book focusses on the other Gallagher brother and the storyline is just so obvious it is ridiculous. It's not that I didn't enjoy the boy-likes-girl-likes-boy story but the ending was pretty obvious. I am wondering whether this is a downward trend and whether the third book will be absolutely appalling!

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Take A Chance On Me by Jill Mansell is an OK book in the chick-lit genre, but it isn't especially earth-shattering. Cleo is working as a chauffeuse in the town where she grew up and this is all hunky-dorey until her childhood tormentor, in the form of Jonny LaVenture turns up following the death of his father. In the meantime her sister has found out that her husband has a long-lost daughter and the proverbial all hits the fan. Not a bad read, but not genius like some of her other books.

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