It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and an Update :)

A weekly event hosted by Sheila from One Persons Journey Through a World Of Books to discuss your reading week ~ the books you've read and those you plan on reading in the coming week. Thanks Sheila :)

It's been 2 weeks since I participated in the Monday meme, I had all intention of posting last Sunday after coming home soul refreshed from scrapbook retreat at Daisy Chain Scrapbooks. However my eldest son was unfortunate enough to experience drink spiking on Sunday night and we spent most of the evening and Monday tending a violently ill Anthony who had virtually no memory of events after eating Subway. Sadly the litany of nasty side effects will be reminder enough of his night out. Talk about scary! Add to that, dental appointments, doctor's visits, soccer, an after hours vet visit for Bella leaving me $110 poorer, but satisfied that 'sick' Bella was most likely pining for Callum who just happened to be staying overnight with a mate ... *sigh* sweet Bella I'm certain is gold-plated. Enough to turn my carefully planned week into utter chaos!

Alaine and I are lucky to have found such a wonderful scrapbooking family to spend our time with and visiting Daisy Chain is something that brings me great joy. Being with like-minded creative friends, sharing our lives, laughs, sorrows, passions is both nurturing and inspiring. I did promise to share some scrapbook layouts with you so here are some I completed at retreat.

Celebrating my sister's 40th

Anthony & I on my birthday Jan 2011 (Creative Scrappers sketch)

Callum - Christmas 2008

The boys and I (Cal 16 & Ant 19) 2010

 Scraplift from Alaine, not sure of original source

Now on to books; I did post a review for:

PINK by Lili Wilkinson ~ 4.5 stars, unique YA

and the review for I AM THE CHOSEN KING by Helen Hollick - is scheduled for Thursday.

PS don't forget giveaways for Going Nowhere Fast by Sean Beaudoin (last day) and Quantum Angel Healing by Eva- Marie Mora.

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Finished Last Week:

BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

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This Week's Reading List:

THE TUDOR SECRET by C W Gortner ~ page 110, really enjoying this and hope to have review up Tuesday night. Guest post by Christopher and giveaway of The Tudor Secret will be posted Wednesday so be sure to pop back in!

EXIT THE ACTRESS BY PRIYA PARMAR (kindle) ~ page 15 and stay tuned for a giveaway of this one!

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Reviews still to do:

MY SOUL TO TAKE by Rachel Vincent

DRACULA IN LOVE by Karen Essex

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Genre: YA
Copyright: 2009
US Release Date: 18th Feb 2011
Pages: 313
Book Source: ARC courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers

Ava has a secret. She is tired of her ultracool attitude, ultra-radical politics, and ultrablack clothing. She's ready to try something new—she's even ready to be someone new. Someone who fits in, someone with a gorgeous boyfriend, someone who wears pink.

Transferring to Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence is the perfect chance to try on a new identity. But just in case things don't work out, Ava is hiding her new interests from her parents, and especially from her old girlfriend.

Review:

Pink is a coming of age story with a difference. It's not cliched, sweet or fluffy, but a fresh, honest and realistic portrayal of a teenager trying to find herself, to fit in while remaining true to herself. Ava doesn't always manage to stay true to herself but I think that's half the enjoyment of the book ... the realness of it.

A declared lesbian with a anti-establishment girlfriend, and quirky, liberal parents, Ava is determined to give herself a fresh start as she questions her personal and sexual identity. A progressive new school and a new look accompany her search for self. I liked the fact that Ava doesn't know what she wants and Pink reinforces the fact that it's ok not to know.

That feeling of being a part of something. Something wild and beautiful and a tiny bit wrong.

It made me cry even harder, because I knew it wouldn't last. This belonging feeling. Tomorrow morning I'd wake up and go to school and pretend to be a Pastel with Alexis and Ethan, and then I'd come home and pretend to be a lesbian with Chloe.

Lili Wilkinson's writing flows smoothly, the characters are fun (especially the misfits in Stage Crew) and the story is told with a good dose of humour. Pink was a quick read, quite different from any YA I've read previously and if I had to sum it up with just one word, I'd say ... Unique. I'll definitely be looking out for more from Lili Wilkinson and the fact that she's an Aussie author is a bonus!

Visit Lili Wilkinson online at http://www.liliwilkinson.com/ or on twitter.

Quantum Angel Healing by Eva-Maria Mora Giveaway

German-born author Eva-Maria Mora is a clairvoyant medical intuitive and spiritual teacher. Founder of the Quantum-Angel-Healing® method, her new book, Quantum Angel Healing: energy Therapy and Communication with Angels (Synergy Books, February 2011), reveals how to restore health and balance to your life and the lives of others through connecting and communicating with angels.

Before she began her spiritual journey, Mora attained her MBA and Master of American Studies from the University of Kassel in Germany. She worked on international assignments as a top-management consultant for the largest European consulting group, where she interviewed and trained thousands of executives in leading Fortune 500 companies.

Mora’s life would forever change, however, when doctors delivered a shocking diagnosis to her six months after the birth of her son: she only had a few weeks to live. As she prayed for guidance and support, Mora experienced a spiritual reawakening when she was visited by an angel. She began to communicate with angels regularly and gained a new perspective on why people get sick, how they can heal themselves and how they can find their life’s true purpose.

Inspired from her near-death experience and dedicated to healing, Mora earned her license as a healing practitioner in psychotherapy and left her life in Germany for the United States in 2000. She became one of the first Quantum Touch instructors in the U.S. before integrating what she had discovered about the spiritual realm and developing her own Quantum Angel Healing technique.

In Quantum Angel Healing, Mora provides tools for working with the unseen world to accelerate healing and life transformation. In addition to spiritual exercises and an explanation of the healing process, the book also provides a 70-page list of illnesses and symptoms along with the corresponding Quantum Angel Healing treatment.

Mora currently divides her time between Germany and Scottsdale, Ariz. She is the founder of Children of the Light, a charity organization in Germany supporting children with ADHD. She is also the author of Quantum Angel Love (2007), Quantum Angel Children (2008) and Activating Divine Power (2009). Mora lectures and hosts workshops based on Quantum Angel Healing worldwide with her husband, Michael.

For more information visit: http://www.quantumangelhealing.com/

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

I have 2 copies of Quantum Angel Healing up for grabs and yes it's International!

Leave a comment on this post telling me if you believe in angels and don't forget your email address or ensure you are easily contactable in the event you are the winner.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

+2 if you're a follower and let me know

+2 post about this give-away on twitter or your blog & leave a link

Competition is International. Ends March 2nd and the winner will be announced on this blog. Good luck everyone!

Guest Post by Sean Beaudoin; Author of You Killed Wesley Payne + Giveaway

He's come to do a job.

A job that involves a body.

A body wrapped in duct tape found hanging from the goal posts at the end of the football field.

You Killed Wesley Payne is a truly original and darkly hilarious update of classic pulp-noir, in which hard-boiled seventeen year-old Dalton Rev transfers to the mean hallways of Salt River High to take on the toughest case of his life. The question isn't whether Dalton's going to get paid. He always gets paid. Or whether he's gonna get the girl. He always (sometimes) gets the girl. The real question is whether Dalton Rev can outwit crooked cops and killer cliques in time to solve the mystery of "The Body" before it solves him.

Sean Beaudoin (Going Nowhere Faster, Fade to Blue) evokes the distinctive voices of legendary crime/noir authors Dashiell Hammett and Jim Thompson with a little bit of Mean Girls and Heathers throwin in for good measure. This smart, slick, and alluring detective novel that will tease you, thrill you, and suck you in.

I asked Sean Beaudoin, author of You Killed Wesley Payne about his thoughts on writing for a YA audience. Please welcome Sean to The Eclectic Reader and check out his viewpoint. PS. Sean I love your 'grandfather's' quote :)

I noticed this morning a quote attributed to Martin Amis from the BBC program, Faulks on Fiction: "People ask me if I ever thought of writing a children's book. I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book,' but otherwise the idea of being conscious of who you're directing the story to is anathema to me, because, in my view, fiction is freedom and any restraints on that are intolerable.... I would never write about someone that forced me to write at a lower register than what I can write."

As you might imagine, there has already been a considerable backlash to this sentiment. It’s nothing new for Mr. Amis, master of a very English brand of sardonic aside. Not to mention the deflection of editorial outrage (gleefully ginned-up controversy) sniffing the tail of his many opinions, regardless of their merit. And although his condescension is bracing, I enjoy that sort of forthrightness. “Better to be blunt than be dull,” my grandfather always said. Well, that’s not true. I made that up. But he should have said it. And, to some degree, I agree with Amis. At least as it concerns intentionally “writing at a lower register.” It’s a valid point to consider, and probably all too often the cause of flabby writing on any shelf. But I suspect Amis hasn’t immersed himself in the genre enough to know that writing a YA novel does not inherently require a diminishment in style or expectation.

In my particular experience, the positive reception that both Fade to Blue and You Killed Wesley Payne received was leavened with plenty of “I don’t get it” responses. Which was both understandable and expected. I don’t try to write books that everyone will get, and I don’t dumb down my characters, situations, or vocabulary. I am hardly alone in the YA world in this respect. Martin Amis has written a number of novels I thoroughly enjoyed and admired. He has also, exercising the ‘freedom of fiction” he cites, released others that stuck me as creatively constipated and in need of a thorough editing. Even so, I had no problem following and/or understanding them. I don’t think he was writing to a cognitively addled or more deliberately commercial crowd, rather, like every author, he went through periods where he just wasn’t at the top of his game. At any rate, there are way too many YA titles released each season for anyone to keep track of, let alone read, so I think most of us can take solace that Martin Amis will not be joining the legion of “literary” novelists who are adding to the pile. I fully support his not cashing in on this trend. Not only because that leaves more elbow room for me, but because I really enjoyed his most recent novel, The Pregnant Widow, and as his illustrious attorney would advise him to continue working in his natural register.

 If you could be dropped into any book as a character who would you be and why?

I would be dropped into Martin Amis’ book Money, and take on the role of John Self, because he was a hilarious lout, unrepentant hedonist, and would likely be a highly entertaining guide to the Amis Super-ego.

I was also having a snoop around Sean's website and blog and couldn't resist giving readers some useless interesting tidbits about the author :)

About the author:

8% of the letters in Sean Beaudoin’s name are vowels.

In ASCII binary code, his name is 01010011 01100101 01100001 01101110 00100000 01000010 01100101 01100001 01110101 01100100 01101111 01101001 01101110

Backwards, it’s Naes Nioduaeb. In Pig Latin, it’s Eansay Eaudoinbay. Which is helpful, since no one can pronounce it with the legal spelling, either.

Sean Beaudoin has used his B.A. in film/photography as a springboard into the following jobs: construction laborer, circus roustabout, busboy, used book buyer, hotel desk clerk, outdoor education counselor, statue repairman (really), seller of jazz vinyl, and a nine-day stint as The World’s Worst Telemarketer.

He loves blueberries, garlic, hot sauce, bagels, almonds, and Turkish coffee ... He’s not particularly crazy about police procedurals, ketchup, rap-metal, Shia "The Bouf" LaBeouf, cell phones, or Escalades.

Unless Cadillac wants to sign him to a highly lucrative endorsement deal, in which case he loves Escalades. (obviously a guy with a sense of humour)


Visit Sean Beaudoin's website to find out more.
Follow Sean Beaudoin on twitter - click here.
To purchase You Killed Wesley Payne on amazon - click here.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Going Nowhere Faster by Sean Beaudoin

Stan Smith has the world's dullest name, and the world's dullest life to go with it. At 17, the former junior chess champion turned "Town's Laziest Register Monkey at the Town's Only Video Store" has no car, no college, and, of course, no girl. If that weren't pathetic enough, he's got an organic-food-freak vegan mother, an eccentric inventor father, a dead-end job, a dog with a flatulence problem, and a former classmate threatening to kill him. With a 165 IQ, Stan was expected to Be Something and Go Somewhere. But when all he has is a beat-up old bike that keeps getting vandalized, he's going nowhere, faster.

HOW TO ENTER:

To win an autographed copy of Sean's first novel Going Nowhere Faster leave a comment regarding Sean's guest post and your email address or ensure you are contactable in the event you are the winner. US ONLY

EXTRA ENTRIES:

+2 if you're a follower and let me know

+2 post the comp on Twitter or your blog & leave a link

Competition is open to US only.  Ends Feb 28th and the winner will be announced on this blog. Good luck everyone!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

A weekly event hosted by Sheila from One Persons Journey Through a World Of Books to discuss your reading week ~ the books you've read and those you plan on reading in the coming week. Thanks Sheila :)

Callum Year 12

Have been taking more photos lately and wanted to share a few with you. The beautiful lake photo is from a fun trip to the Glow Worm cave at Mt Tamborine and the wine sign tickled my fancy :) I've a busy week this week, Alaine and I leave for scrapbook camp this Friday so we will be madly planning and packing for another fun weekend of laughs, chatting, wine, oh and scrapping lol

Can't believe how fast time is flying, it's the middle of February and I've only read 4 books! *arrrh* but while the quantity is dismal the quality is AWESOME!!

I have lots of giveaways going up this week so please pop back for a look and Happy Valentine's Day peeps!!

Check out my reviews:

THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE by Heather Gudenkauf ~ 4.5 stars

UNEARTHLY by Cynthia Hand ~ 5 stars & a 2011 favourite!

INDEFENSIBLE by Pamela Callow ~ 4.5 stars

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Finished Last Week:

I AM THE CHOSEN KING by Helen Hollick ~ brilliant!

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This Week's Reading List:

EXIT THE ACTRESS BY PRIYA PALMER (kindle) ~ page 10 and stay tuned for a giveaway of this one!

 

THE TUDOR SECRET by C W Gortner

BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (audiobook)

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Reviews still to do:

PINK by Lili Wilkinson

MY SOUL TO TAKE by Rachel Vincent

DRACULA IN LOVE by Karen Essex

The Weight Of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Genre: General Fiction/Mystery
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 373
Book Source: Own audio

It happens quietly one August morning. As dawn's shimmering light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night.

Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by tragedy that pulled her deep into silence as a toddler.

Calli's mother, Antonia, tried to be the best mother she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Now, though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her decision to stay in her marriage has cost her more than her daughter's voice.

Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend, her soul mate and her voice. But neither Petra nor Calli has been heard from since their disappearance was discovered. Desperate to find his child, Martin Gregory is forced to confront a side of himself he did not know existed beneath his intellectual, professorial demeanor.

Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of unspoken family secrets.

Review:

Depressingly good! That's the first words that spring to mind when reflecting on The Weight of Silence. Not a feel good story by any stretch of imagination but a sensitive often painful exploration of family, alcoholism, abuse, secrets, and friendship.

I''m glad I listened to this one on audio, it gave the multiple narrations clarity and depth. The only narration I didn't care for was the voice of Petra's father, Martin; but that's probably a matter of personal taste. The story isnt overly graphic but obviously any novel dealing with the tragedy of emotional and physical abuse is difficult to read and particularly sad to listen to.

Calli, Ben & Petra are characters that tug at your heartstrings, Calli and Ben for what they have been through with an abusive, alcoholic father and Petra for providing Calli with a voice and loving her best friend unconditionally. The reader is educated about the heartbreaking circumstances behind Calli's selective mutism but her silence also adds another element of suspense to this mystery.

The Weight Of Silence is definitely a story that stays with you and I'm looking forward to reading Heather Gudenkauf's new novel, These Things Hidden.

Visit the author's website to find out more.

Yippee ... Winners!!

Winners of January Giveaway

Aleetha

Misha

Winner of Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran (and cupcake earrings) is:

Coffee and A Book Chick

My apologies for the delay in drawing the January giveaway. Check back February's competition will be up soon and I have lots of exciting things happening this month on The Eclectic Reader.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: Unearthly # 1
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 435
Book Source: Harper Teen & Netgalley

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees...

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Review:
*Squeal* This is it! THE angel book of the year!! What an enchanting, captivating, refreshing, intriguing, delightful, effortless read. But that's probably enough superlatives, put simply, Unearthly is simply wonderful.

Cynthia Hand's writing is gorgeous, her descriptions of Jackson Hole, Wyoming are breathtaking, and quite honestly Hand's prose put me right in the moment, made me feel like a participant rather than an observer. The angel lore is fabulous and the whole vision and 'purpose' theme makes for an original concept, one that I loved.

Clara is a Quartarious angel-blood and a breath of fresh air. She's genuine and so 'normal' for someone not completely 'normal', if you get my drift. All the characters are well rounded and just so likeable; Clara's mother and brother, her best friends Wendy and Angela, and lastly the mysterious, too-good-to-be-true Christian Prescott and my favourite, the adorable, funny, Tucker Avery. And now to the romance; one word ... PERFECT.

The ending is ideal, well, apart from ... ending. Fortunately there was no cliffhanger but I can't wait for more. Thank you Cynthia Hand :) Now hurry up with HALLOWED ... pretty please!

Duty, destiny, choices, love, heartache, this book was all I could wish for ... and more. For those jaded by the recent surge in angel themed novels I urge you to give Unearthly a try. In my humble opinion it's a winner!

Visit Cynthia Hand's website to find out more.

Indefensible by Pamela Callow

Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Series: Kate Lange # 2
Copyright: Dec 2010
Pages: 502
Book Source: review copy courtesy of Harlequin Books & NetGalley

When Elise Vanderzell plummets from her bedroom balcony one gorgeous summer night, her children awaken to a nightmare.

Their mother is dead.

Their father is charged with her murder.

Lawyer Kate Lange knows all about nightmares. She's survived the darkest period of her troubled life and the wounds are still raw. Now she's been handed a case that seems utterly unwinnable: defending her boss, high-profile lawyer Randall Barrett. A prosecutor's dream suspect, Randall is a man who was cuckolded by his ex-wife. A man who could not control his temper. A man who had argued bitterly with the victim the previous day in full view of the children.

With limited criminal law experience, Kate finds herself enmeshed in a family fractured by doubt. Randall's teenage son is intent on killing him. His daughter wants only to feel safe again. And the entire legal community would like nothing better than to see Randall receive a public comeuppance. As Kate races to stay a step ahead of the prosecution, a silent predator is waiting for the perfect time to deal the final blow.

Review:

Pamela Callow enters the illustrious realms of favoured suspense/thriller authors after turning out a brilliant 2nd book in the Kate Lange series. I was sceptical trying Pamela's debut novel, Damaged but that scepticism proved to be completely unwarrranted and I'm now convinced that Pamela Callow is a writer to be reckoned with in this genre.

Indefensible is a thrilling page turner with great character development, a clever plot and the necessary suspense and pace to keep you enthralled. I really enjoyed seeing Kate's growth from book 1 and I also got my wish to learn more about Kate's enigmatic boss, Randall Barrett. The cast of characters is very well portrayed; Nick and Lucy (Elise & Randall's children) Eddie, (Randall's disbarred lawyer) & furry characters Alaska & Charlie. I did have an inkling about the identity of the baddie before the author actually revealed it but that inkling came late in the book so it was quite refreshing to be kept in suspense for so long.

I guess Indefensible could be read as a stand-a-lone novel but as I'm rather obsessive about reading a series in order I recommend reading Damaged first. I'm sure it makes for a more cohesive, enjoyable experience.

The next installment, Tattooed is due for release January 2012 and as a Kate Lange fan I'll be keenly awaiting this one :) Visit Pamela Callow's website to find out more.

See my review for Pamela Callow's debut novel and the first book in the Kate Lange series - Damaged

This month on The Eclectic Reader 2 readers will win a copy of Delirium by Lauren Oliver or The Tudor Secret by C W Gortner, or Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning. Check this blog post for details. Open Internationally.