The Eclectic Reader: 2013 AWW Challenge

Connect with Meagan Spooner

Dangers Untold and Hardships Unnumbered

Friday, December 13, 2013

Short & Sweet Review ~ Blood Phantom by Rhiannon Hart

Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: Lharmell #0.5
Format: eBook short story
Publication Date: 9th December 2013
Pages: 15
Book Source: from author for review

Synopsis: Life in tatters and far from home, Rodden Lothskorn struggles to cope with the harming menace and his own harming nature. When an offer of marriage reaches his friend, Prince Amis, Rodden discovers that the bride’s inhospitable homeland might contain one part of the harming poison he would dearly like to get his hands on. But if summoned northwards, will Princess Lilith bring something – or someone – he dreads most with her? Locked in a years-long struggle with the Lharmellins, Rodden senses the battle is only now about to begin.

My Thoughts:

Blood Phantom is the short story prequel to the first book in the Lharmell series, Blood Song. I kid you not this is one highly addictive series and after Blood Storm and that ending I had serious withdrawals so Blood Phantom was a short, sweet 'fix' of Lharmell ... just enough to have me salivating for the final installment, Blood Queen.

It was great to get inside the enigmatic Rodden's head, get a glimpse of things from his perspective and I just love his dry sense of humour. I enjoyed the interaction between Prince Amis and Rodden too, Amis doesn't get a lot of page time in the series, he's not really a major character but it was nice to see the bond between these two.

At only 15 pages it's something of a teaser, I might have even stamped my feet coming to the end ... wahhh where's the rest?

*Squeee!* Blood Queen April 15th 2014 ... bring it on Rhiannon Hart (she's the author with the Lharmellin size evil streak)

Recommend: hell yeah, this series is a favourite.

Cover: haunting ... love it!

Connect with Rhiannon Hart

Purchase Blood Phantom

@Amazon

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Short & Sweet Review: The Kissing Season by Rachael Johns

Genre: Contemporary Romance (novella)
Publication Date: 1st December 2013
Pages: 100
Book Source: Harlequin Enterprises & NetGalley

Synopsis: From the author of Man Drought and Jilted comes a funny and romantic Christmas story set in rural Australia.

Every family has a black sheep...and Hannah Elliot is it.

It’s no surprise to anyone when Hannah Elliot makes the spontaneous decision to marry a stranger in Las Vegas. But when she finds herself pregnant and her new husband files for an annulment, she dreads having to tell her family.

Returning to her Australian hometown of Wildwood Point, Hannah is determined to become a devoted mum and put her baby’s needs ahead of her own. She’s also set to prove to her family shecan actually be responsible. This means putting her wild past behind her and accepting a job back in the family business...while keeping her pregnancy a secret!

Except, when gorgeous Italian Matteo Della-Bosca walks through the shop door, Hannah finds her resolve slipping fast...

My Thoughts:

My first Christmassy read for the holiday season! After enjoying Man Drought & Outback Dreams, I'm totally on board as a Rachael Johns' fan. The Kissing Season is a sweet romance with a lovely splash of Australian family Christmas tradition.

No question about it Hannah & Matteo are hot together, I wasn't a fan of their first meeting; (I'm not a prude, at all, but my first thought was ... ewww who does that??) I felt like it was included to push the plot forward when it really didn't need a shove.

Besides that minor detail, the progression in Hannah and Matt's relationship from that point on was sweet and sexy. I loved the importance of family to them both and I loved the Australian flavour of Christmas in a small community ... the Christmas movie in the town hall, Santa, carols and stalls at the Christmas Tree Party ... nostalgic memories of Christmas spent with my Nana & Pop in a small rural town.

Recommend: Nostalgic escapism and a quick romance fix

Connect with Rachael Johns

Purchase The Kissing Season

@Harlequin Australia

@Amazon Kindle

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Short & Sweet Review ~ Kiss the Night Goodbye by Keri Arthur

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Nikki & Michael #4
Publication Date: 29th October 2013 (1st published March 2004)
Pages: 352
Book Source: Random House Publishing & NetGalley

Synopsis: The Price Of Love

Nikki James is just an ordinary, risk-taking, psychically inclined private eye until she hooks up with Michael Kelly. Now she is something more: one of the few, the chosen, the magic-wielding undercover operatives of the Damask Circle, an organization protecting humanity from a rising tide of evil. She wants nothing more than to pass the Circle’s strict entry exams so she can get on with the business of planning her wedding to Michael. But she quickly realizes that buying a wedding dress is the least of her worries.

One hundred years ago, Michael Kelly hunted down and killed the sorcerer responsible for murdering his lover. Now the brother of that man is out for revenge, and he intends to destroy all that Michael holds dear in the process. When Michael is kidnapped, the trail leads Nikki to a dusty ghost town surrounded by a potent magical barrier, leaving her to battle a madman alone with only her wits, strength, and the one psychic gift she cannot fully control. And to make matters even worse, Michael no longer seems to remember who she is.

My Thoughts:

Fourth and final book in the Nikki & Michael series and Keri Arthur kicks it up a notch. There's just more ... action, suspense, magic, fierceness, chemistry and the good vs evil battle kept my heart in my mouth.

Nikki finally joins Michael as an operative of the Damask Circle, Michael kidnapped, Nikki wiped from his memories, clock ticking ...

Kudos to Keri Arthur for getting evil down pat, Kiss the Night Goodbye had the baddie with the biggest ick factor ... seriously made my skin crawl.

In previous books Nikki & Michael's relationship has been weighed down with angst and frustration, not to mention eye-rolling and annoyance on my part. But in Kiss the Night Goodbye ... no eye rolling at all ;)

Connect with Keri Arthur

Just a side note: the Damask Circle trilogy is being reissued in 2014 with editing and cover love. They're up on NetGalley now ... decisions, decisions, can I squeeze them in lol

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publication Date: 1st April 2013
Time: 13hrs 48mins
Narrated by: Caroline Lee
Book Source: Own audio

Synopsis: From the author of the critically acclaimed What Alice Forgot comes a breakout new novel about the secrets husbands and wives keep from each other.

My Darling Cecilia

If you're reading this, then I've died . . .

Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret - something so terrible it would destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others too. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive . . .

Cecilia Fitzpatrick achieved it all - she's an incredibly successful business woman, a pillar of her small community and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia - or each other - but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband's devastating secret.

My Thoughts:

The Husband's Secret is an unputdownable look at the human psyche, the complexities of conscience, right and wrong. There's a slow peeling back of layers, puzzle pieces gradually forming a complete picture.

Funny, poignant, shocking, heartbreaking, The Husband's Secret is all this and so much more. Liane Moriarty's characterisation is superb, and likable or not, the characters are relatable in their strength's and flaws.

Three women; Cecelia her ordered life shattered by her husband's devastating secret, Tess & Rachael irrevocably connected by that secret. Love, guilt, punishment and forgiveness all intertwined.

Can't really go into any more detail without entering spoiler territory and this is most definitely best read with as little foreshadowing as possible. Surprisingly it's not all dark and achy, the dry humour and Cecelia's internal dialogue cracked me up.

The Husband's Secret is compelling reading, I just had to know what happened; don't plan on putting this one down. Narrator, Caroline Lee does a stellar job with this one and the epilogue was one of the best ever.

An immensely readable, thought provoking story of light and shade that leaves you questioning ...

Recommend: In a heartbeat

Connect with Liane Moriarty

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Finding Home by Lauren K McKellar

Genre: YA Contemporary
Publication Date: 1st October 2013
Pages: 165
Book Source: Escape Publishing/Harlequin Aust

Synopsis: Moody, atmospheric, and just a little bit punk, Finding Home takes contemporary YA to a new level of grit...

When Amy’s mum dies, the last thing she expects is to be kicked off her dad’s music tour all the way to her Aunt Lou in a depressing hole of a seaside town. But it’s okay — Amy learned how to cope with the best, and soon finds a hard-drinking, party-loving crowd to help ease the pain.

The only solace is her music class, but even there she can’t seem to keep it together, sabotaging her grade and her one chance at a meaningful relationship. It takes a hard truth from her only friend before Amy realises that she has to come to terms with her past, before she destroys her future.

My Thoughts:
Finding Home is a story of self discovery with tough issues front and centre ... grief, alcohol abuse, unprotected sex, acceptance and relationship difficulties.

It should have been easy to dislike Amy, she's a train wreck, spiteful, obnoxious, immature and self destructive but she actually felt real. I cut her some slack as she's grieving not only the loss of her mother but what she feels is abandonment by her father.

And in truth, the significant 'parents' in the story are pretty much absent, clueless or completely irresponsible ... no parent of the year awards need be handed out here. I know communication with teenagers is challenging at the best of times, add grief, pain and misunderstanding and you get a whole world of hurt, but really ....

Amy grows up over the course of the novel, it was good to see her find her place, and a little peace ... I'm sure the metaphorical slap around the head from true friend Lucy helped. I liked Lucy, a lot and Nick too, he was probably my favourite character. Luke on the other hand was a total ass-hat, and Amy falling for such a dick, made me throw up a little ;)

Despite my low tolerance for angst I thought Finding Home was well written and a quick, satisfying read, one I'm sure teens will relate to.

Connect with Lauren K McKellar

Purchase Finding Home

@Escape Publishing

@Amazon Kindle

@B&N NookBook

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Nobody But Him by Victoria Purman ~ Review & Giveaway

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Series: Boys of Summer #1
Publication Date: 1st October 2013
Pages: 320
Book Source: Harlequin Mira

Synopsis: At the age of eighteen, Julia Jones left her hometown — the small beachside town of Middle Point — with a head full of grand plans. Plans for an exciting life in a town that didn’t involve a main street with one pub or a particular boy named Ryan Blackburn.

But after fifteen years and a lifetime later, Julia’s forced to put her career and big-city life on hold when she returns home to finalise her mother’s estate. Which is exactly where she runs smack-bang into the town’s hero, Ry. As in Ryan Blackburn.

The sensible thing to do? Stay the hell away from him and head back to Melbourne as fast as her stilettos can carry her! But instead, Julia finds his offer of a helping hand and a hot body too delicious to refuse.

Soon, Julia’s ignoring her better judgement and diving into an ‘I’ll think about it tomorrow’ fling with Ry. But what she doesn’t realise is that tomorrow has a way of sneaking up on you...and that saying goodbye to her home town — and to Ry — is so much harder the second time around.

My Thoughts:

I loved, loved, loved the setting, the small fictional beachside town of Middle Point on the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. And you don't need to have been to know, Victoria Purman's descriptions are so vivid, you can feel the sea breeze as you take in the stunning view, taste the salt, smell the coast. It's a Sea Change without leaving your loungeroom.

Julia Jones is back in Middle Point to settle her mother's estate and running into her old love Ry Blackburn, plays havoc with her head and heart. Sizzling chemistry mixed with nostalgia, hurt, regret and mistrust, what a melting pot of unresolved history.

Despite Julia having a chip on her shoulder that made me want to give her a good slap, I enjoyed her growth over the course of the book, she wasn't afraid to take an honest look at herself, her perceptions and prejudices and make decisions on what was really important in life. Both Ry and Julia felt very real to me and Victoria Purman sure knows how to turn up the heat, those steamy sex scenes weren't a hardship to read ... nope, not at all.

Nor does the author skimp on minor characters or friendships (I loved Lizzie's humour and loyalty) or the challenges facing residents in a small coastal town, their survival dependent on the influx of holiday season tourists. Kudos to Victoria Purman for a debut novel that feels like a breath of fresh air.

What more could you want?... sand, sea, surf, good love, good friends and good wine. *Sigh* ... idyllic.

Up next in the Boys of Summer trilogy, Dan & Lizzie, I like them already and can't wait to watch their story unfold.

Cover: gorgeous!

Connect with Victoria Purman