Lauren Kate - Fallen

I seem to be on a cross over bent at the moment. Another book aimed at the Twilight fans, this time we have Angels. Good ones and fallen ones. Once again due to mysterious circustances our heroine finds herself in a form of reform school, but as usual all is not what it seems.
The problem with this book is that it is very American, and written in I presume teenage US speak, and at a low literacy level. It seems to have been written perhaps in a hurry and poorly edited. Perhaps it really is not intended for grown ups.......I can only stand hearing about teenagers "snickering" so many times with out thinking of something brown and log shaped and it wasn't chocolate!

Effective cover though, that is why Ipicked it up!

P.C. and Kistin Cast - Marked

This is the first of The House of Night series, and is a classic cross over novel aimed at the Twilight market. I have to say I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes that genre and is an appropriate age. I found it a little bit too teen for me, but it was intelligent and clever. Good idea though. Teens become marked with a magical tattoo that signals that they may become vampyres, or they may die. As such they have to go to a special school, and so we have all the usual new girl on the block angst etc. It was well wriiten and I did want to finish it. It is part of a so far 7 part series so should keep one occupied for quite a while, I am passing at the moment but might be tempted later..........

Barbara Kingsolver - The Lacuna

I have to confess that I have not read The Poisonwood Bible despite it being a reading group classic. I certainly shall now. This is a beautifully written novel. It is richly textured and multi-layered. I was immersed in the characters, and learnt so much about Mexico, America after WW1, during the Mccarthy era and quite a bit about art, communism, and cooking!

This book follows the life of Harrison Shepherd, born in the US but up rooted to mexico as a boy by his irresponsible(?) fly by night mother, who you just can't help liking. Whilst in Mexico he meets Diegi Rivera and hhis wife Frida Kahlo, becoming their cook, then they offer a haven for Lev trotsky and life becomes dangerous and interesting. He returns to America after the assassination and becomes a famous writer, but is then caught up in the McCarthy witch hunts.

The plot is so complex this does not do it justice. It jumps from scene to scene like a rich tapestry interspersed with the eponymous lacunae of the title. A brilliant novel, should win a prize or several and an excellent reading group choice!

Paul Hoffman - The left hand of God

This is a very interesting book. Ah ha I hear you say that usually means she is not keen on it! Well that is not quite correct I did enjoy it but was a little confused as to whom it was targeted. Clearly this is a cross over book. It is aimed very much at the Trudi Canavan market. However, it has some really witty and sly commentaries going on about teenage boys, - and girls for that matter, and society as a whole. This really appealed to me and shows the range of the author. However it did mean that the novel was a bit of a see-saw between these conflicting areas. there was also a great deal about tactics and weaponary, and a teen romance.... so you can see that this book attempts to be all things to everyone. Does it work? I am not sure.Clearly with the release of the advertising video below it is expected to be big, so time and the public will tell.

This book is set in a fantasy world of the early middle ages type, our hero a 14/15 year old boy escapes from the brutal regime of the Redeemers and explodes on the world as a naive, witty, violent and ignorant young man. I have to say that he is really rather cool ( Am I showing my age here? is anyone cool these days?), a bit of an Edward Cullen for the fantasy world.

I should warn that it is part of a trilogy and like all good fantasy it finishes on a cliff hanger....

Deanna Raybourne - Silent in the Sancuary - Silent on the Moor

I thoroughly enjoyed the first title in this trilogy Silent in the Grave, see below. These are just as good.
In Silent in the Sanctuary we are introduced to the family home of the March's, they are snowed in, particularly relevant with our current weather. What then ensues are ghosts, murder by strangulation, attempted murder through poison , oh, and an jewel robbery. There is of course a limited number of guests from which to choose to solve the crimes and it is great fun. they are advertised as witty and they are. A very amusing romp!

This is the final book in the trilogy. Her we have our intrepid heroine pursuing her love up to Yorkshire to try and resolve their relationship once and for all. There are some very witty nods to Wuthering heights here and I really loved it.
Once again of course, we have attempted murder by poison, murder by drowning, death, madness and romance. A heady blend and thoroughly entertaining!

I also enjoyed the gypsy thread that ran through these books, and very much the highlighting of the plight of women from all classes in society of the time.

Incidentally her next book is about vampires, can't wait!

Anna Davis - The Jewel Box

Looking back I can see I was rather sniffy about Anna's previous title The Shoe Queen. I am glad I persevered as this book is excellent. It really is very funny. This book is about an 'it' girl of the 1920's and she writes a weekly newspaper column. It is these columns that litter the book that really make it, they are so amusing. This is basically a historical romance but as a light enjoyable read it was great, just what I needed to amuse me over the Christmas period.

Jacqueline Winspear - Among the Mad

This is another Maisie Dobbs mystery. I once again really enjoyed it. These now are less murder mysteries but more mysteries solved by psychology. Interestingly there is a very similar plot in this novel to Anne Perry's WW1 series, terrorism with a political motive. The book also addresses the terrible plight of old and disabled soldiers from the trenches, particularly those that are psychological damaged. So there are lots of modern parallels. It is these themes that would make this a very interesting reading group read.