Monday 12 September 2011

House of Comarré Book 1

Blood Rights - Kristen Painter
Little, Brown - Available NOW in all good bookstores!

A brilliant debut fantasy series that's off the charts awesome!

With a brand new twist on the Vampire/feeder relationship where ‘noble’ Vampires can purchase the bloodrights for feeding on delectable ComarrĂ© – humans who have been bred through the ages to serve and satisfy the Vampire thirst.

The story centres around one such renegade Comar Chrysabelle and her very reluctant patron/protector vamp Malkom who has more than enough of his own problems, eternally cursed – twice, for instance.

There is also a whole host of colourful characters and other demonic creatures to keep things interesting as well as some really evil bad guys that seem to revel in the beauty of pain (albeit someone else’s).
This story has all of my favourite features in a good vamp fantasy – interesting plotline, black humour, hot chicks trained in weaponry and lots of lust, however a little less angst and some more action would be great....perhaps in book 2, we shall see.

Friday 9 September 2011

Dreaming of Italy



Fragment of Dreams – Phillipa Fioretti
Hachette – Available now in all good bookstores!
This feisty romance novel is set in equal parts on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and steamy Italy so when I planned my holiday to Milan this year there was no question as to which book I would begin my holiday with!
The parallels between my life and this novel were uncanny and I was drawn whole heartedly into both the familiarity and the unfolding adventure of this charming tale.
The story follows Lily, owner of an antiquarian bookstore and a schnauzer named Otto living in Paddington (I know, my dream life right?) and her adoring Russian boyfriend William who has just been offered a dream job in Rome with an old friend and associate as an antiques consultant helping people complete their personal collections (seriously I want their lives!).
Lily is planning to move to Italy with William once he is settled and she organised when a timely visit from her sister Poppy with a letter found from estranged family members begins a series of events that will see William (falsely?) accused of antique theft and Lily fighting for her love amongst devious intentions, a flirty tawney Italian and the misguided opinions of others planting seeds of doubt and mistrust for them both.
This was a fun and enjoyable read with well defined characters, gorgeous fashion details and an interesting plot line – perfecto for my holiday frame of mind and the beauty is I haven’t yet read Phillipa’s first novel “Book of Love” so I can enjoy the company of Lily again when I need her.
Grazie Phillipa for such a perfectly timed book!