Friday 31 August 2012

Come meet the Rivers

Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Hachette Australia - Available NOW

This is dry British humour at its best and tremendously entertaining to boot.

The story peeks behind the veil into London's present day magical forces and those in charge of monitoring said forces in a detailed and practical matter, so believable is the main character Constable Peter Grant that if it wasn't for all the melting faces and spiritual embodiment you would be forgiven for mistaking this as a contemporary crime novel.

Quirky, Funny and cleaver I can confidently say that this is a book for anyone and everyone!


Wednesday 29 August 2012

Spanking good fun

Fifty Shades series - E.L.James
Random House - Available NOW (unless sold out, again)

Yes, I read all three - I'm a total masochist what can I say?
Ok so if you can get past the fact that for a large portion of the book Ana is the most irritating character ever written then you will at least find some moments of enjoyment - particularly with some of the sex scenes, which when not being repetitive (like most of the dialogue, plot and just about everything else I'm sorry to say) are a bit different and Ana's obvious pleasure does make them quite fun for female readers... you know what I mean ;).

There is some genuine character growth as you progress through the series and the writing does in its way, get better if a bit predictable, at the end of the last book is a great insight into Christian's experience of their first meeting which I found quite interesting, in fact I would have loved more of that in the actual series rather than Ana's at times incessant internal dialogue of 'Oh My's' etc.

As a whole they are a bit of fun and I applaud E L James for having the courage of conviction to write them and give women a healthy outlet for sexual tension. There really isn't a lot readily out there for women to assimilate too and Im sure that there are many women who have benefitted from these books, bringing them out of their sexual 'shell' and returning fun to their relationships and their beds and that, can only be a good thing!


The Changeling Tale

Switched - Amanda Hocking
Pan Macmillan - Available NOW

Wendy is different to the other girls, well Wendy is different to everyone - namely because she's a troll...interest spiked? mine was too!

My thoughts immediately turned to horrific creatures with very little skill for english or personal hygiene that lurk under bridges and in draughty caves, apparently, I was wrong.
After long having thought herself abnormal Wendy is informed she is actually TryIle, being one of the many secluded communities living under the radar of normal human society. 

Now sure all of this may seem like a lot to take in but the worst shock of all was yet to come by learning that her family are not really hers at all but one she was advantageously placed in like a cuckoo (the term used is Changeling) so that when the time came for her to leave said 'fake' family she could take all of their riches and her trust fund with her.

Wendy as a character is your quintessential unassuming teen thrown into a magical world but I think that if I were her I would be asking more questions and demanding some answers - she's not nearly as pissed off as I would be thats for sure. But as to wether she sinks or swims in this new land I will let you find out...