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 Comarré – 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.

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!

Hot off the press!

Finally the new cover art for Wolfsbane and Nightshade, which I'm sure you'll agree is quite the improvement! Stay tuned for my review on Wolfsbane coming soon…

Tales of Woe Part II

America Pacifica - Anna North
Hachette - Little, Brown
Available : August 2011

It just so happens that I have read two post apocalyptic stories in a row and while their tales of woe are similar the overall message has been quite different....

The first, in Steven's world was due to a super/natural disaster opposed to Anna's self imposed version where the world has been thrown into an Ice Age caused by human abuse of the environment - Global cooling rather than warming. I must say I find this idea far more frightening than the prior, as it represents a future we could share.

The story is told from the perspective of 18 yr old Darcy Pern but make no mistake this is NOT a YA title as the themes are quite confronting including prostitution, drug use, suicide and poverty to name a few. Darcy and her Mum share a very close and sheltered relationship which is quite beautiful in its own personal way, living close to the outskirts of the poor and depressing island civilisation called America Pacifica where most bar an elite few must struggle for survival with low level jobs and meagre food supplies consisting almost entirely of reconstituted Jellyfish and seaweed.

The main theme and one that I found most interesting was the greed of humanity and our inability to adapt and move with nature, instead clinging to the things that are familiar and comfortable - keeping them from creating a society where the majority could be happy and provided for rather than the few.

This is a gritty debut novel that despite the violence, sadness and all together hopelessness I experienced reading it I couldn't put it down. There is also the untapped story of those who were left or chose to stay on the mainland to adapt to the new subzero climate - I hope that story comes soon....

Tales of Woe part I

The Broken Ones - Steven M Irwin 
Hachette - Little, Brown
Available: September 2011

When I first started reading this as a blind proof my initial thoughts were: This is disturbing on a deep and residual level.... however as disturbing as the events were I still didn't feel like putting it down, and that I think says something - it could be that I am one sick individual or (and I'm hoping this is the case) that Steven's writing is beautifully crafted and his main character Detective Oscar Mariani's journey is completely compelling.


This is an almost post apocalyptic tale set in Queensland Australia near the present day and three years after an event called Grey Wednesday - a day that changed the world forever, with a reversing of the magnetic fields in the polar ice caps wreaking havoc on the seasons and digital devices slowly halting industry, produce growth and descending the world into chaos. Apart from all of this (as if it wasn't bad enough) there is the unwelcome appearance of ghosts, your own personal ghost to be exact that 'haunts' you for all your waking hours driving some into desperation and despair. This is where Oscar appears - part of a division created to investigate the truth in spectre related killings "My ghost made me do it..." 


The world that Steven paints is bleak, dirty, chaotic and smelly. The plot line is anything but predictable as Oscar follows one morsel of a clue to the next in a seemingly unrelated series of events and finds something so much deeper than I was expecting and ends with a warmth that I thought impossible in the start.


This is a book that haunts and stays with you for days after reading, get into it - you wont be disappointed!  

 

I wanna be part of the Pack

Nightshade - Andrea Cremer
Hachette - Atom
Available: NOW


"I'd always welcomed war, but in battle my passion rose unbidden"


From the opening line there is never any doubt about the strength and conviction of our lead character Calla, an Alpha female and the next in line to be pack leader.


We enter into a mysterious world of Magicians, Keepers and packs of Shapeshifting wolves who are solely responsible for protecting the Keepers and their places of power - but what I loved most about this storyline was that it didn't give everything away immediately, it let you come to speed with the scenario as the story progressed and took you deeper and deeper as the layers became more varied and the lines ever more blurred. 


I relished having such a fierce and independent voice to enjoy and was just as torn as she was between her call to duty or fighting for the freedom to follow her heart. On the one hand she is destined to join with Ren the leader of the opposing pack, uniting the Nightshades and the Banes and creating a brand new pack to ensure the future of all...on the other hand there is Shay, a new guy in town who is determined to shake up the status quo and take Calla for himself!


The group dynamics in and between the two packs is brilliant and the reluctant joining after years of competing is at times quite comical. 


Spoiler beware: the ending is a huge cliff hanger and leaves you with far more questions than answers but the good news is that book 2 is coming in August so those of you who haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet won't have to wait and will also benefit from the great new cover art!

Cover art above is the Australian original (left) but I prefer the one on the right so thought i would include it too, I will post the new art as soon as it becomes available.