Bloggiesta - The Wrap Up (#bloggiesta)

I finally got started taking part in Bloggiesta today and so I set my to-do list at just two "must do" items (revamp my pages and check out as many hints and tips as possible). I've achieved both of these and also done a lot more so I'm going to write a what I've done list :)

• Added Rating System page
• Added Memes page
• Added Giveaway Policy page
• Updated Review Policy page
• Updated my Review Archive
• Created a gravatar with the help of Jenni Elise
• Changed my blogger and twitter icons to match my new gravatar
• Added a cool background to my twitter page
• Replied to neglected comments
• Added LinkWithin (something I love on other blogs)
• Added an FTC disclosure
• Added copyright
• Halved my review backlog
• Learnt what alt tags are, and how to use them
• Learnt how to grade my website from Smash Attacks Reads

Bloggiesta To-Do

I'm a bit late getting started as I've been feeling under the weather this weekend, but here is my to-do list for Bloggiesta:

• Revamp my pages
• Check out as many hints and tips as possible

Missing Rebecca Book Tour

I've been lucky enough to take part in the Book Tour for Missing Rebecca, and as a part of that I've interviewed the author John Worsley Simpson.

What do you enjoy most about being an author?

I enjoy discovering and exploring characters and their lives and adventures. While it may seem that I, as author, create the characters, the reality is that they make themselves known to me — as characters do to all writers. If you “make them up,” they won’t be real, they won’t be true, their stories will be yours, not theirs.

Which authors inspire your writing?

I’m inspired indirectly by Shakespeare and Flaubert and Dickens, et al. More directly, I’m inspired by Elmore Leonard, Rex Stout, Eric Ambler, RossMacdonald, Colin Dexter, Dorothy Sayers, Georges Simenon and G.K. Chesterton.

What are you favourite books?

Madame Bovary, Maigret Hesitates, The Moonstone, Jude the Obscure and the Nine Tailors.

What was the inspiration behind Missing Rebecca?

It began with a fantasy: man goes to the mall with his wife and she vanishes. That takes on a particular slant if it’s a comedy, and an entirely different one if it’s a mystery. In the first, the man can conveniently let the missing wife stay missing; in the second, despite his wishes, he has to look for her, or he must have bumped her off, or arranged for her removal.

What is next for you as an author?

I’m working on the fifth book in my Harry Stark, detective series. Stark, retired from the Toronto police service, is in England, workingas a private detective, charged with investigating the robbery of a million-pound ruby.

Missing Rebecca by John Worsley Simpson

Title: Missing Rebecca
Author: John Worsley Simpson

Publisher: Gollancz
ISBN: 978-1475266603
Pages: 217
Series: N/A
Type: Adult Mystery
Source: Received for Review
Goodreads


After a whirlwind romance, Liam and Rebecca marry despite knowing barely anything about each other's backgrounds. A few short months after their wedding in the middle of an afternoon shopping trip Rebecca vanishes, seemingly abducted leaving a miriad of questions in her wake. Who would want to abduct Rebecca? Or did she willingly disappear? Was the marriage a sham? Is Liam a dupe?

This is one of those books which sounds really interesting and you can't wait to start reading. A whirlwind romance cut short when the girl suddenly disappears, leaving her heartbroken husband to discover why? It sounded exactly like the kind of book I'd love so I was disappointed when my enjoyment fell short. I really struggled with the author's writing style which has long sentences and chunks of dialogue where I had to keep checking who was who.

The character development was unusual in that it relied mostly on info-dumping their pasts while failing really tell you who the characters were. It was easy to see the facts of their life - the cop who joined the Marshals rather than continue on to law school - but it didn't really show their motivations. This meant I never really felt engaged with the characters and didn't feel connected enough to be more than a little interested in why Rebecca disappeared.

A big flaw in the book is that the romance between Rebecca and Liam, the supposed driving force behind his desperation to find his wife, is covered in a few paragraphs. A short while after her disappearance and he's already calming talking about the possibility he was conned. For a whirlwind romance I'd have expected his emotions to be a lot higher rather than the oddly unemotional way he acts after the first couple of chapters.

I did enjoy the mystery as it was cleverly written and packed with more twists and turns than I thought could fit in a single book. The author has deftly created layer upon layer of plot that undermines the reader's assumptions at every turn. The drug industry angle was well handled, creating a believable manipulative force underpining the central mystery. Unfortunately that was the only part I did enjoy.

All in all this was an okay read but I'm not sure I'd read anything else from this author.

Plot: 6/10
Characters: 4/10
Ending: 5/10
Enjoyment: 4/10
Cover: 5/10

Overall: 24/50

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Title: Enclave
Author: Ann Aguirre

Publisher: Frewel and Friends
ISBN: 978-0-312-65008-7
Pages: 259
Series: Razorland #1
Type: Young Adult Dystopian
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


In College enclave, hidden in the tunnels beneath a ruined New York, people only earn the right to a name if they survive their first fifteen years. Once you age enough to leave the ranks of unnamed brats, you choose a path as a Breeder, a Builder or a Hunter. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember so she is thrilled to join their ranks, even when she is paired with Fade a boy who grew up outside the enclave. A Hunter's job is to patrol the tunnels, bringing back food and fighting the monsters known as Freaks but as the Freaks become more intelligent, Deuce is forced to question the rules she has lived her life by.

This is the first in the Razorland trilogy and it was a book I approached with trepidation. I'd seen good reviews, it sounded interesting, even the trailer looked good but something made me hesitate. Now I've read it I really regret that hesitation as this is an outstanding read. Set in a future where people have taken refuge in underground tunnels, it soon becomes clear the author has really done her research as the narrative has a realistic take on how difficult that life would be.

The dystopia and world building are excellent as by introducing Deuce at the start of her Huntress career, the reader is introduced to the world alongside Deuce meaning that there is no info dumping and the revelations come in some surprising twists and turns. The plot is tightly written and a steady pace is maintained throughout as Deuce's world steadily expands beyond the tunnels that used to be all she knew. The dystopia itself is scarily believable yet leaving room for new facts to emerge.

Deuce is a great lead character as she is strong and relentless. I found it really easy to identify with her, despite the fact our lives have nothing in common. Her determination to serve her enclave and her gradual realisation that things aren't okay made me like her. Fade is the perfect way for Deuce's illusions to be shattered. He doesn't maliciously change her world, just points out things with the perspective of an outsider allowing the revelations to happen naturally. The romance between them takes a backseat to the action but it is nevertheless well written and developed.

The Freaks quickly become a horrifying threat, and their existence develops alongside the main plot. They quickly go from dangerous but stupid monsters, to terrifyingly smart calculating predators a shift which undermines the stability the enclave claims. In some ways this is a book of two halves as the story development leads Deuce and Fade "topside" and out of the tunnels, revealing the reasons behind the downfall of society and more about Fade's past. The storyline flows through the location change and the ending leaves Deuce and Fade ready to continue their adventures.

All in all, this was a great read and I'm really looking forward to Outpost.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 49/50

Fall into Reading 2012

Fall into Reading is a great challenge hosted every year by Katrina @ Callapidder Days. Fall into Reading is a no-stress challenge where you create a list of books you want to read this fall, and then try and read them by December 21st.

I took part in Fall into Reading last year and while I had a ton of fun, I also set my reading goal waaaaay too high. This year I'm taking a more relaxed approach and only choosing 5 books. It's enough to feel like a challenge, especially as I have no idea what to read at the moment, but at the same time feels achievable.

My reading list:

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh - I've heard so many awesome things about this one but it took the release of the sequel for me to finally pick up a copy. The characters sound fun, the romance sounds sweet but it's the connection to Poe that caught my attention as I love his work.



 

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake - I read Anna Dressed in Blood last year after my sister treated me to a copy and I loved it so I'm not sure why I have yet to read my copy of the sequel. I'm hoping it's as creepy as the first.

Outpost by Ann Aguirre - Recently I read Enclave (the first in the Razorland series). I picked it up thinking I'd read a chapter or two, and ended up reading half the book in a single sitting. Had I not been exhausted by that point I'd definitely have continued so I'm really looking forward to this.

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick - I've been waiting for this to come out since I finished Silence last year. It's the final book in the Hush, Hush series and after the end of Silence I cannot wait to see what happens to Patch and Nora next.



 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - Another preorder, but one with only days to go. I'm a huge fan of Maggie's writing so getting a copy was always my plan but when I saw the trailer I got really excited for this. It looks incredible!

The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Annette Blair

Title: The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Author: Annette Blair

Publisher: Berkley Sensation
ISBN: 0-425-21346-3
Pages: 269
Series: Accidental Witch Trilogy #3
Type: Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Rory MacKenzie has been treated as a pariah for his entire life because his ancestor lost the woman he loved and by sending her his greatest piece of work, he cursed the village for all eternity. Victoria Cartwright has inherited the key to a mysterious wardrobe that will only reveal its treasures for the woman with the magic of her ancestors. When Vickie opens the wardrobe and finds a beautifully carved unicorn, she and Rory find themselves thrown together by the choices of their ancestors.

This is the final book in the Accidental Witch Trilogy (after The Kitchen Witch and My Favorite Witch) and this time focuses on Vickie. Although the series began as pure contemporary romances, the magical aspect has steadily grown and this sits very close to being a paranoraml romance. I've wanted to know more about Vickie since she was introduced so it's great to see things from her perspective.

The storyline is well plotted and maintains a steady pace throughout. There are a few twists and turns which keep things interesting, one of which introduces Harmony, Destiny and Storm who are set to star in the Triplet Witch trilogy which follows on from this. The romance between Vickie and Rory is well written. Vickie dislikes Rory from the start and Rory isn't looking for romance so they each resist the feelings developing between them.

Unlike in the previous books, Vickie is very body conscious and this is well dealt with as unlike other romances she doesn't suddenly realise her beauty when a hot guy takes an interest. The other aspect of the book that is particularly well done is the scars both Vickie and Rory carry from their childhoods and gradually begin to heal with the support of each other.

I was really surprised by how much I liked Vickie's antique store. Vintage fashion has been a key element in the books since the beginning so it was really great to read more about it. The magic in the story is also unique as rather than cast spells, Vickie seems to make rhyming wishes that come true in some hilarious ways.

All in all, this was a great read and I'm looking forward to the first Triplet Witch book Sex and the Psychic Witch.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 7/10

Overall: 46/50