Forget Me Not by Isabel Wolff

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I chose this book to read for two reasons: 1) I had three days of train travel left for the year and wanted to be sure to finish whichever book I started (because I knew I wouldn’t do any reading over the holidays), and, 2) I wanted to read something light and fun. Before I go any further, I will admit that I’m not a big chic fic fan.

Having made that admission, I honestly did enjoy “Forget Me Not”. It was a bit predictable, but it did speak to the heart regarding relationships and the decisions we make in life and I liked that. The story was well written and easy to read. The characters were complex and likeable. And, of course, there was the required “everyone lived happily ever after” ending, which was perfect for this time of year.

Chic fic doesn’t have the fast pace and loads of action to fall back on, so the story relies on characters that can be related to. I guessed the outcome for many of the characters early on, but I didn’t mind reading on because of the natural flow of the words. I do remember thinking how difficult such a book must be to write, because of the lack of fast paced action, yet the author did extremely well.

My complaint about this book was the in-depth descriptions about gardening, about how certain flowers can reflect a person’s personality and about seeing a “space” through a landscaper’s eye. I found that side of the book boring, to be honest. I skipped over some of the long paragraphs that went on a bit too long for my liking.

However, taking that small thing out of the equation, I enjoyed the experience and would recommend the book to anyone wanting a peaceful, easy read that makes you feel good when you put the book down. Sometimes we all need that feeling.

Now for a second admission, as a reader I don’t particularly want to read chic fic but as a person I love the concept of the “feel good” novel (or movie). I believe that my early writings ran parallel to this type of story – you know, boy meets girl, they fall in love but won’t admit it, there’s a huge complication, things look bad for a while, but then they overcome the complication and a romantic “I love you” scene ends the story.

I’m a romantic at heart. I’m also old-fashioned in a lot of ways. I believe men should treat their women as precious gems. They should open doors for them, give them their jacket when it’s cold, watch their language around them and protect them with their very life if they must. Of course, those precious gems are women who deserve protection of that kind. But life isn’t like that. People are changing as the decades roll on, and I don’t think they are changing for the better. I guess that’s why I cling to an image that I think is ideal (it doesn’t mean it is).

I’ve had several people tell me that if I think this way, if I love the concept of romance and “happily ever after” endings then I’m writing the wrong genre. Perhaps I am, but I also love fast pace and lots of action…and, the writer in me is battling with merging the two to make the perfect story (in my opinion)!

Finders Keepers by Emily Rodda

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted something fun to read. As I enjoy books for younger readers, I thought I’d give this two-book series a go – the second book is entitled “The Timekeeper” is reviewed in this same post below. Besides, as I write for this age group, it’s a great way to do research too.

Anyway, Finders Keepers is about a boy who agrees to enter a TV show competition. The thing is the people running the show live on the other side of the barrier and Patrick has to go through to that world in order to play.

The story is for eight to twelve year olds. It’s quick and easy to read. The story itself is fun and gets the imagination working. I believe these are the correct ingredients for the age group targeted. Story development was gradual and not too complex, but I didn’t feel it spoke down to the intended audience either.

The Timekeeper by Emily Rodda

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is book 2 in the two-book series.

We return to Patrick a few days after the events in the first book and things seem to be worse than ever. The barrier between the two worlds is going berserk and if something isn’t done about it soon, then it can only lead to disaster. Of course, it’s left to Patrick to deal with.

The first couple of chapters were a bit slower than I expected. I believe the story got bogged down with backstory, which is a shame. The author included a “report” (written from the point of view of the TV show producer) as a prologue, which explained what happened in book 1, which was fine. If she had left it at that, the pace would have been much faster, earlier in the book. However, she then went and included the same backstory in the first few chapters and that slowed the story down a lot. But once that was over with, the pace picked up and the plot was suspenseful.

Apart from that, the book was interesting and well written. The two books would intrigue any young reader.

Both books, as a set, are recommended.

Ether by Kristine Williams

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yesterday, I mentioned how I select books to read and Ether by Kristine Williams is an excellent example of that. Because of my current addiction to read ebooks I was combing Smashwords, a website that offers ebooks by new authors in many different formats. The prices are really low and that makes the “risk” easier to take. To buy a main stream book by a new author, the cost would probably be around $18 to $25 in Australia. To buy an ebook by a new author through Smashwords, the cost is about $0.99 to $7.00 (the average being around $3.00). Ether cost me $1.25 and was worth every cent.

I digress, as I was saying, I was combing Smashwords looking for my next victim when a cover jumped from the screen and yelled “pick me, pick me”. That cover told me instantly that the story was about our world entwined with another, and I love that type of story. I was intrigued to find out more. The blurb only pulled me in further so I quickly worked out how I could read the opening paragraph, which wasn’t difficult to do at all, and upon doing so was convinced this was a book I’d enjoy.

Ether is another world connected to our world. The only way through is with a key and there’s not many of them in existence. Daniel Harper discovers a strange key on his late uncle’s keyring when he inherits the house. When he uses that key to unlock the cellar door, he finds himself in a state of total confusion when he steps through the door into the path of an oncoming car – a strange looking car at that. The events that unfold from there are interesting and well written.

The characters had depth and I especially liked the way the author weaved humour into their personalities. It was amusing to read their reactions to certain situations, although if I found myself in the same situation it wouldn’t have been the slightest bit amusing. The characters were distinct and strong and believable. Ether (the world) wasn’t quite as developed as the characters, but not enough for it to be distracting and certainly not enough for me not to enjoy the story. In truth, I can’t quite say why Ether didn’t feel as rounded as it should have been, but something was missing.

That aside, I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the author’s writing style. I would definitely read something else written by her. In fact, I’ve already checked to see if there is anything else and…there is.

This ebook is highly recommended. I believe it’s also available in printed form too.

And to all those writers out there, remember, readers do judge a book by it’s cover so make sure yours is a great one.

RealmShift by Alan Baxter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first ebook I’ve ever read and I’m happy to say that the experience was a good one. I read it on my iPod Touch, which I must admit to having some concerns about as the screen is quite small. However, that didn’t bother me at all. The text was clear and I developed no adverse side-affects such as eye strain. I certainly will be reading more ebooks in the future.

Now, about the book RealmShift. Here’s my review.

RealmShift is a mixture of genres, but it’s mainly horror. It reminded me of some of the Anne Rice books I read years ago – as in theme, not actual storyline. There are vampires, immortals, evil humans and tons of killer instinct, which always means blood and guts are sure to follow. Luckily, that doesn’t bother me.

Of course, there’s lots of swearing too. I’m not one for swearing, but I found I didn’t really have a problem with it in this setting. The characters are mainly male and they swear like troopers, which I find is true in real life so I guess that’s why I didn’t have much trouble accepting it in the story. The female character was much more reserved but when she resorted to more powerful words I accepted it because of the situation she was in at the time.

I was pleased to find characters with depth, characters I could relate to. Strangely, I could even understand why the bad characters were bad, which means they were well written and fully developed.

The story itself is fast paced. Something is always happening, or about to happen. There’s no holding back either. If someone has to die, the reader knows every detail. It certainly gets the imagination going in that regard. In fact, I feel as if I’ve tasted the life of a killer!

RealmShift also had a theme that I found was thought provoking. Yet at the same time, this same theme slowed the story down in sections because of the amount of explaining needed to get a point across. Yet it was important to the overall story and as it was religious based I understood how difficult it was for the author to make sure the reader understood something that is quite complex. The story put a different spin on the whole religion thing which I found quite fascinating. Ultimately, the message was to believe in oneself and stop relying on others and I think that’s a good message to give.

If you want to read a fast paced, action filled story, then you should definitely give RealmShift a read.

Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The final book of The Farseer Trilogy was, for me, excellent yet disappointing. It seems strange to put those two words together, as they contradict one another, but not to use both words would not be telling the whole truth. Let me try to explain, without giving anything important away.

At the end of the second book, Fitz was left for dead. Buck Castle was being plundered by the new king. Loyal followers of the real king were doing what they could to preserve life while the Red Ships continued to forge the citizens of the Six Duchies. Life as everyone knew it was no more.

As a whole, this trilogy was rich and complex. The characters were deep and riveting. I sit and ponder how the author planned this story and am filled with awe at the task she completed. I admire the strength of words, the surprising twists and turns and the excellent reasons for why everything happens. I cannot fault any of these things.

My only real complaints are that Assassin’s Quest was over 700 pages long and I felt as if I was being dragged through a number of those pages unwillingly. The story dragged on and on in the middle, when I would have thought a crisp pace would have been the better option. I began to loose the connection I had with the characters as each new round of “beating” presented itself. My second complaint is that the ending left me feeling disappointed. To go through all that and then for that ending to be laid out before me was not what I had wanted or hoped for. As I mentioned before, I cannot fault the reasoning for the ending as it all made perfect sense, but it wasn’t what I wanted for the main character. It just seemed so unfair, almost like a punishment.

Although I have not raved about this last book in the trilogy, I would recommend it to anyone who really enjoys reading fantasy. I am not sorry I read the book or the trilogy and I certainly will include the trilogy as a whole on my favourites list.

I have the Liveship Traders Trilogy on my bookshelf, but I believe The Tawny Man Trilogy takes up Fitz’ story fifteen years later and I would really like to get a copy of those three books, which shows that I am more than willing to read more by this author.

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is Book 2 of the Farseer Trilogy, meaning it’s the middle of the story and I felt that it was noticeable, which is why I gave it four stars instead of five. At times I felt that the story dragged a touch – only slightly, in a couple of places. However, this doesn’t mean the storyline is lacking or that the characters weren’t deeply woven together. In fact, I still believe firmly that a lot could be learned by studying the way the author developed the storylines of all the characters and the plot in this trilogy.

Each time I thought to myself “enough, move on” it was almost as if the author had planned it exactly to happen in that way, because there was always a sudden change that would draw me deeper into the plot, grasp me firmer. And the plot for this trilogy is complex. There are twists and turns in the story that a reader could not believe possible. The ending of this book left me feeling somewhat disturbed, yet I had seen it coming but I still wasn’t prepared for it. I put the book down and couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. Part of me wanted to reject it, yet another part of me embraced it wholeheartedly. It was the strangest feeling and testament that the story as a whole had an affect on me.

A good book pulls you in and holds you firmly within the storyline. For me, this story (I’m talking about book one and two) wasn’t just words on paper; it was people and places coming alive around me. Just as the characters in the book had to make alliances and fight for survival; I felt as if I was another character struggling for survival along side them. To become so absorbed by the plot and so totally bonded with the characters tells me that the author did her job well.

This book, no, this trilogy, is highly recommended.

Now, after reading and enjoying the first two books, I’m expecting a lot from the third. I hope I won’t be disappointed.

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second time I have read this book, the first being in early 2006. Click here to read my 2006 review. On that occasion I had intended to read the trilogy but something happened in my life which stopped me – the loss of my son. Unable to concentrate for long periods of time and unable to handle complex plots, I turned to stand alone, much thinner books written for young children. The three books which make up The Farseer Trilogy have been sitting on my bookshelf ever since.

Now, three and a half years later, I find myself wanting to complete the trilogy. However, I realised the grief had completely wiped the first book from my memory. Apart from the main character’s name, I could remember next to nothing of the story. I didn’t want to pick up book two and start reading, hoping the first book would come back to me, as that would be distracting, so I read the first book again.

I had expected a flood of memory to occur at some stage during the reading – especially when I approached the climax – but that didn’t happen. I did, however, remember small sections that obviously made an impression on me in 2006, but not enough to spoil any of the surprises. This morning, after finishing Assassin’s Apprentice for the second time, I set about finding the review I wrote back then. It seems I enjoyed it then, with some reservations about the detailed descriptions. Today, I think I have a better appreciation for the book as I had more time in which to sit and become absorbed by it – I even read the “telling” sections at the beginning of each chapter, that I didn’t have much time for previously.

Maybe it’s a case of “older and wiser”, but I think it’s more likely to do with the time restraint issues I had back in 2006, but whatever it was I really enjoyed this second reading. I became totally absorbed and found myself wanting to return to the story, even when it wasn’t possible. Eventually, I left all other distractions at home (for the train trip to and from work) and concentrated solely on the book, which meant I was dedicating four hours a day to reading. I was captivated!

The author shows in this one book how a complex plot can be written in a smooth, believable manner. She also proves that whilst action is important, it doesn’t have to dominate every paragraph of every page. She shows that a character driven book can pull a reader in and hold them through thick and thin, through the laughs and pain, through love and death. This is a brilliant example of a well written story.

This morning I finished Assassin’s Apprentice and in the next minute I was already absorbed by Royal Assassin, book 2 of the trilogy. It’s looking as if this trilogy is going to take a place on my “favourites” list.

Shadows by John Saul

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first audio book I’ve listened to. I thought I would have problems with my mind wandering, but the story was so intriguing that I found myself completely absorbed with what was happening.

In short, the story is about a school for genius children. It confronts the many problems these children experience on a daily basis, in normal life such as isolation, teasing, boredom, lack of friendship and suicide tendencies. Then it moves into life at the new school and shows the feeling of normalcy and acceptance. But the school isn’t everything it portrays and that’s when things turn quite sinister in parts.

Unfortunately, because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else, I can’t go into any details. There was, however, one section about suicide that actually made me quite angry. It was obvious to me, a person who has lost a son to suicide, that the author hasn’t experienced suicide and this fact showed in his writing. Yet, running parallel to this was some interesting thoughts that I actually agreed with too. One moment I felt a fire in my belly that wanted to put an end to the words I was reading because they embraced everything that fed the stigma that has been around for decades, and then the words changed and I found myself nodding in agreement. It was a roll coaster that swung back and forth. All I can say is that I was glad when the story changed direction and the topic of suicide was over.

Then the story moved into another interesting topic. I can’t tell you what it is as it would spoil the book, if you intend to read it. However, although I find the topic interesting, I am not emotionally attached to it so things were “sweet” from this point on…if not quite disturbing, in other ways.

I do not know if the technical stuff was correct or not. All I can say is that it sounded convincing and when reading a story that is all I care about. As the story ran swiftly to the climax, I found myself eager to find out how the author would tie the pieces together and what would have to a couple of the “characters”.

The end was satisfactory. I was pleased that the author didn’t elect to go in another direction, which I had feared might happen at one stage.

For my first audio experience I think I had the right book. I enjoyed it a lot and will definitely try something else by the author…and I’d also listen to another audio book too.

Perfect Victim by Elizabeth Southall and Megan Norris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a true story about the disappearance and murder of 15 year old Rachel Barber in March 1999 in Victoria, Australia. There are two “stories” running parallel – the story of Rachel’s family’s anguish and grief as told by her mother, Elizabeth Barber (using the pen name of Elizabeth Southall), and, an account of the investigation and court case by criminal court reporter, Megan Norris.

Because of the nature of the book, I do not feel it’s relevant to dissect the book as I usually do and talk about characters, plot, setting and voice. These things are what they are…true, disturbing, heartfelt and a complete waste of a young life. It would be wrong for me to “critique” a book which has been written out of love, need and pain, so I am going to talk about this book in relation to the loss of my son in 2006.

The loss of a child by murder and the loss of a child by suicide are two completely different things, yet they are so similar as well. The loved ones of each are left with unending questions that may never be answered. The deep feelings of guilt are overwhelming, although usually unwarranted. The grief is never ending. The lives of everyone close to the person who has gone forever are never the same.

Reading Elizabeth’s words made me cry…not only for her and her daughter, but for me and my son. As I read the Barber family struggles with accepting what had happened and their feelings of isolation, distress and frustration, I thought of my own family facing those same issues.

And then, when Elizabeth spoke directly to her daughter through the book, my heart broke. In her words I heard echoes of my own thoughts and feelings. It was like Rachel’s mother had crawled into my mind and plucked secret thoughts from my head.

Finally, Elizabeth mentioned that she wrote the book not only for herself or for Rachel…she wrote it to make the appropriate authorities – such as the police and the court system – aware of how the family of someone who has gone missing and murdered are feeling, how stressed they are. She needed them to know the anguish, frustration and total devastation felt by Rachel’s family and closest friends. It was important to her to inform and educate them of these things because she didn’t want another family having to deal with the lack of communication and isolation she experienced during the disappearance and then the murder investigation of her daughter. I could relate to the reasons, although in this regard my reasons are quite different. For me, I want to raise suicide awareness in others and I feel the need to educate people about grief.

In conclusion, Elizabeth said that at the time the book was published, it had been three years since her daughter’s death. It has been three years now since my son’s death. She said that her family were trying to move forward, although Rachel’s memory would never be forgotten. My family feels the same way. She mentioned the pain she still felt and the tears still shed on an everyday basis, but especially on “important” dates. I can attest to that as I’m the same. She also said how difficult it was to face everyday questions from strangers, such as “do you have children?” and then the inevitable questions that follow, like “how many?” and “what are their ages?”. For most people, these are easy questions and they eagerly reply. For a parent who has lost a child these questions are difficult and bring a lump to their throat because it’s hard to know how the questions should be answered as we are fully aware that whatever we say someone will feel uncomfortable.

The Starthorn Tree by Kate Forsyth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Starthorn Tree by Kate Forsyth, I found, was difficult to get into because of the dialogue of the characters. It slowed the story down and I found it distracting. But once I got used to the way they spoke and the strange names of the creatures, the story picked up and improved from there.

The story is a classic quest. Five children (aged around 12 to 15 years of age) from different backgrounds, ranging from princess to thief, are brought together for a common cause; although some characters are rather reluctant but they don’t have much of a choice. They are joined by an old man, who isn’t all he seems, and their journey takes them across the most dangerous terrain they can imagine. There are soldiers on foot and on flying birds chasing them; gibgoblins, sprites, wildkin and other creatures prepared to kill them as look at them and a woman of the Crafty they must find before time runs out and the princess’s brother dies.

The poor children are faced with horrors that would curl your toes and they must get over differences that we adults can’t seem to do ourselves. There is a lot of action, but there’s always time for a fed after a long day of journeying, fighting, arguing, and just generally running for their lives. There’s some good humour, lots of great scenery, moments of sadness that will bring a lump to your throat and even a touch of romance. As far as I know, The Starthorn Tree is a stand alone book, which means there are no other books with these characters in it. And as all good books should, it left me feeling satisfied with an ending that gave a hint of what would happen in the future for the characters and how their journey had changed their lives.

Apart from the unsettled beginning, I found this book to be a good read – interesting, exciting and it manages to draw you in. I certainly would pick up another book written by the same author.

Recommended.