Book Chick City: August 2009

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (3)

Monday, August 31, 2009 | Posted by Book Chick City |

It's Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog, to discuss what we are reading for this week as well as books completed the previous week.

I didn't have a great week for reading, but my excuse is that I had to go away to attend a friends wedding. It was a four day affair so there wasn't a lot of time for reading. Hopefully this week will be better.

Books Completed:

Double Cross by Malorie Blackman: This is the last book in the Noughts & Crosses series. Although I loved the first three this last one didn't really match up to the brilliance of the first three. However, I did enjoy it and you can read my review HERE.

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow. This is the first YA book in a new series by the author who gave us Dante Valentine. This was quite a good read and I will be posting my thoughts soon, so keep an eye out for my review.

Books I will be reading this week:

• Friends Like Us by Caitlin Davies: This looks like a really good novel about friendship. Looking forward to reading this one. Also have an interview with the author coming up in the next couple of weeks. This was sent for review by Pocket Books.

• The Good Bride Guide by Matt Dunn: This looks like a really fun read. I haven't read any books by this author before so should be interesting to read a 'chick-lit' style novel written by a man. This was sent for review by Pocket Books.

• Timeless Land by Rachael Treasure: This looks like a really good novel about love and Australia. Looking forward to reading this one. This was sent for review by Preface.

• Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon: This was sent to me by the author herself to review and I will be interviewing Paige in the next few weeks, so look out for that. This looks like a fun easy read.

Labels: Its Monday What are you reading? |

11 comments |

The 'Outstanding Romance Blog' Award

Monday, August 31, 2009 | Posted by Book Chick City |

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Thank you to Diane over at The Book Resort for this fab award! I love it!

For your love and support of romance novels through your blog. And for your support of other bloggers who do the same! Take a bow you deserve it!

God bless you ladies you are awesome!

I'm going to pass this award on to five of the most sizzlin' romance blogs out there..

• Michelle's The Book Addict

• Pearl's World of Books

• Marissa's Book Lair

• K.C's Smokin' Hot Books

• Munk's Sticky Pages

Labels: Awards |

4 comments |

The 'Your Blog Rocks' Award

Monday, August 31, 2009 | Posted by Book Chick City |

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Thank you to Linda from Bambi Reads for this great award!

Here are five of the most rockin' blogs out in blogland:

• Sassy's Alternative Read

• Alaine's Queen of Happy Endings

• Leontine's Book Realm

• Mand's Smexy Books

• J. Kaye's Book Blog

Labels: Awards |

7 comments |

In My Mailbox (#6)

Sunday, August 30, 2009 | Posted by Book Chick City |

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In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

This was my lightest week I think since I started blogging, but it was still a good week. Here's what I got:

• Damnable by Hank Schwaeble (for review)

• The Nearly-Weds by Jane Costello (for review)

• Nekropolis by Tim Waggoner (bought)

• Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (competition win - Pocket Books)

• Diving into Light by Nataha Farrant (competition win - Black Swan)

What did you get this week? Let me know by leaving a comment :)

Labels: In My Mailbox |

24 comments |

What's Your Reading Personality?

Saturday, August 29, 2009 | Posted by Book Chick City |

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What's your reading personality? Are you an eclectic, serial, exacting or involved reader? Find out now by taking BookBrowse's fun, fast (and not to be taken too seriously!) quiz.

Well, I took the quiz and this is what is said:

Personality: All Rounder

Your responses showed you fitting into three different personalities:

Exacting Reader: You love books but you rarely have as much time to read as you'd like - so you're very particular about the books you choose.

Serial Reader: Once you discover a favorite writer you tend to stick with him/her through thick and thin and eagerly await the next in the series.

Eclectic Reader: You read for entertainment but also to expand your mind. You're open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre or limited range of authors.

Why don't you take this quiz at BookBrowse

Labels: Fun Meme |

11 comments |

BOOK REVIEW: 'Double Cross' by Malorie Blackman

Friday, August 28, 2009 | Posted by Book Chick City |

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Title: Double Cross (Noughts & Crosses #4)

Author: Malorie Blackman

Publisher: Corgi Childrens

Publication Date: 6 Aug 2009

Paperback: 434 pages

Young Adult

Source: Review Copy

Reviewed by: Carolyn

RATING: 7/10 - Very good.

BOOK COVER SUMMARY:

Tobey wants a better life - for him and his girlfriend Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he's offered the chance to earn some money just for making a few 'deliveries', just this once, would it hurt to say 'yes'?

Once small decision can change everything...

REVIEW:

This is the fourth installment in the 'Noughts & Crosses' series which focuses mainly on Tobey and his relationship with Callie and how he gets mixed up with the wrong people without really wanting to. There is no Liberation Militia in this book, only two rival gangs with Tobey in the middle. It shows how money, or the lack of it, can be the motivation for good kids to do bad things.

Most of it is written through the eyes of Tobey and although we do get to hear Callie Rose at the very beginning and then at the end, it is brief. Sadly, we never hear from Sephy, which was a great disappointment. She was the original character and it would have been nice to find out how her life was turning out and if she was happy. I liked Tobey's character, but I didn't care about him as much as I had Sephy and Callum. There is also no alternating voices with each chapter, which I thought was a shame as the format had worked so well in the previous books.

The story, however, is still good and I really enjoyed reading it. I didn't get bored and the momentum was steady, but it didn't have any kind of impact on me either. To me there were no powerful scenes that touched me or shocked me, and as the other three books contained these points I suppose I was expecting it.

Verdict:

I think this book would have been better as a stand alone with fresh new voices. I didn't like that I never heard from Sephy again and Callie Rose was only voiced at the beginning and end. I didn't really feel as though this story was connected with the three books before it and I felt some what disconnected. I was sad that the trilogy didn't end with 'Checkmate'.

This is still a very well written story and after reading all the 'Noughts & Crosses' books, Malorie Blackman is a writer I will remember and would have no hesitation recommending to young adults and adults alike.

You can find out more about the author here:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Here are my reviews to each book in the series:

#1: Nought & Crosses

#2: Knife Edge

#3: Checkmate

#4: Double Cross

Labels: 7/10 Rating, Authors A-D, Book Reviews, Corgi YA, Malorie Blackman, Reviews by Carolyn, Young Adult |

8 comments |

Author Interview: Carolyn Turgeon

Thursday, August 27, 2009 | Posted by Book Chick City |

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Carolyn Turgeon is the author of two novels: Rain Village, her first novel which was published in 2006 and her latest book, Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story, published earlier this year. Carolyn in now working on her third novel, Mermaid which she is kind enough to tell us a bit about...

BCC: Hi Carolyn. Welcome to Book Chick City. Tell us about your latest book, Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story.

CT: Godmother is the story of Cinderella’s fairy godmother, Lil, now an old woman living in NYC. She works in a used bookstore in the West Village and lives in the garment district. She has beautiful white-feathered wings she has to conceal, and she’s always remembering her past, back when she was a fairy and everything was perfect and complete. The book is told in first person, and moves between flashbacks to Lil’s fairy life and what happened between her and Cinderella on the fateful night of the ball (Lil becomes jealous of Cinderella and goes to the ball in her place, and as a result is banished from the fairy world), and the present day, when as a result of various signs Lil feels she’s been given a chance to redeem herself and return home.

BCC: Sounds great. I can't wait to read it! Where do you like to write?

CT: I write in a bunch of different places and can write just about anywhere. I’m not really living in one place (since quitting my job in NYC a year and a half ago, I’ve been doing a lot of travelling and staying in various places), so I can’t have a specific little nook where I do all my work, though if I did have one I would try to make it as glamorous as possible, filled with chaise lounges and spice-scented candles and all kinds of sparkly accoutrements. I do very much like writing in coffee shops, surrounded by people and with some kind of frothy coffee drink at my side. Anything to make writing less solitary and less tedious and dull!

BCC: I read on your website that you are writing your third novel, which is a retelling of the original little mermaid story. Can you tell us a bit more about it and when it's likely to be released?

CT: Yes! The book is called Mermaid and is a retelling of the original Hans Christian Andersen story, which is of course much, much darker than the Disney movie. In the Andersen story, the mermaid doesn’t get the prince, though she’s given up her tongue/voice and her tail in order to win his love. Instead the prince marries the princess, who only barely appears in the original story. Mermaid tells the story of this princess as well as of the mermaid—the book is in third person and flips between the two narratives—and the relationship and rivalry that develops between them. It’s set in the medieval world, so there are a lot of castles and kings and soldiers… I’m pretty excited. This is the first book I’ve been able to map out and figure out fully before writing it, and it’s exactly the kind of book I’d like to read. Lots of beautiful things, lots of twistedness… I do love me some Hans Christian Andersen!

BCC: It does sound good. Looking forward to it hitting the shelves. I have heard some authors only write while listening to certain music or their desk has to face the wall rather than the window. Do you have a ritual while writing?

CT: I don’t have any rituals, really. I write in all different places, I write on a laptop when I’m out and hook my laptop up to a monitor and keyboard when I’m in, and though I usually don’t listen to music, sometimes I’m in a certain mood and can just lose myself in some loud music and the page in front of me. But I’m sure that if I settle down and put together my glamorous, chaise-lounge-filled writing locale, I’ll make up some rituals quickly enough! Most likely involving candles and witchy things. Like I said, anything to convince myself that writing is more fun than it is!

BCC: What was it like to see your first novel on the shelf in a book shop?

CT: Actually, there was much more anxiety and trauma around it than I would have thought. It was lovely, of course, incredibly validating, but at the same time here was this book I had spent so many years working on (Rain Village really took years to write, mainly out of inefficiency and ignorance!), like this secret world that had until then existed only my head, now out there in the open, a product anyone could buy. It made me feel much more exposed and uncomfortable than I would have thought. But then I got used to it, and publishing Godmother was much more pleasant. It’s just part of what you’re doing, putting novels into the world: sharing yourself in ways that you might not share yourself otherwise. At least for me. So now I accept that as a more lovely, natural part of the process.

BCC: What do you like to do outside of writing?

CT: Well, I love reading, of course, and I love movies and the theater and art. I like watching Law and Order and dumb reality shows. I love taking road trips and travelling and having adventures and seeing friends and making new friends. This fall, for example, I’ve rented an apartment in Berlin, Germany, for three months, and I’m excited to learn that city and, from there, visit a friend in an old city in Bavaria and take a trip to London for the first time… I also bought an accordion a year ago, and I like bellydancing, and going to burlesque shows… This past weekend I visited the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA, and learned all about birds… Really, I’m usually up for anything and love learning and experiencing new things.

BCC: I love travelling too, it's so much fun visiting other countries. I hope you have a lovely time. I saw on your blog that you enjoy photography. This seems to be a common hobby amongst writers. Why do you think this is?

CT: And I love photography, yes! Last fall I sat in on an introduction to dark room photography class at Penn State (when I could) and I loved it, the magic of watching an image slowly appear on paper. I would like one day to have a little house with a dark room in the basement. For me part of the appeal is that it’s so much simpler than writing, in some ways. I mean a perfect photograph can be beautiful and haunting and sad and strange… contain all the feelings I might spend pages and pages attempting to create. But I think there’s more to it than this, the appeal of photography for writers, but I’m not sure what it is. I’d like to one day put together a book of photos and writing, and there’s something about that, the combination of words and images and the lack of a clear, structured narrative, that I find appealing. Of course, there is also the fact that writing a book takes so, so long, and is so solitary and tedious, and a photo is something that gives you an almost instant result. Very satisfying!

BCC: Is there a particular author that influenced your writing?

CT: I think several writers did. Certainly Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And in college and graduate school I studied Italian literature, and I know I owe a debt to Boccaccio and all those wonderful old stories, as well as to Giovanni Verga, an early 20th century Sicilian writer I especially love. I also have to say that I’ve loved the singers Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, and Jonathan Richman since I was a teenager; their writing and sensibilities have influenced me as much as anything. As have films like Wings of Desire, which in some ways was at the heart of Rain Village and Godmother.

BCC: How do you research your novels?

CT: Well, for Rain Village I did the most research, since my character Tessa slowly learns the trapeze and then joins an old-time travelling side show and circus. I’ve never been on the trapeze and didn’t want to try it, but I read a few books and also interviewed the president of the Trapeze School of New York, who was incredibly helpful. I also read several books on old circuses, and visited museums in Baraboo, Wisconsin; Sarasota, Florida; and Bridgeport, Connecticut. Those are three of the main circus towns in the U.S., places where the Ringing Brothers and P.T. Barnum lived.

I didn’t do a whole lot of research for Godmother, as I recall, though I did little things like visit the Pierre Hotel or the Frick when I knew I wanted to set scenes in those places. But for Mermaid, I’ve been reading plenty about life in medieval castles and medieval convents. The book’s not really set in a specific country and isn’t based on a specific history, but I want the castles (the prince’s and the princess’s) and the convent (where the princess is in hiding at the beginning of the book) to feel as real and authentic as possible, especially since they’re being contrasted to the magical underwater world of the mermaid.

And then for other projects… The dark room class was in part for this suspense book I’m writing about an aspiring photographer in New York who lives a double life. I learned a bit about old-time processes for that, like about wet plate collodion, which a photographer I know demonstrated for me. (That’s a book I’m nearly finished with but put aside for Mermaid.) I’m also collecting a bunch of books on falcons and medieval falconry for a future children’s book project, and may visit a falconer, a friend of a friend, in England this fall. I’m also visiting an old castle-filled Bavarian city my friend lives in, where I may well set that book. Another partly written novel I have on the back burner is historical, set in the very specific time and place of 1280s Florence, and for that I have piles and piles of books and have made a couple of trips to Italy to see some specific places and get a general feel for the city.

I know. You must feel very sorry for me!

BCC: Oh we do, such a hard life... Who are your favourite authors?

CT: I love Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, Angela Carter, Joanne Harris, Alice Hoffman, Francesca Lia Block—all those lush, magical writers—and I’m also a huge fan of Patricia Highsmith, who’s so brilliant at creating a sense of elegant, creeping dread. I also love Scott Heim, Daniell Woodrell, Natsuo Kirino, Raymond Chandler…

BBC: There's quite a few authors in that list I haven't heard of, will definitely check some out! Lastly, What are you currently reading?

CT: Right now I’m reading Sarah Dunant’s new book, Sacred Hearts, about a 16th century Italian convent. Next I’m reading Kathryn Hulme’s The Nun’s Story, which became a movie with Audrey Hepburn. Both are for pleasure as well as research for the novel I’m writing now, which takes place partly in a convent… And I have a ton of other books on my shelf I can’t wait to read, once I finish! I’m especially excited to read The Sugar Queen and In the Woods. And I recently bought a Flannery O’Connor anthology… I’ve never read her, and can’t wait!

BCC: Thank you Carolyn. It's been a pleasure to have you and thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

If you would like to find out more about Carolyn and her books then visit or website www.carolynturgeon.com or check out her blog HERE

If you want to buy any of the books then click the images above and they will take you straight to Amazon UK.

Labels: Author Interviews, Carolyn Turgeon |

11 comments |

Author Interview: Jo Rees

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 | Posted by Book Chick City |

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Jo Rees published her first novel when she was 26. She went on to write several screenplays and internationally successful novels with her husband, Emlyn Rees, including the number one bestseller, Come Together. Platinum is her first solo outing since.

BCC: Welcome to Book Chick City - it's such a pleasure to have you.

JR: Thanks - I'm thrilled to be asked.

BCC: Tell us a bit about your latest book, Platinum

JR: I wrote Platinum to be the kind of book I wanted to read on holiday. It's a total slice of escapism - so there's loads of glamour, sex, exotic locations and a roller-coaster plot. My three heroines are all from completely different walks of life, but they all get together to take revenge on a ruthless Russian. Juicy stuff!

BCC: You wrote several bestselling novels with your husband, but Platinum is your first solo novel for some time. How was it writing on your own again?

JR: Hard work! I loved all of the seven books I wrote with Emlyn, but I've always wanted to write a big, juicy blockbuster like Platinum and I needed to do it on my own. He's writing screenplays, so it seemed a logical time for us both to go it alone. That said, lots of our writing method from working together remains, for example, Emlyn helped edit Platinum as I went along. He was invaluable.

BCC: I read that you are now working on your next novel, Tycoon. Can you give us a sneak peek into what it's about? When is it set to be released?

JR: I've renamed Tycoon, 'Tempting Fate'. I'm not going to say too much, but it's another glamourous, sexy story, this time about two female rivals at the top of their game in the international world of mega-casinos. I've just finished it and I'm thrilled with it. It'll hit the shelves next May.

BCC: Do you have fun while writing your novels?

JR: Of course! I love writing. I've been writing now professionally for 12 years and every day is a blessing to be able to do what I love best. As a writer, you have to completely care about the characters you're writing. If I'm not 100 per cent absorbed in them, then I can't expect my readers to be either. If I'm not in tears by the last page having given it my all, then I haven't done my job properly. It's often harrowing, or frustrating, but for me, it beats almost every other kind of job I can imagine.

BCC: How do you research your novels?

JR: My books are character based, so I start by working out emotionally what I want to happen to each of my girls. Then I research the locations as I go along. I'm a great believer that a reader who is hooked is reading because they care about what happens to the characters. They're not scrutinizing all the details. You just have to give enough details to set a scene convincingly. Of course I check all my facts, but I don't let research get in the way of writing too much, otherwise you can tie yourself up in knots. I tend to pump all my friends for information and facts. I had friends who had worked on a mega-yacht in the Med, so they were very helpful when I was writing Platinum. I also think the lives of all the celebrities we read about in Hello! and Grazia are fascinating, so I'm constantly flicking through magazines to get up-to-the-minute looks for my characters.

BCC: How do you combine being a mother of three, a wife and a writer?

JR: It gets complicated sometimes, but I've learnt that the only way to get everything done is to be very disciplined. At school I was the kind of girl who crammed for exams right at the last minute, but you can't rustle up a 130 thousand word novel overnight. I've had to change my ways and now I'm organized and only do the stuff that matters - for example, I've almost totally given up ironing! Two of my girls go to school and the little one has a babysitter who takes her out in the mornings. The moment everyone is out of the house, I sit at my computer and I force myself to stay there and not email friends, or look at Facebook. Somehow, it all gets done. I'm not sure how, but it does. It helps that I live with a fellow writer, so Emlyn and I understand the process and that sometimes in the middle of dinner, one of us will have to rush off to write something down.

BCC: What books do you like to take on holiday?

JR: I guess like lots of people, I always take a couple of books that I think I ought to read, but never read them. I keep a list of books that friends recommend, so if someone says something has been a good read, I get it. I love the feeling of being absorbed by a book, but because I write for a living, I can't read similar types of books for fun anymore. It feels too much like work. I read thrillers and crime fiction. This summer I read the first two Stieg Larsson books, which were great.

I also take a couple of copies of my latest book, just in case I meet a reader in need, which I often do. A glowing recommendation from a satisfied reader is the best thing that can happen for an author.

BCC: Thank you so much for answering my questions. It's so nice of you to take the time. Good luck with Tempting Fate and all your future projects.

JR: Thanks!

Platinum - Published by Corgi

Hell hath no fury like three women scorned…

Peaches Gold – a tough-talking, knockout brunette. She’s LA’s most infamous madam, with a flourishing business and ambition to match.

Emma Harvey – a happily-married, multi-talented redhead. She's English society’s darling, but her latest investment has just put her whole future at risk.

Frankie Willis – a super-smart, adventurous blonde. She’s the new stewardess on board a luxury mega-yacht and is about to find love where she least expected.

Three very different women. One common enemy. Yuri Khordinsky – the ruthless, all-powerful billionaire. Whatever he wants, he gets.

But this time he’s crossed the wrong women. And now it’s revenge time… female style.

Order Your Copy

Labels: Author Interviews |

2 comments |

"Waiting On" Wednesday #3: The Vampire Diaries - The Return: Nightfall by L. J. Smith

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 | Posted by Book Chick City |

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"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, which spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

I few weeks ago I bought the The Vampire Diaries series and then I came across this one on Amazon, which is the next book to be released in the series in January. Can't wait!

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publication Date: 15 Jan 2010 (UK)

Paperpack: 608 pages

Summary (Goodreads)

Elena Gilbert is alive—again.

When Elena sacrificed herself to save the two vampire brothers who love her—the handsome, brooding Stefan and the sleek and dangerous Damon—she was consigned to a fate beyond death. Until a powerful supernatural force pulled her back. Now Elena is not just human. She has powers and gifts that were bestowed on her in the afterlife. What's more, her blood pulses with an overwhelming and unique force that makes her irresistible to any vampire.

Stefan wants to find a way to keep Elena safe so that they can make a life together. Damon, however, is driven by an insatiable desire for power, and wants Elena to rule as his princess. When Stefan is lured away from Fell's Church, Damon seizes his chance to convince her that he is the brother she is meant to be with. . . .

But a darkness is infiltrating the town, and Damon, always the hunter, is now the hunted; he becomes the prey of a malevolent creature that can possess him at will, and who desires not just Elena's blood but her death.

Labels: Waiting on Wednesday |

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BOOK REVIEW: 'Checkmate' by Malorie Blackman

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 | Posted by Book Chick City |

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Title: Checkmate (Noughts & Crosses #3)

Author: Malorie Blackman

Publisher: Corgi Childrens

Publication Date: 7 Sept 2006 (this edition)

Paperback: 511 pages

Young Adult

Source: Review Copy

Review by: Carolyn

RATING: 8/10 - Brilliant, couldn't put it down.

BACK COVER SUMMARY:

Callie Rose has a Cross mother and a nought father in a society where the pale-skinned noughts are treated as inferiors and those with the dual heritage face a life-long battle against deep-rooted prejudices.

Sephy, her mother, has told Rose virtually nothing about her father, but when Rose unexpectedly discovers the truth about her parentage, she finds herself drawn into a dangerous, deadly game - a game of very high stakes that can have only one winner...

REVIEW:

This is the third book in the brilliant 'Noughts & Crosses' series. It follows Callie Rose, the daughter of Sephy and Callum, as she grows up and discovers her disturbing past. She meets her Uncle Jude, who is still consumed with rage and wants to use her for his own revenge. We meet Sephy again, but this time she's older and some what damaged by her past and finds it difficult to love again. We follow her through the different relationships with love interests and with Callie and find the answers to the cliffhanger of 'Knife Edge'.

The same format is used with characters alternating with each chapter and, as with the books preceding this one, the story sweeps you along and it's difficult not to get caught up in the lives of Sephy, Callie and the rest of the family.

It reveals the difficultly growing up as a mixed race child and how prejudice from both sides leaves Callie with a feeling of not belonging anywhere. As Callie grows up and finds out that the ones closest to her have been lying she grows bitter and decides to follow Jude in his vendetta, even though her heart really isn't in it. This section of the story reaches a dramatic climax and the end for some of the characters.

This is a cleverly crafted novel, and although it does not have the same impact as 'Noughts and Crosses', it's still a very tense and dramatic story that absorbs you and keeps you reading. The ending of the book is bittersweet.

VERDICT:

Originally the final instalment of a trilogy, 'Checkmate' answers some of the questions that hovered after reading 'Knife Edge'. The letter from Callum is explained in more detail and the relationships between the characters come to a satisfying conclusion.

However, this novel didn't remain as the ending for this series and earlier this month a fourth book was released. I'm reluctant to read 'Double Cross' as 'Checkmate' was a perfect end to a thought-provoking and emotionally charged series which I thought was absolutely superb and cannot recommend enough. I'm not sure where 'Double Cross' will take me, but I will find out as it's next on my list to read.