Saturday, January 28, 2012

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness




Diana Bishop is a witch who doesn't want to use magic. She believes magic killed her parents. She believes in the power of knowledge and scientific proof.

At the beginning of the book, Diana is at Oxford's Bodeleian Library studying different alchemical manuscripts. She stumbles around Ashmole 782. She is able to open it, and discovers that she can unlock the spell. She decides to put it away after reading just a few of the pages.

Unknown to her, after this event her life will never be the same.

Soon she finds herself surrounded by witches, demons and vampires, trying to figure out where the manuscript is and how she was able to "call it" and unlock the spell surrounding it.

Nobody gets closer to her than Matthew Clairmont, a very handsome vampire, who is also a very powerful scientist. He soon falls for her and becomes her personal protector when her life is in danger.

Through the book we meet wonderful characters, I personally liked the House.

I really wanted to like this book, because it was recommended to me by a good friend. I did like it, just didn't love it. The end is kind of a cliffhanger (which as a reader I don't personaly enjoy) There are many unsolved questions as well.

It bothers me that Matthew is supposed to be so powerful but every other enemy seems to be more powerful than he is.

I will read the rest of the trilogy because like I said I did like the book and in a way I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

3.5/5 Fangs

Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins


Title: The Next Best Thing
Series: Gideon's Cove
Author: Kristan Higgins
Publisher: Harlequin Books




Lucy Lang isn't looking for fireworks...

She's looking for a nice, decent man. Someone who'll mow the lawn, flip chicken on the barbeque, teach their future children to play soccer. But most important... someone who won't inspire the slightest stirring in her heart...or anywhere else. A young widow, Lucy can't risk that kind of loss again. But sharing her life with a cat named Fat Mikey and the Black Widows at the family bakery isn't enough either. So it's goodbye to Ethan, her hot but entirely inappropriate "friend with privileges" and hello to a man she can marry.

Too bad Ethan Mirabelli isn't going anywhere. As far as he's concerned, what she needs might be right under her nose. But can he convince her that the next best thing can really be forever?






Lucy Lang is in her twenties, she has been a widow for five years. After her sister gives birth to baby Emma, Lucy decides it is time to move on and start dating again. So maybe it is time to stop sleeping with her dead husband's brother, Ethan Mirabelli.

Lucy wants to find a man whom she can love just a little. She is terrified of falling head over heals and wants to settle for someone she can have a kid with but is not crazy for.

The females in her family seem to lose their husbands at an early age. Her mother and sisters are known as the Black Widows. They own a bakery where Lucy works but they refuse to let Lucy improve the menu. Despite her being a pastry chef and have a passion for baking. 

As always the secondary characters are wonderful. The family gatherings, the small town, the humor is what will make me want to buy any of her books. Surprisingly, this is my first book by Kristan who has a cat instead of a dog as the memorable pet.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

Saturday, January 7, 2012

To The Moon and Back by Jill Mansell



Ellie Kendall's life dramatically changes overnight. 

One second, she's getting ready to watch the Rocky Horror Picture show and her husband Jamie is going out with his best friend Todd. The next second her husband is in a motor vehicle accident, ending up in the hospital and later dying. 

Fast forward one year. Ellie is ready to move on from her job; she is tired of seeing the sorrow in her coworker's eyes. 

Her father in law, Tony Weston, is still involved in her life. He is an actor in America who comes for frequent visits. He also helps her move out from her current apartment to a better neighborhood, where she meets Roo, an ex-singer (Daisy Deeva) who becomes a best friend in weeks to pass.

Zack McLaren is her new boss, and at the beginning, she is not attracted to him. She is still grieving, but later on, she starts having feelings for him. Feelings he reciprocates but neither can seem to reveal.

This book is about grief, moving forward, and loving again. I like all the secondary storylines. I will recommend it.

Cliffhanger: No

3.5/5 Fangs