Dance to the Piper by Nora Roberts

Just look at that cover! Seriously amazing and now I wish I had that book in my possession and not just some boring cover (you saw it on the last Nora Roberts post, so dull compared to this one). Anyway, this is the story of Maddy O'Hurley, the middle triplet who has so much energy she can dance all night and all day - which is a good thing as she is a very talented Broadway actress.

Maddy is a quirky, free-spirit living her life for herself and no one else. She seems to relish making time for herself and going with the flow, even if that flow is taking her towards a rather high-strung, though seriously attractive music exec.

Reed's company is backing Maddy's new musical, a story about a stripper who meets the man of her dreams - but he thinks she is a librarian - what will happen? Reed however, is a pretty straight-laced, workaholic who is sure he knows what he wants and that it isn't Maddy. But, can he really resist her charms or will he end up head over heels for a woman he just can't believe would be good for him...?

All about assumptions and fear of commitment this book is a bit of a roller coaster. Maddy is quick to know what she wants and when she falls in love she knows it to be true, but Reed is a cynical, and at times, a bit of a jerk - who just needs to loosen up and believe that true love can be right in front of you.

I really enjoyed this, probably not as much as The Last Honest Woman, but it does give you a taste for the O'Hurley's high-flying, high-living lifestyle that will knock you over the head in Skin Deep. A quick read, perfect for a holiday and I have to say having them in 2-in-1 packs makes these books so easy to read one after the other!

Without a Trace by Nora Roberts

Okay, okay, this is the first cover I don't like, but hey-ho, here it is for you to make your own opinion. Trace O'Hurley has always been a bit of an enigma, throughout this series everyone is talking about him and yet you have to wait to the last book, just to meet him! Well he does not disappoint...

Trace left his travelling performing family to see the world, but not on good terms. His father was so hurt by his son's rejection of the family's lifestyle that they both said things they would live to regret. Now Trace is considering retiring from his job as an ISS agent (I know secret agents!!!) when Gillian Fitzpatrick tracks him down in a dingy bar.

She needs his help, her brother and his little girl have been captured by a terrorist ring who Trace knows are led by a mentally unstable man, who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. But, Trace wants to retire, he doesn't want to get shot again or go undercover! For the first time in a long time he wants to go home, to America, to his family...if they'll have him.

Gillian was a character i could really get behind! Strong, loyal and, of course, beautiful she is a woman who you almost want to be best friends with. Her heart really helps soften up the story, as Trace often comes across (when he is speaking to her) as a bit of a jerk, but inside we all know he is actually really sweet and cares for her a lot. Anyway, this is the last O'Hurley story and it is high-octane stuff! The best bit is all the amazing places they travel to and Nora's descriptions of Trace's life as a secret agent.

Final opinion on the O'Hurley's series: As much as I would love to say it was incredible, I can't. It is a decent series from a top-notch writer, but all in all I prefer some of her others. But give it a go if you like Nora, each book had it's own gem of a character and as always there is the classic touch of Nora! Nothing she does is every not worth reading and when you are waiting for a new series to come out, it's great to delve back into her backlist. Perfect for duvet days!

Underworld by Meg Cabot

Oh my oh my! Pierce Oliviera is in the underworld once more, but this time the gorgeous lord of the dead (John - you remember him right?!) won't let her go! Not now he's finally found her!

Meg Cabot has a gift, a gift for writing incredible romances for teens, if I may say so, she is the Queen of Teen! Underworld is just another example of her ability, she is a maverick - twisting the Persephone story into a teen romance really tops it all. I hardly remembered the myth when I opened the book (Hardback from America - yep it's not even out in the UK yet), but Cabot easily weaves interesting insight into the myth (like the whole wasn't Persephone a demi-goddess or something and wouldn't she totally know all about the eating in the underworld thing?!) with true teen moments including, worrying about your hair, or what that guy is thinking! How does she do it?

Pierce is also definitely growing on me as a heroine, I almost wished I could step right through the book and become her best friend. But I still think Suze from the Mediator series is my favourite.

I also love John, he is the strong silent type but with all the power and sex appeal (ok in my head people) of Angel from Buffy (when he's not a vampire - obviously!). Sensitive and hiding some pain away beneath his rough exterior he is every teenage girls dream, oh and he is hunky too (did I say that already?)!

Oh to list all the wonderful things about this book would be far too difficult, but lets get down to it - you get to go to the Underworld and meet all kinds of wonderful people (Henry is adorable and I think I'm a little in love with Frank), but it is also an Abandon novel so there has to be a chase, some Furies and to top it all off a cliffhanger ending! If you have read any Cabot before you will know that she is a fantastic writer who pulls you straight into the story and this like her other novels takes place over a short period of time. I only wonder how I will manage to survive until the final book in the trilogy comes out?

The Man Who Rained by Ali Shaw

I recently read Ali Shaw's fantastic Costa Prize shortlisted novel The Girl with Glass Feet and I absolutely loved it, it was atmospheric and incredibly original. So, when I saw that Ali Shaw had a new book out, I couldn't resist and Kindle had it on offer, so even though the hardback cover was heavenly, I couldn't resist. To be honest, the first few pages were a little hard going, probably because I was tired and the train was bustling, but it does begin with a journey. Elsa Beletti leaves New York in search of something different, a change of pace after the death of her beloved father and takes a plane ride out to a place she only saw once in her life from out of a plane window, Thunderstown. It is a place that is riddled with superstition, a backward little place that Elsa finds it hard to understand, especially the taciturn Daniel Fossiter, the towns official animal-culler. But when Elsa is exploring the four mountains that surround this mystical place she discovers Finn, a man who is not a man, he is a giant-hairless-recluse who she watches turn into a cloud. It is only her own mournful plea for him to stay that brings Finn back to earth and gives Elsa and Finn the chance to grow and learn from one another.

As with The Girl with Glass Feet this novel is shrouded in mystery, but Shaw's message is clear: it is more about accepting yourself than how other people view you. The host of characters Shaw has collected are all brilliantly drawn and feel quite real, which makes the whole set up almost creepily possible. I think, living in the UK does give you a certain affection for the weather, sometimes I quite enjoy it's unpredictable howling or rain, or incredible heat that arrives in March after a frost. But I could see how you could view the weather as an enemy, how you could want to control it and how this could take over a towns mentality. Chocolat never seemed that far-fetched, religion was always something that could turn fanatical and now the next step could be the weather - who wouldn't give anything to control the weather?

I have to say, overall while I enjoyed this novel and loved some of Shaw's excellent phrases and beautiful - almost loving - descriptions of tornadoes, storms and clouds, I found it lacking. The Man who Rained was somehow missing the energy and off-beat realism that came out of The Girl with Glass Feet. By the end, I was already pretty sure I knew what was coming and I felt that Shaw had to pull a bit of a miracle off to create the ending, which made it all the more unbelievable and shattered the spell I had been under. For anyone who enjoys reading magical realism do give this a go, but to be completely honest I still prefer The Girl with Glass Feet - so go borrow it from the library or buy it from a bookshop you will not be sorry!

Comfort reads

I know, this is not a review, but it is a list, a list of books that no matter how terrible I feel always manage to cheer me up. Suffering from a cold I have been wallowing and reading an awful lot, so here are my favourite comfort reads. Ones that no matter how awful I feel, always perk me up and keep me going.

The Guy Next Door is one of my ultimate favourite reads. Every time I feel under the weather this book is pulled off my bookshelf and I curl up in bed knowing that I will have a satisfying read. Melissa Fuller is a gossip columnist for the New York Journal and her life is going along pretty well - well except for a boyfriend (her last boyfriend was a terrible example of what a boyfriend should be). All of a sudden her life is turned upside down when her next door neighbour is rushed to the hospital (after being attacked!!!!) and is now in a coma. Who will look after her pets, especially who will walk her Great Dane Paco while she is hospitalised? So Mel has to track down her next of kin - luckily he just happens to be a world-famous photographer, but when he shows up he's pretty darn gorgeous and Mel is almost swept away - but isn't he supposed to be some massive tool?
Anyway...this book is awesome and told completely in e-mails! I know, it is so 21st century! Also, Meg Cabot is amazing and just about the best author for when you are feeling under the weather. The whole "boy" series is great! So grab a copy and pour yourself a cup of tea, keep the tissues close and get ready for a hilarious romance.

Anne of Green Gables is a book I have written about before here - so not to bore you or anything - but if you still haven't got a copy Why NOT? If you ever felt down, read some Anne, not only will she have your frown turning upside down, but Montgomery's gorgeous descriptions of Prince Edward Island will make you feel like you are on holiday. With fantastic adventures and true friendships this book is perfect for when you need to curl up and forget all the pressures of life. It is also great to read a loud to a child who is sick, but I personally like to be alone with Anne and disappear into Avonlea. The story is lyrical and a magical read, but keep the tissues nearby and ready for use before you get to the end of the book. If you are far too ill for reading I must recommend the 1985 TV movies of Anne of Green Gables - they capture the whole thing perfectly and will keep you entertained for hours!

 Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - it is short, it is fun, it is brilliant, witty and all things Austen books should be! It might be one you haven't read before, but once you have you can recite the beginning by heart and falling in love with Mr Tilney never felt so good. He is one of Austen's most amiable gentleman heroes  who is not only a great guy, but forgives our near Catherine for all her foolish Gothic imaginings and truly loves her.
There is also a brilliant villain, horrible woman and rake! Can Catherine Morland survive her first time away from her family unscathed? A truly enchanted read and one for Austen fans to try out - it is her first book, so remember that we all have to learn!

A comfort read list would not be complete without Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. For anyone who hasn't read it, I beg of you to try - it is a children's classic for a reason and anyone who meets the March family will find it difficult to ever forget them. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy are the heroines of this work, each of them very different and vivid in detail and descriptions. Beth is my favourite, a young girl who is so kind, so loving that no one in her family could ever be without her. She would always do the right thing and when reading it, I felt more like Amy or Jo (neither of whom are perfect) messing up a perfectly good day with selfishness. But all the sisters are wonderful and if you know anything about the story or have ever seen that episode of Friends you will know that tissues are a must, as is comfort chocolate and a warm cup of tea. For when you are feeling down, the March sisters can definitely bring you comfort!

Other such comforting reads include: Daphne Du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek, which is a gorgeous romance, swash-buckling adventure story! Meg Cabot's Heather Wells Mystery series: Size 12 is Not Fat is the first and is completely amazing, a perfect mystery series to curl up with in any situation! And now a fantasy series that I loved when I was young and will happily re-read when ill or not feeling my best: Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small series starting with First Test - completely captured my imagination and adventurous soul! Sorry, no space to add any more covers, but get thee to a library or bookshop and find your favourite comfort reads now! If you have any further suggestions comment, tweet and basically let me know! Everyone needs a list of perfect comfort reads!

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

If you are looking for a stunning comfort read look no further than P.D. James' Death Comes to Pemberley! A completely brilliant story that picks up just a few years after Pride and Prejudice ends, Elizabeth and Darcy are very happy (who thought they wouldn't be?!), living at Pemberley with their two sons (yes, I know, I love how she had two boys - no idea why, except that Elizabeth is no longer at risk of turning into her mother with sons there is no fear of an entail or anything that had so plagued the Bennet household). The Bingleys reside very close and not a month goes by when there isn't a carriage making frequent journeys between the two families. All is set to be a wonderful book of rural happiness, the only slight worry is who shall marry Georgiana? A very bright, handsome young lawyer (don't worry he also has some land!) and Colonel Fitzwilliam (I know I thought it a bit creepy too, he was her guardian, is her cousin and older than Darcy!!!) appear to be vying for her attentions, but who shall she choose? Obviously Elizabeth believes that Georgiana should only marry for love, not for money, or title (which is why we all dearly love her).
But this rural simplicity is broken by the arrival of Lydia Wickham hysterical and panicked - Wickam and Denny went into the Pemberley woods and shots were heard, Lydia is sure that Wickham has been killed! Now, I must say, I wasn't so concerned about Wickham, but ... now I won't spoil it for the rest of you (as you shall have to buy the book to find out what happens next) I will say that I was unable to put the book down after Lydia's untimely arrival!

A compelling drama and mystery all rolled into one, P.D. James' love letter to Austen is beautiful. The whole book reads like fan-fiction (if only all fan-fiction was written so well and by such an accomplished author), with little asides and mentions of other Austen characters, giving you a glimpse into their new lives. While it does read a little modern, James knows these characters and is obviously very familiar with Austen's works, she has the language and character's voices almost perfect (we could not expect anyone other than Jane herself to get it completely right!). And any fan worth her/his salt will notice a few re-used phrases, but never do these feel out of place, rather they sit so pleasantly within the text that you could forget you had heard them before. James knows what she is doing and it truly felt in some moments as if Austen had come back to life!
A must read for any Austen fan and anyone who loves a good cosy crime story. It is the perfect antidote to the modern world and (as I have a very bad cold) the perfect medicine for any occasion. Just be warned - once you start you will not be able to stop!

The Travelling Matchmaker series part 1 by M.C. Beaton

I had never read an M.C. Beaton until this year. With such an enormous back list, vibrant covers and titles that show ingenuity and humour I am baffled why it took me so long. Now, the first one I picked up was because of a Kindle sale and it was 99p at Christmas: Emily Goes to Exeter. This is the first in the Travelling Matchmaker series and once I had read it, I could hardly resist buying or procuring the others, by any means necessary! So, I went to my trusty local library and low and behold they placed it on hold for me for a mere 80p - once someone returned the book, it was going to be all mine and they would e-mail me to let me know when to come in. A rather handy system and even cheaper than a Kindle daily deal! So once armed with my new book and seeing as the sun was shining that weekend (do you remember when the sun used to shine?). I braved the outdoors and devoured it in one delightful sitting. Anyway, here are my reviews of the first 3 Travelling Matchmaker books:

Emily Goes to Exeter is a brilliant start to the series. Hannah Pym is a housekeeper for a recluse who unexpectedly leave her a legacy of £5,000 on his death. Suddenly Miss Pym is no longer a servant, but a lady of independent means. The glory of that revelation means that Miss Pym can now do as she pleases and what she pleases to do is to travel! Having worked as a servant for most of her life, she has had very few experiences out of the house, her one joy is watching the stage coach (or Flying Machine as they were called) come speeding past the house. So, once the money is in her account, she has acquired a lovely little flat in Kensington (a place once cannot walk to at night, as it is a very dangerous area!) she goes off to fetch her first ticket on the stage coach to Exeter.
All at once the adventures begin, as a quite beautiful young boy is seated opposite Hannah on the coach and a mysterious handsome outside passenger proves to be very useful when snow drifts mean the passengers must shelter for a few days. Suddenly Hannah finds she is quite a wily matchmaker and is able to turn the rather spoilt Emily into the perfect match for the proud Lord Ranger Harley. But not only is there romance, but mysteries abound as it appears someone on the stage coach is trying to get away with murder - can clever Miss Pym, Harley and Emily find the would-be-killer?
A brilliant, face-paced novel for lovers of regency period and a glory good little read. I have to say Beaton had me in stitches of laughter at the oddest moments, with incredible wit and vivacity you will be captured by Hannah's adventures!

Belinda Goes to Bath
Belinda has been sent away in disgrace. Even though her aunt and uncle deliver her to the Flying Machine in a horse and carriage, she is forced to take the stage with the others. Miss Hannah Pym is at once interested in this girl and her odd arrival. Especially with her companion who seems fit to moral bursting! Hannah cannot resist finding out all and when she begins to uncover the story, Hannah is more determined to help. A 'lucky accident' of their drunk driver upsetting the coach into a river pushes the passengers into the house of a local mar guess who welcomes them into his home. What luck to stumble upon an attractive aristocratic bachelor, when Hannah has already set her sights on finding Belinda the perfect match!
Belinda is a wonderful character, with more vivacity than Emily and a lot easier to like on first meeting. The rest of the cast of characters are brilliantly drawn, especially the morally superior companion who ends up with a shaved head! Great historical detail fleshes out the story and makes this story a gorgeous read!

Penelope Goes to Portsmouth
Our indomitable Hannah Pym is ready for her next journey, armed with her successful matchmaking track-record she can hardly wait to see who should appear on her travel this time around. When a stunning young girl climbs into the coach Hannah is excited to notice a gorgeous lord is also in attendance, but can true love overcome class? While Hannah and her friends are attempting to save a deaf and dumb footman from the clutches of Lady Carey (rather a racy character here in her see-through gowns!) Hannah keeps on her meddling ways, even if she must do some rather out of character things.
Fantastic third instalment, but I must say the rather beautiful Penelope was a bit hard to like as quickly as Belinda, but you do quickly start rooting for her 'happy ending'!

So in conclusion, I have now downloaded the rest of the books from the Kindle website (how awful is that store on the Kindle - useless!) and will be devouring them on my journeys to work! Not the cheapest of Kindle books, but a rather lovely series I can see myself re-reading whenever I need a quick regency fix! Go on guys get out there and use your library, download a book or go see a real-life bookseller, because these books do have the most wonderful covers!

The Last Honest Woman by Nora Roberts

Now, after reading something so heavy (like Wolf Hall) and then something mad (like Fear and Loathing) I needed to give my brain a big break. So what did I choose? A sure thing - a Nora Roberts. The Last Honest Woman is the first in the O'Hurley series and follows the middle triplet (of the O'Hurley triplets) Abby. Abby is a race car driver's widow, with two young sons, struggling to get her horse breeding business up and running. But for reasons that aren't just to do with money, but her own sons' memories of their father, she agrees to an authorised biography of her ex. This also includes having the writer, Dylan, come to stay at her home for a few weeks. Harmless, she thinks, she hasn't felt anything for a man in a long time...

But, Abby wasn't prepared for Dylan. While in the beginning you quickly figure out that the race car driver was not only a terrible husband, but a negligent father and that Abby is only trying to protect her sons, Dylan is hardly like-able. I wanted to protect Abby from him, until Nora worked her magic and showed that true love (in Nora Robert World) can bring out any man's true kindness. Dylan goes from writer in residence to care-giver. Abby's character is one of the best Nora has crafted, being both strong-willed and inspiring, she is a woman who lives with her mistakes and focuses on how to make the world better for her children.

As with all Nora's this book has it's ups and downs and proves that honesty is always best, especially when two people fall in love.

Final verdict, if you love a bit of Nora have a look through her back catalogue, it is a foray of genius and you get to read the first of those recycled story-lines, which is always a bonus. A great book to cleanse the palate, before embarking on your next epic (War and Peace?) - but watch out, this is a quartet so try and resist the wonderful next book, about the youngest O'Hurley triplet and her adventures on and off the Broadway stage!

Also, a quick bit about the cover I have chosen: How brilliant is this? A classic cover that you hardly see anymore. The cover of my actual book (I must confess it was the 2-in-1 O'Hurley's Born) pales in comparison. Let's bring those old covers back! Whenever I review a Nora again I will include not only the cover of the book I am reading, but the vintage cover as well! Enjoy.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

Have you ever read this book? If not, get yourself a copy! Beg, borrow, buy and whatever you do do not bow to pressure from the others - those people who might not understand.

As a girl - yes I am a girl, well a woman, but let's not get hung up on labels - reading this book, I noticed many manly-looking men glance at me pityingly. It was as if they felt, I would not understand this book, this book about the American Dream, that I was far too simple to leap inside this book and the electric writing and come out with any understanding. Perhaps, I didn't. I would never claim to have understood this book, but I did feel. I felt an incredible rush of emotions crashing head-long into each other with every turn of the page.

If any book could ever conduct electricity, it would be 'Fear and Loathing'. From the first page, you feel the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. As you enter the Mint Hotel you find yourself dissolving into a particularly hairy paranoid delusion that drives you slightly insane, with words running into each other as if they're drunkenly charging down a corridor, crashing against the walls of convention. You are hooked. I felt like the hitchhiker, an innocent locked in a car with two crazy men, speeding along a desert highway desperate for escape - but did I leap out of a moving vehicle? Hell no! I grabbed hold of the door handle and went along for the ride.

If you have ever seen the movie, you will be able to envision the type of journey this book is taking you on, but it is so much more than that. I can't wait to re-read it. Next time, I will grab myself a litre of Wild Turkey, hunker down in a spot of sunlight and not move until I have read it cover to cover. I can only encourage you to do the same (except please, you know, drink responsibly and wear sunscreen, etc. Though, I suppose, Hunter S. Thompson would think that lame.)

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Just before 12 o'clock this morning (or I guess we are just entering the afternoon) I finished Wolf Hall. I had started it on my (early) summer holiday and had been getting very into it - but found it quite hard to read on a beach (probably the only person who had this problem). But since then, I haven't been able to put it down.

Waking up at 6am (by mistake - thank you sunshine and thin curtains) suddenly became a blessing, I was able to heft this tomb from my bedside table and read for an hour and a half before getting ready for work. I even read it on the train (crushed, at rush hour), but oh how much I adored reading it. It was worth all the tired mornings and the hand/arm aches, because this book is truly a tremendous, epic history of one man's journey to power.

Thomas Cromwell is a man we all know from our primary school history lessons. He was that guy who made the Church of England and helped Henry VIII get rid of his boring, old wife Katherine and get a new exciting one, Anne Boleyn. Now, check all of your school girl/guy history buff knowledge at the door. While the Tudor period of English history is one of the most exciting and baffling reigns you are allowed to study in school, we all remember the rhyme: Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. And if you have seen this episode of QI, you will know that the number of true wives Henry VIII had is still under debate - do you count the divorces, is his marriage to Anne a true one and on and on and on... For Hilary Mantel (and many other historical novelists) this is a period with such incredible richness it would almost be unkind not to dive right in.

Now, Thomas Cromwell, is a man we are taught well to hate, but as with Mantel's other fabulous novels, she takes an "evil" character and makes him human. I read Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety at university and sat for three days reading non-stop - it was truly a glorious book - and somehow I found myself close to tears when the inevitable happens. It is just the same here (though Mantel has cleverly eked it out to a trilogy - the publishing version of a hat trick) Cromwell is always cast as the villain and yet I found myself understanding him and his own actions.

The novel begins with Cromwell as a young boy, being beaten by his father in Putney, swiftly we are moved through the years and are now faced with a protagonist with a murky history who happens to work for Cardinal Wolsey. Here is another "evil" man were are told to hate from history, and yet we see him as Cromwell does: Yes, he is out for power, yes, he does believe himself to be the centre of the universe and yes, he's made some errors, but he was also a very nice to his servants. (Don't worry, dear reader if you fear I will launch into a History Boys-esque 'Hilter was a sweetie' essay - this is not that kind of review.) Then we see the fall of Wolsey and somehow begin to see that while Cromwell is Wolsey's man he is still moving up the ranks in court. When did a brewer's/blacksmith's son ever become a king's confident, the highest courtier and the most powerful man in England? The answer to all your questions rest within the pages of this book.

So, without giving too much away here is what I thought:
There are so many people called Thomas in this book, thankfully many of them are referred to by their last name - keeps things simple.
Mantel has written this book in a present tense style that can sometimes feel quite confusing as 'he' is normally Cromwell, but can also be any number of other male characters Cromwell happens to be in the same room with or thinking about.
Anne is exactly as I wanted her to be, a cruel malicious woman who has managed to scheme her way to the top and once there, can hope only to deliver an heir to the throne, or risk losing everything she fought so hard to achieve. I also loved Mary Carey (that's Anne's sister), while we have all learnt to pity and love her in Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl, she felt fresh and interesting.
Cromwell's character is so complex, you find yourself wondering constantly about the moments in his past (his secrets) that even the reader doesn't know about.
Also, there is a delicious peek at what is to come, with Jane Seymour growing up, while Anne is on the rise.

In total, this is a book anyone who loves/likes to read will love. It is elegantly written, compelling and rich in fantastic characters from a period we all have some knowledge of. As Mantel's follow-up is out now, Bring Up The Bodies, this is the perfect time to get into the series. A refreshing take on a much loved period of history, that is just as unputdownable as you could imagine.