The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo By Stieg Larsson

My Review Rating 5/10

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – By Stieg Larsson Book 1 of The Millenium Trilogy

The Main character in this book is Mikael Blomkvist, a financial journalist/author who has been recently convicted of libel and is possibly facing the end of his career. Then, just as Blomkvist is trying to figure out if his career is salvageable, an elderly tycoon named Henrik Vanger steps in with a lucrative offer of employment.

On the face of it, Henrik Vanger would like Blomkvist to write his autobiography of the Vanger family. But Henrik also wants Blomkvist to help him solve a cold murder case, and if the fabulous amounts of money he is willing to pay aren't enough of an enticement, he also offers to help Blomkvist defend himself against the presumably false libel charges, which makes this novel both a murder mystery and a revenge saga.
Into this scenario is thrown wild card Lisbeth Salander, a deranged computer hacker who joins forces with Blomkvist, and turns out to be the most interesting character in the book.

It is obvious that the author has put a lot of time and effort and probably many years of research into writing this book, it is also obvious that he is extremely intelligent. The problem with this novel for me was that it takes at least 100 pages before anything happens. There is a section in this book where Henrik talks to Blomkvist about the family history which at I thought further along in the book would turn out to be relevant, but it wasn’t, so why did the author include pages and pages unnecessary information ? It was completely boring and really irritating that at one point I just wanted to throw in the towel.
Another thing that irritated me slightly was the lengthy passages that were written as conversations which were dull, hard to follow, and at certain points I was unsure of who was saying what and to whom. Maybe that was due to the translation more than the fault of the writer but I am not sure why it was written that way andit did not demonstrate anything interesting enough about the characters to justify the presentation of the information.

If you can grin and bear it and get passed the 100 page mark, then this book turns out to just ok, are there better books to read though. YES. In no way is the hype justified with this book. The only saving grace was the character of Lisbeth Salander. She is somebody who I would like to read more about.

Teaser Tuesday

This is the first time I have participated in Teaser Tuesday, and so here is Teaser for Dragonfly in Amber Book 2 of the Outlander Series By Diana Gabladon.

"God, what luck!" He poured a large dollop of wine into his cup, tossed it off, and poured
another.
Seeing me staring at him, he grinned and pushed the pitcher in my direction.
"Well, there's wine, lassie," he explained, "and then there's stuff you drink to wash the dust
away.

Dont you just love Jamie Fraser :-)

Twice Bitten - Book 2 of The Chicagoland Vampire Series By Chloe Neill

From the Publisher

Neill's briskly paced third Chicagoland Vampires paranormal romance (after 2009's Friday Night Bites) makes new readers comfortable with a thorough recap before diving into swiftly developing events that will satisfy returning fans. In the two months since graduate student Merit was involuntarily turned into the Cadogan House Sentinel by master vampire Ethan Sullivan, she's become part of the vampires' recent emergence into the public eye, battled another master vampire, suffered several emotional upheavals, and honed her fighting skills. Now she's assigned to guard the leader of North America's shape-shifters as the packs gather in Chicago to discuss the future of their often strained relationship with vampires. Merit's frequently snarky voice and amusing observations about the occasional absurdities of her situation combine with the magic of Neill's world in a refreshing take on urban fantasy.


My Review Rating 9/10

I just love this series, its one of my favourites and it gets better and better with each book.If the first book is Merit's birth as a vampire, the second is her tortured adolescence, then I'd call this one Merit finally coming into her own as a vampire. A lot more action than in previous books (of every kind). We got to know some of the other players, Merit got to know more of her fellow vampires, and things are nicely set up for future books.

I am not going into the details as that would spoil it. The story flowed well, was a quick read, and I had a lot of fun reading it. I'll definitely be getting the next one.

READ IT!!

Perfect Chemistry - By Simone Elkeles

My Review Rating 8/10


I have only recently started reading YA, and reading books like this makes me wonder why it has taken me so long.

Perfect Chemistry is set in Chicago in a small town ruled by a fierce social divide. The Northside of Fairfield is home to the wealthy and admired, whereas the Southside is where gangs and danger lurk at every corner. Northsider Brittany Ellis is everything a girl wants to be. She is rich, popular, captain of the pom squad, beautiful with an ideal set of friends and a picture perfect boyfriend and family. At least that's what Brittany wants everyone to think, you see, Brittany's life isn't perfect and everyday is a struggle to maintain control of that persona.

Southsider Alejandro Fuentes is one of the baddest bad boy's around town. He has a knack for creating fear and trouble everywhere he goes, usually it isn't his fault. Alex isn't affected either way since no one expects him to graduate High School, even if he secretly wants to. Alex is a fully fledged member of the Latino Blood gang that dictates Southside Fairfield. His sole focus is protecting his mother and brothers from the gang that rules his life, whilst maintaining his gang banger image. The irony baffles Alex tool.

On their first day as seniors at school, hot-headed-zero-tolerance-for-trouble teacher Mrs Peterson pairs Brittany and Alex together as chemistry partners for the rest of the year. Providing a new meaning to the term `opposites attract'.

The novel is written in a joint perspective, switching from Alex's and Brittany's perspective every chapter. This aids in understanding the characters for who they are inside and not what they are perceived to be by the rest of Fairfield. By getting access into both Brittany and Alex's head we understand the motives behind their actions, as well as who they really are inside and who they want to be.

Simone Elkeles explores the harsh realities of characters both South and North of Fairfield. She tackles issues like disabilities, drugs, sex, violence, loyalty and familial relationships whilst maintaining the lightheaded and sarcastic humour that she is renowned for.

It was a really enjoyable read.

Read it!!

Dark Lover Book1 - The Black Dagger Brotherhood By J.R.Ward

My Review Rating 8.5/10

In this first book You are introduced to the compelling and dangergous world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Wrath, the Blind King of the vampires, is asked by one of his closest friends, Darius, to help save the life of his half breed daughter Beth.

Beth, half human, half vampire, has no knowledge of the dark world of the vampires until Wrath shows up at her house one balmy night and from there the sparks begin to fly! All vampires start out as weak and have no vampire traits. Around the age of 25, they go through their transitions and have to drink the blood of a vampire of the opposite sex. This is what Darius has asked of Wrath. Although Wrath is against the idea to start, the death of his dear friend pushes him to do what he can and so he takes Beth on board. The more he spends time with her, the more he realises he loves her, a feeling which Beth returns ten fold!


I tend to rate the entertainment value of a book (despite whether I think it is actually well written or not) on how engrossed I become and how much of my to-do-list is being ignored while I am reading... This book had me up until 1.30 in the morning. This is a perfect book to take on a plane or have handy for a rainy day. You will not be bored. great FIRST BOOK TO A GREAT SERIES.

The Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold

My Review Rating 9/10

All I can say is Wow!! I have just finished this book and I cant tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I feel almost mournful to let this book go. I cant remember a time when a book brought up so many different emotions, I never cry when reading a book, with The Lovely bones it happened almost every other page. It was heartwrenching from page one and I really felt so much for all of the characters in this story. It really tugs at your heartstrings.