Currawong Creek by Jennifer Scoullar

Synopsis: Clare Mitchell, a Brisbane lawyer, has her life turned upside down when Taylor, a client, abandons her child in her office. Now she's faced with putting him in a Contingency Unit or be his temporary foster parent. Not wanting him to be in danger she decides to take him under her care.What she didn't expect was all that came with this little boy. Diagnosed with autism Jack punches, screams, bangs his head constantly, and barely talks. As things in Clare's life start to overwhelm her she decides to go to the place that held some of her happiest memories; Currawong Creek, her grandfathers horse stud. There, Clare finally finds happiness, but will it last?

Review: I really liked this book! At first I thought I wasn't going to because something about the way it started just didn't quite click with me. I think it was that there was very little buildup to the real action and instead it got right to it. It's not that it's bad, it's just something I'm not used to, but as the story went on I got more into it. I think that the writing style was great and the story development was great too.

      A little more background to the story: Clare is basically an amazing lawyer. She has a very successful career and she has a gorgeous boyfriend (who is obviously flawed in every other way which makes him completely undesirable), then she has to start taking care of Jack, a four year old boy who has been diagnosed with autism. She quickly takes a liking to him but things get too out of hand and she decides that the best thing to do is go stay with her grandfather. There her life starts taking a turn for the better. Currawong Creek is filled with vibrancy that she missed. There she's happy. Romance and endearing relationships ensue.

     One thing I really liked about this book was its focus on "natural gas" companies and the truth about them. I thought that this topic was expertly incorporated into the story and worked very well with the circumstances.

     As for characters, I love Jack and Grandfather Harry. I especially love how they are together because Harry takes to him immediately and treats him like his own family. Then there's Clare. This is the character who you always have mixed feelings about because she is genuinely a good person, but she's a good person who sometimes flies off the rail and that irks me. But it just means she's human and there's actual character development going on so this is a plus.

     All in all I think this was a great book. It got to the action right from the start and took me about two days to finish it. I'm sure if you have an entire day you can finish it then too. 

Final Thoughts: If you're looking for a fast paced book that's romance and family struggles then this is the book for you.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

Synopsis: Christopher John Francis Boone is a young boy who is proficient in math, doesn't relate to people, and hates the color yellow. One night he finds his neighbors dog, whom he liked, dead. He takes it upon himself to investigate the death, but along the way he finds things that he wasn't supposed to find. His investigation takes a big turn that ends up affecting his life and the people around him.

Review: Even though it's not explicitly said it's obvious as you get into the book that Christopher has autism. So the story is about an autistic boy trying to solve a murder. He has big hopes of being an astronaut or a scientist. He's really gifted in math and science. He knows all the prime numbers up to 7,057. He relates to dogs and other animals, but not to humans. Let me just say that this book had a lot more hype than it delivered. I like the story, but it lacked emotion for me. Yes, the parents were frustrated and things were done that shouldn't have been, but it just lacked emotional depth. Anger and fear shouldn't be the emotions that people have. To be honest I didn't really feel a lot of pity for Christopher. He seemed just fine with his life. He had a career goal and he did what he liked. Yes, he was confused and scared at some points, but he seemed to be he understood his situation and got on with what he wanted to do. The last few sentences are about how he knows that he can do anything he wants to so I didn't feel pity, I felt happy for him. I may be a little biased seeing as I'm reading another book that has an autistic young boy and it's a lot more intense, but it could be that Christopher is older and he's able to deal with situations better. Overall this was a fast book to get through and it kept me interested all the way until the end.

Final Thoughts: I recommend this book for someone who is looking for a story that's a little unusual.

Have any of you guys read this book? :)

Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn

   

Synopsis: A pessimistic man sees an ad: "TEACHER SEEKS PUPIL. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person." He gets angry. He lost all notion of saving the world a long time ago. But he goes anyways. The last thing he expected to see was a giant gorilla behind a glass panel. Even less for said gorilla to talk to him. Enter Ishnael, a giant educated gorilla with a story all of his own. So begins the story of a man who becomes the student of a gorilla who wants to show him how exactly human's are destroying the world and what they can do to save it.

Review: I really liked this book. It was well thought out and made me question things such as, how much of what we believe in is actually true? Why do we belive that the world was made for us and solely us? I personally belive that a book is great if it challenges your way of thinking. If it pushes your boundaries and has logical and justified reasons for doing so then you know you have a great piece of literature. I like that Ishmael,  the gorilla, asks questions instead of answering them and just lecturing. At one point all I was thinking was " If all teachers were like Ishmael then I don't think we would have such a huge problem with lack of critical thinking skills. ". I also really liked the main character. Not because he understood every concept of the lesson right away, but because he reacted the way you expect someone whose entire perception of life is being challenged to react. He was confused and didn't understand certain points and sometimes he wasn't the brightest, but he worked through it and came up with his own conclusions. I also don't want to give out the sense that Ishmael was perfect and wise. Yes, he was extremely educated and knew many things, but he was also flawed and you see that as the book progresses.

Final Thoughts: I reccomend this book for anyone who wants to do a bit of thinking (everytime that Ishmael asked something I would stop reading and cone up with my own explanation before continuing). It's a book with a different concept and very out-of-the-box ideas, so keep an open mind and go on a journey with Ishmael.

If any of you guys have read this book let me know what your thoughts were :)

Black Rose (#2 of the In The Garden trilogy) by Nora Roberts

     Hi everyone, so I know that I've been away for a while, but I'm back and ready to write and upload a LOT more. Let's get started!
     So this book was something that I decided to pick up on a whim. I was in my school library and needed something to read, I walked to the romance section (of course) and picked up the first thing that caught my attention which was my by my favorite romance author Nora Roberts. I also did not read the 1st book mostly because I didn't notice that it was a series book until the story started to reference to things that happened in the past. But I read on even when I knew and it didn't really bother me. I could read on and not be lost because I  pieced things together.

Synopsis: Rosalind Harper is an able-bodied forty seven year old woman who is in the midst of expanding her gardening business. She has three great sons and wonderful friends who support her and make her life better, the only thing is that the ghost that has haunted her families house for generations, named The Harper Bride, is starting to get to her. Roz is finding herself more and more intrigued by this apparition and her history in the Harper house. She hires genealogist Mitchell Carnegie to investigate and finds herself just as intrigued with him. In the midst of ghosts, a gorgeous man, a thriving business and a trouble making ex-husband, can Roz manage it all?

Review: This book was typical Nora Roberts. Cheesy lines and over dramatic phrases and a strong woman who is afraid of falling in love. What was different was that these people were not in their 20's and never been married. Roz and Mitchell had both been married and had kids. The ghost thing was a nice twist too. Her story is actually very interesting. There are other twists such like vengeful ex-husbands who plan to make Roz's life a living hell. Talking purely about grammar and sentence structure, it could have been better. Have you ever read a book and a sentence just didn't sound right? Like the words just didn't go together? That happened a lot in this book. Now moving on to the characters. I liked how each character has their own separate lives and they were all incorporated in some way. I really liked Roz, but the other characters really didn't do much for me. All in all it wasn't a bad book and lovers of Nora Roberts and romance books will like it.

Final Thoughts: I recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a fast and light read. Plus it's great if you need a romance fix.

Book Review: Dracula Rekindled by Xander Buchan

     To be honest I had my doubts about this book in the beginning. It could just be because I loved the original Dracula, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that all the raves about this book were well deserved. So here we go, second book review!

Synopsis: This book follows the lives of people who have been affected, or will be affected, by Dracula. When Van Helsing, Johnathan Harker, and Quincey Morris destroy Dracula they think that they've rid the world of the horrible bloodsucking beast, but that's far from the truth. Months after their battle people are starting to develop a blood disease that has never before been seen and monsters are ravaging people. Could it be that Dracula is not really dead? That he had somehow managed to escape death? 

Review: Let me just say that this was such a well written book. The story is written in the same epistolary style as the original book, but with modern twists added to it (Facebook feeds, Twitter Feeds, text messages, and e-mails). This is because the story goes back and forth between the old characters which were alive during the 18th century and the new characters that are in the 21st century. I think that this is a great way to write the sequel as we see the differences and the similarities of the different times. Every character is intertwined in some way. The characters tell the story so well that it really doesn't feel like you're missing out on anything. I thought it was expertly executed. Buchan definitely did his homework when it came to writing this book. He writes a lot of information the history of Dracula (or Vlad the Impaler as some believe that he was) which serves to tell us how a blood thirsty monster came to be. I remember some people saying that the book was supposed to be scary, but I didn't think so. Grotesque? Most definitely. But scary? Not so much. 

Final Thoughts: I really liked this book and I would recommend it to anyone that is a fan of Dracula or just likes a good vampire story. It was a great book.

     

Book Review: Vision in White (#1 in the Bride Quartet Series) by Nora Roberts

     Hello again! Ok, for my first book review I wanted to keep it light so the genre is Romance and I chose Vision in White by Nora Roberts. First of all, Nora Roberts is my favorite romance author. The first book that I ever read in this genre was by her. I cannot for the life of me remember what book it was, but I liked it enough to make Roberts my favorite romance author. That's why I'm so conflicted with this book.

     This is the story of Mackensie "Mac" Elliot, an amazing wedding photographer whose life gets complicated when sweet and shy English professor Carter Maguire, brother of one of the brides she's working with, comes into her life. She decides to give him a chance, but she wants to keep it casual. But the casual relationship turned into something she wasn't expecting, or wants, and drama ensues.

     That's pretty much the story line of most of Roberts stories. If the woman isn't the one that wants nothing to do with a relationship, or in this case keep it casual, then it's the man who feels that way. What varies in her stories are the circumstances and the issues each character has. Let's start off with the one negative that I found in this book: the language. I personally think that the language used was too "modernized". Roberts  had the women call each other "bitches" and "sluts" as terms of endearment and while I do understand that this happens now I don't like it for Robert's books. She's such a pure and wholesome writer that I was completely put off by the terms that she used. I also didn't like how short and abbreviated the conversations were. Again, I'm just used to a different style from her.

     Onto the good points. I loved the actual story. I love strong and independent women characters who don't wait around for a guy. I loved Carter's character. The sweet, intelligent, and somewhat clumsy English Professor is always good with me (we all have our preferences, right?). The interactions between Mac and Carter are adorable. The book is a fast read because the conversations are so fast paced. You can feel the energy coming from the characters and it transfers onto you making you zoom by the book. It's light and fun read. I'll more than likely read the other three books in the series.
     Guys, Carter Maguire deserves his own paragraph. I didn't emphasize enough how much I liked him. Usually the men in romance novels are big tough players who think they can have any girl they want. Not Carter. He's the complete opposite and it makes him such a likable character. He's no pushover though. He defends himself when he needs to and also tries to defend Mac. I love the fact that he tries to be rational and logical about everything. Everything except his love for Mac. Needless to say that I swooned with almost every word that he said. I'm almost afraid to read the other books in the series because I don't know if I'll like the other guys half as much as I liked Carter. Here's hoping.

     All in all I really liked this book. I thought that although the plot was repetitive and I knew how the ending was going to turn out, the small bits of background information that Roberts added to the characters really changed it up from the previous books I've read from her. Like I said, the only thing I didn't like was the use of language, the way that this one was "modernized" was off putting. I recommend it for anyone that's a fan of Nora Roberts and is looking for a fast romantic read.