Book Review - Healer #1 Touch of Power - Maria V Snyder

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a great start to a new series.

Maria has done a fantastic job with Avry, she is stubborn, flawed, hasty yet compassionate and loyal. Her flaws make her stronger and the interactions she has with the other characters show a great character development throughout the book. We go from a scared, just about given up Healer to a raring I want to live Healer.

The premise of the story is an interesting one. A plague has spread through out the kingdoms and Healers were blamed for it, hence the hunting and killing of Healers through out the world. Avry is one of the only ones left. What is even more interesting is that when the Healers heal someone they take the person's sickness/injuries into themselves and suffer the scars and consquences. Avry is about to be killed for healing a child, when she is broken out of prison and kidnapped so she can heal a prince.

One of my favourite characters was Belen - he had such a protective instinct for all the band. Kerrick was well written as was the rest of the characters. The story flowed along nicely, with action scenes and talking scenes all being balanced.

This is a fantastic series and I can't wait to read the second book when it is released!!

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Book Review - Dr Dody McCleland #1 A Dissection of Murder - Felicity Young

A Dissection of Murder by Felicity Young
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was given an ARC of this book and it was quite interesting. I found it a bit slow to start off with, but once the characters and story started flowing, then the pace picked up. You meet Dody - a woman who is practicing the art of an autopsy surgeon in a time when female doctors were rare. She is assigned to the autopsy of three women who were killed in a riot for the female vote.

The story is in London where the forensic sciences are new and the police can be corrupt. Dody must find away to work with Chief Detective Inspector Matthew Pike, a man who while respecting women in professions, doesn't agree to the vote. He is one of the policemen who is seeking the truth and together they must find the killer before it's too late.

A good read, one I would recommend to fans of Phryne Fisher and Amelia Peabody.

Comes out March 2012

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New Manga For December

In the late Edo Period, a demon known as the Impure King killed thousands of people. After defeating the demon, the Knights of the True Cross kept its left eye safely sealed away on Academy grounds—but now someone has stolen it! Hearing the thief has taken a child hostage, Yukio and Rin go to help. The investigation and pursuit will lead Rin and his friends to Kyoto and involve them even deeper in a sinister plot! But will his friends’ knowledge that Rin is the son of Satan drive a wedge between them?

Beauty Is So Solitary Soul Reaper captain Shinji Hirako has uncovered Aizen's betrayal, but it may be too late. As some of the Soul Society's greatest Soul Reapers transform into Hollows, it will be up to Kisuke Urahara to save them. And back in the present time, the grand battle between the Thirteen Court Guard Companies and the remaining Espada finally begins!

Aoba and the others storm Enju's hidden palace to rescue Sakura. Byakuya must defeat Maimai for the key to the tower where Sakura is being held. Maimai is a ruthless killer, but Byakuya is about to unleash her secret powers...

  Takashi Natsume can see the spirits and demons that hide from the rest of humanity. He has always been set apart from other people because of his gift, drifting from relative to relative, never fitting in. Now he's a troubled high school student who has come to live in the small town where his grandmother grew up. And there he discovers that he has inherited more than just the Sight from the mysterious Reiko.

Book Review (E-Book) Goddess Rising #1 Under the Moon - Natalie J. Damschroder

Under the Moon by Natalie J. Damschroder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 Quinn Caldwell is the epitome of a modern goddess. Her power source is the moon, her abilities restricted only by physical resources and lunar phase. She runs a consulting business and her father's bar, serves on the board of the ancient Society for Goddess Education and Defense, and yearns for Nick Jarrett, professional goddess protector and the soul mate she can never have.

I quite liked the idea for this series. Instead of being called witches, women of power are called Goddesses. Each Goddess draws her power from different sources and power runs from mother to daughter. There are no male Gods and this leads to the heart of the problem when a leecher is made by infusing the power of a Goddess to a man.

This was a fast paced book and you get drawn to the characters. They were well written and I couldn't put it down. A very good read for people who enjoy reading Rachel Caine.

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Book Review - Crafts for Every Season - Kelly Doust

Another beautiful crafting book by Kelly Doust! This is a must have for any person wanting to create some fantastic items for everyday life. Things like baby bibs, aprons, beach bags, belts, party decoration - it seems everything is covered in this fantastic book. 

The layout is good and the instructions are easy to read.

So many fun things to do, you won't know where to start!!

If you want to find out more then check out Kelly's Blog

Book Review - Codename Sailor V #2 - Naoko Takeuchi

Codename: Sailor V, Volume 2 by Naoko Takeuchi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brilliant! I love all the details of what happens to Minako before she meets Usagai (Sailor Moon) Beautifully drawn!

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Book Review - The Extinction Gambit - Michael Pryor

The Extinction Gambit by Michael Pryor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What can I say...

I really enjoyed Michael Pryor's latest book. He takes inspiriation from Jungle Book and the Olympics. The story is set in London 1908 and main character is a young man called Kingsley Ward. Kingsley is a magician (like Houdini) After learning his foster father has been kidnapped he emmbarks on a adventure to stop the end of the world.

A very good start to a new series, Kingsley is a likeable fellow and his companion Evadne is just as well written. Highly recommended to anyone who likes the Cassandra Clare series.

High five to Michael!

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I have joined the Australian Women Writers Challenge!

I have offically joined the Austalian Women Writers Reading Challenge 2012. In case you are wondering what the challenge is then here is a recap.

2012 Challenge

Australian Women Writers 2012 National Year of Reading Challenge

Keen on romance, fantasy, crime, YA, literary, mainstream women's fiction? Contemporary or historical? Memoir, other nonfiction or poetry? 

Whatever your preference, whether you're a fan of one genre or a devoted eclectic, the 2012 Australian Women Writers Book Reading & Reviewing Challenge invites you to celebrate a year encountering the best of Australian women's writing.

Objective: This challenge hopes to help counteract the gender bias in reviewing and social media newsfeeds that has continued throughout 2011 by actively promoting the reading and reviewing of a wide range of contemporary Australian women's writing. (See the page on gender bias for recent discussions.)

Readers should approach this challenge with a spirit of willingness. There are no failures, just personal goals. Reviews can be long or short, favourable or "this book is not for me". Hopefully, along the way, we'll all discover some future classics and perhaps a few surprises among genres we're not familiar with. The main aim is to have fun.

Challenge period:  1 January 2012 -  31 December 2012

Goal: Read and review books written by Australian women writers – hard copies, ebooks and audiobooks, new, borrowed or stumbled upon by book-crossing.

Genre challenges: 
Purist: one genre only
Dabbler: more than one genre
Devoted eclectic: as many genres as you can find
 
Challenge levels:
Stella (read 3 and review at least 2 books)
Miles (read 6 and review at least 3*
Franklin-fantastic (read 10 and review at least 4 books)*
* The higher levels should include at least one substantial length review 

I looked at my bookshelf and I read a lot of Aussie women writers. Mainly in the fantasy genre but also a few chick lit & crime titles as well. 

For my challenge I will be doing the Dabbler and the challenge level will be the Miles ( now I will proberly read more than 6 books by Aussie women, but I am going to have a very busy year next year)


Some books I am looking forward to reading are Traci Harding's 'The Light-Field' & Rhonda Roberts ' Hoodwink'  


I can't wait to get started!

Helen Lowe interviews Brandon Sanderson

"An Interview with Brandon Sanderson "

Brandon Sanderson has been one of the exciting new names of international Fantasy-Science Fiction over the past eight years, most notably—as a relative newcomer—being asked to complete Robert Jordan's hugely popular Wheel of Time series in 2007, following the author's death. Most recently, he won this year’s Gemmell “Legend” Award for Best Fantasy Novel of the Year with his own epic fantasy, The Way of Kings (Gollancz, 2010.) Fellow author, Helen Lowe, caught up with him between book tours to ask about completing seven major novels in six years and discuss his latest book, The Alloy of Law—and you can read the interview here.

And there's two copies of two copies of The Alloy of Law for giveaway to Australian and New Zealand readers."
---
Here is the full link: http://helenlowe.info/blog/2011/12/05/an-interview-with-brandon-sanderson-plus-giveaway/

-- 
Helen Lowe
http://www.helenlowe.info/
http://helenlowe.info/blog/
--

Book Review - The Rook - Daniel O'Malley

Released Febuary 2012

ISBN: 9780732295394

A quick-witted, genre-bending, and wildly imaginative thriller about the secret organisation keeping England -- and the world -- safe from supernatural threats (one staff meeting at a time).

‘The body you are wearing used to be mine.'

So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions in a series of letters her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.

She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of an MI5ish secret organisation called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain (who knew?). She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.

In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters such wacky folk as a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children with bizarre traits are transformed into Chequy operatives, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.

I got given an ARC of this book and I couldn't put it down. It was brilliant. Fast paced, mysterious, and leaving you wanting to find out what is going to happen.

Daniel O'Malley has done a great job at weaving together his plot lines and creating believable characters. You really feel for Myfanwy (who doesn't even know if she is pronouncing her own name right) She loses her memories and becomes a brand new person. Myfanwy now has to discover who is behind her memory loss and stop them before they kill her. A throughly engaging story and I want to see where the next one goes.  

Australian Women Writers Challenge 2012

I have come across a reading challenge that I think is fantastic!! 

2012 Challenge

Australian Women Writers 2012 National Year of Reading Challenge

Keen on romance, fantasy, crime, YA, literary, mainstream women's fiction? Contemporary or historical? Memoir, other nonfiction or poetry? 

Whatever your preference, whether you're a fan of one genre or a devoted eclectic, the 2012 Australian Women Writers Book Reading & Reviewing Challenge invites you to celebrate a year encountering the best of Australian women's writing.

Objective: This challenge hopes to help counteract the gender bias in reviewing and social media newsfeeds that has continued throughout 2011 by actively promoting the reading and reviewing of a wide range of contemporary Australian women's writing. (See the page on gender bias for recent discussions.)

Readers should approach this challenge with a spirit of willingness. There are no failures, just personal goals. Reviews can be long or short, favourable or "this book is not for me". Hopefully, along the way, we'll all discover some future classics and perhaps a few surprises among genres we're not familiar with. The main aim is to have fun.

Challenge period:  1 January 2012 -  31 December 2012

Goal: Read and review books written by Australian women writers – hard copies, ebooks and audiobooks, new, borrowed or stumbled upon by book-crossing.

Genre challenges: 
Purist: one genre only
Dabbler: more than one genre
Devoted eclectic: as many genres as you can find
 
Challenge levels:
Stella (read 3 and review at least 2 books)
Miles (read 6 and review at least 3*
Franklin-fantastic (read 10 and review at least 4 books)*
* The higher levels should include at least one substantial length review

To know more on the who's, why's, when, and hows, go to the Australian Women's Writers 2012 blog here. This is a wonderful idea and a great opportunity to experience some great Aussie authors.