false 1 161 157 true 5633738 read 2 true 4013223 currently-reading 2 true 4013222 to-read 50 false 4045860 romance 45 false 4206731 ya 39 false 4013233 fantasy 28 false 4045887 historical 24 false 5556613 paranormal 23 false 4045850 crime 20 false 4596178 urban-fantasy 15 false 4521062 supernatural 14 false 4165940 humour 12 false 4254521 non-fiction 11 false 4737765 thriller-suspense 10 false 4254640 metaphysical 7 false 5556629 children 5 false 4013294 writing 3 false 5181163 lit-fic 2 false 4254526 sci-fi <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Heart's Blood']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78524362 Heart's Blood (Paperback) by Juliet Marillier
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Pastworld']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79849862 to: Pastworld (Paperback) by Ian Beck
bookshelves: crime, fantasy, thriller-suspense, ya
This was a good read with interesting characters and a vivid Victorian London setting.

A story with a difference. Original. ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'An Echo in the Bone']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79933930 An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7) by Diana Gabaldon
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Endymion Spring']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78050267 to: Endymion Spring (Puffin Fiction) by Matthew Skelton
bookshelves: children, fantasy, historical, thriller-suspense
]]> <![CDATA[Lisa is on page 197 of Pastworld ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79849862 Lisa is on page 197 of 355 of Pastworld ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'His Dark Materials Trilogy']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78050848 to: His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman
bookshelves: fantasy, ya
Book 1 - Great world-building and a strong young female lead character that leaped off the page, vibrant and alive and impossible to ignore.

A dark atmosphere hangs over the story as we discover what the adults are doing in secret.

Book 2 - Moves to a new world (our one). There is a different atmosphere in this book and a greater sense of urgency, because what some of the adults have been getting up to in Book 1 has far-reaching consequences.

Book 3 - A great battle takes place and Lyra and Will eventually save the day.

I enjoyed reading this trilogy for the most part, apart from a couple of things. ***contains spoilers from now on***

1. I was disappointed with how the plot played out. Not that I expect all plots to have a HEA where hero and heroine walk off into the sunset, hand in hand; I don't.

NATION by Terry Pratchett certainly isn't a traditional HEA but it is a RIGHT ending, nonetheless. It works. It makes sense, I understand the decisions made and while I was heartbroken for the two characters, I know that what they decided was right.

His Dark Materials, on the other hand, sets the plot up so that love saves the day, but then the two characters who love each other cannot be together any more. This makes no sense to me from a plotting perspective. The idea of sacrifice in this instance did not leave me feeling heartbroken, it left me feeling cheated and shaking my head in disagreement and then I noticed something else.

There are no examples in His Dark Materials of happily married or happily in love couples. Lyra's parents (after an affair that happened before the book starts) oppose each other for a great portion of the time (until they die together at the end); Will's parents are irrevocably separated; Mary isn't in any long term relationship and doesn't appear to have any plans for one either; the Gyptian, Farder Coram, and the witch, Serafina Pekala, were married once but are not together any more. And the list goes on.

2. Characters who are supposed to be on the "good" side behave dishonourably. The Master of the College where Lyra lives attempts to kill her father. Lyra's father DOES kill a child. Will's father breaks his promise to keep Lyra safe.

It was still a good read, but not a satisfying one. ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78050840 to: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (Hardcover) by Stephen King
bookshelves: paranormal, thriller-suspense
A simple story - a girl gets lost in the woods - and yet Stephen King played her story out over 213 pages. I lived the discomfort, the fear, and the pain with her.

A very likeable main character, and I enjoyed reading how her wanderings through the woods made her think about her life and her parents.

A very poignant ending.

Definitely a keeper. ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Johnny and the Bomb']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78050400 to: Johnny and the Bomb (Johnny Maxwell, #3) by Terry Pratchett
bookshelves: children, historical, humour
This was a great read. I enjoyed it. I'll have to keep an eye out for the other books in this series. ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Strange Highways']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78049890 to: Strange Highways (Hardcover) by Dean Koontz
bookshelves: paranormal, romance, sci-fi, thriller-suspense
A collection of 13 short stories by Dean Koontz.

My favourites are: Strange Highways, Trapped, and Twilight of the Dawn.

There's all sorts in here and a great read.

I liked the Notes to the Reader section at the end. In it, Koontz talks about his love of writing, why he writes and his advice to writers

"Have fun, entertain yourself with your work, make yourself laugh and cry with your own stories, make yourself shiver in suspense along with your characters. If you can do that, then you will most likely find a large audience; but even if a large audience is never found, you'll have a happy life. I don't measure success by the number of copies sold but by the delight that I get from the process and the finished work." ]]> <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Dance With The Devil']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77182463 to: Dance With The Devil (Dark-Hunter, #4) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
bookshelves: fantasy, paranormal, romance
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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