Vivienne Lee Fraser's Blog, page 3
January 17, 2021
Awesome Aussies
https://thebookbubble.com/2021/01/awe...
Awesome Aussies
I love holidays. It’s a chance to put put feet up and relax a bit and read. More so this Christmas break because my part of Sydney found itself in semi-lockdown. When faced with dodgy weather and nowhere to go, its a perfect opportunity to hit that pile of unread books that’s been growing beside my bed.
Just by chance, the three books on the top of to read list were all written by Australians, and they were awesome. If the rest of 2021’s offerings are like this I may never get any work done!
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
I am not sure I’ve ever reviewed any of Garth Nix’s books here, which is odd because he’s one of my favourite authors. One of his series I enjoyed the most was The Keys to the Kingdom, where he managed to twist life as we know it just slightly, pulling us into strange and unusual world lying just beneath the surface of our own.
When I read the blurb of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London I could not put the book down, literally, and I hadn’t even gone into the bookshop to get anything for me! Who can blame me though. A story with; booksellers and bookshops (tick), London(one of my favourite cities) and supernatural beings (tick again). Top that off with a writer who has already shown he can create amazing characters and worlds—well that was it.
I started the book, and that was that, pretty much for the rest of the day. To say I got lost in Garth Nix’s alternative eighties London wouldn’t be too far from the truth. I went on an amazing journey with my new wannabe best friends Susan, an art student looking for her father who gets caught up in something weird when Merlin (yes Merlin but not that one) appears in her life. Merlin is a suavely dressed left-handed bookseller, not to be confused with the right-handed ones, and he is chasing down leads to find out happened to his mother in his spare time. Susan is told she should forget she even knows about booksellers, only she can’t, because now she knows about them, some weird things are happening and she seems to be at the centre of it.
I would recommend this book for well everyone. It’s one you want to tell everyone about and you wish they’d all read it so you can all talk about it. In reality though, anyone who loves a bit of a supernatural read will love this book.
The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kauffman and Meagan Spooner
When I saw The Other Side of the Sky on the shelf at the bookstore (yes, I was still Christmas shopping and shouldn’t even have been looking), I didn’t have to read the blurb, I just bought it. When I finished reading Amie Kaufaman and Megan Spooners Starbound Trilogy I felt like I lost really good friend. When I saw they had started a new one, I felt like I had found one.
The Other Side of the Sky is, in essence, a science fantasy love story about Nimh who is from the surface world, and North who is from the sky world. If it were that simple, it would still be a great love story.
Add into the mix the fact that Nimh is a living goddess who is supposed to be saving her people, but doesn’t know how, and North is a Prince who fell from the sky when trying to prove himself to his family, then it gets even better. Their complex relationship is at the centre of this story, and they are supported by a cast of characters who provide plenty of surprises and twists as North tries to find his way home and Nimh tries to save her people. Now it’s engrossing.
Set in a world of myth, mystery and magic, where Nimh and North become entwined in prophecy and plagued by the past, they don’t know who to trust, or whether they can even trust each other.
I admit, I started this in the morning and only broke for food and coffee. That evening I put it down and cursed. Now I have to wait for the next book to find out what happens. If you enjoy a science fantasy love story, you will love this. If you just enjoy a good love story, or you love a good mystery, you should give it a try.
Into the Mists by Serene Conneeley
My final holiday book was Into the Mists, and it was a complete change of pace. I loaded this onto my kindle because I loved Serene Conneeley’s Swan Maiden book, and I was intrigued because this story sounded so completely different. I was surprised to find it wasn’t.
Both books deal with girls grieving for lost parents, and who are coming to terms with having to carry on; albeit one is a child and one is a teenager who moves across the other side of the world to love with a grandmother she only just found out existed.
This is Serene Conneeley’s first book, and it doesn’t have the lightness of touch I had come to expect in her writing, but the storyline and the characters more than made up for it.
In small town England, far from home, Charlie is transported into a very different world from Sydney, one where people are more in tune with nature and the mystical elements of life, including her grandmother who runs a natural healing centre.
Learning to love herself and life again while dealing with; loosing her parents, moving country, getting to know her grandmother, and finding her future is not what she wants now, Charlie’s story is one of growth and resilience.
I found Into the Mists a gentle and inspiring read. After I finished it, I read some of the goodread reviews and appreciate this book is not for everyone. If you want a book with Harry Potter style magic, this isn’t for you. If you want a fast paced book full of twists and turns, this isn’t for you. If you want to read a coming of age story with main character connecting with her past, entwined with old style elemental magic, then you will enjoy this.
January 16, 2021
Awesome Aussies
I love holidays. It���s a chance to put put feet up and relax a bit and read. More so this Christmas break because my part of Sydney found itself in semi-lockdown. When faced with dodgy weather and nowhere to go, its a per...
December 13, 2020
No So Perfect Princesses
https://thebookbubble.com/2020/12/not...
Not So Perfect Princesses
It seems as soon as I decided to name the character in my new book series Princess P I came across all these books about princesses, so my last post for the year reviews some books about not so perfect princesses.
November 21, 2020
It's Time To Go Christmas Book Shopping
I love this time of year. I get to indulge myself in one of my pastimes, buying books, and I get to share some of my favourites with you all. This Christmas I have been doing a lot of my shopping online and, because my f...
October 24, 2020
A Little Bit of Spooky for October
As we head towards Halloween I have two books books which a touch of spooky for you. One is the third book in one of my favourite series—a middle-grade up book that I have been waiting to read for a very long time. The other is a YA New Adult book which gives a new spin to traditional creatures of the night. So grab a drink and join me for, if not quite a walk on the wild side, then at least a tip-toe in the shadows.
Hollowpox The Hunt for Morrigan Crow – Nevermoor #3 by Jessica Townsend
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I feel like I have been waiting forever for the third instalment in the Nevermore series, but I have to say the book was well worth the wait. All your favourite characters have returned; Morrigan herself, her guardian Jupiter, her friends Hawthorne and Cadence, her family at the Hotel Deucalion, and my personal favourite— Fenestra the magnificat. In spite of all her friends being around, Morrigan’s life is changing. She is finally being trained as a Wundersmith, which means she is spending less and less time with her friends, and they no longer seem to understand her. To make matter worse, a strange disease has been affecting the Wunimals, and a new group anti-Wunimal group has sprung into being; and it all might have something to do with Morrigan.
Jessica Townsend’s book is set in an amazing, magical world, yet her characters are relatable. Morrigan is going through what every other child her age is going through; her friendships are being tested as each of her friends find their way in a magical world and she is unsure of where she fits in. However, what I love most about this book is how Jessica weaves real world problems through her storyline, and in this book more so than others. Nevermore, like our world, faces a strange new disease that no one is able to combat. And, like the real world, discrimination is a very real problem and how they deal with it is quite an eye opener.
I know this series is targeted at middle grade children, but honestly it is a great read at any age. Don’t be put off by the emergence of a virus in this book, honestly, it will help you escape from our covid obsessed world into a place where most problems can be solved by magic – if only! Spoiler, not for children who don’t like things a little scary.
Darkness Unknown – Beshadowed Book One by S.A. Fenech
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You have been lied to. Werewolves, vampires, ghosts … they aren’t what you think. Well doesn’t that just make you want to read the book! And it was what attracted me to Darkness Unknown, that and the fact that I am reading my through S.A. Fenech’s Memory’s Wake Trilogy and I am really enjoying it. I have to say the book started a little slow for me and clunky for me but I kept going because I was drown to the characters and intrigued by a story line that had a young woman returning to a town she thought she had left behind to deal with the family estate.
As I read I was drawn to Everly, with her difficult past and anxiety issues. Her dynamic with Harper, her instagramming friend who joined her on her trip home, made me smile, so I kept reading, and I was pleased I did.
I enjoyed Selina’s take on Vampires and werewolves (you will have to read the book to find out what the twist is). The home town Everly’s returns to on her mother’s death is suitably creepy, and you just know there is more going on than meets the eye. Then there is Everly’s school friend and girl crush, Rylan—there is definitely something odd with their relationship and, well, him. This book slowly drew me in, then wham, at about the 70% mark I couldn’t put it down. In fact, at the end I was left wanting more—now!
This love story/urban fantasy/mystery is a great escape read, and has just enough scare for the lead up to Halloween. I would recommend for older teens and adults who don’t mind a little scare, and waiting for the next instalment to come out.
Buy Darkness Unknown from Amazon
[image error] Why not check out Amazon’s Creepy Reads?
A Little Bit of Spooky for October
As we head towards Halloween I have two books books which a touch of spooky for you. One is the third book in one of my favourite series���a middle-grade up book that I have been waiting to read for a very long time. The o...
October 23, 2020
A Little Bit of Spooky for October
As we head towards Halloween I have two books books which a touch of spooky for you. One is the third book in one of my favourite series���a middle-grade up book that I have been waiting to read for a very long time. The o...
September 19, 2020
When a Book Just Wows You
Many thing in my life this month have not gone to plan this month. So it isn’t surprising this was not the review I was going to write for September, but it is the review that was clamouring to be written. This month I was lucky to be transported to my happy place two books that really “wowed” me. You know the type; the books you just can’t put down until they’re finished. Then, when you reach the end, you’re sad because there’s nothing left to read. These are the books I want to share with you.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
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I reviewed on of Matt Haig’s books last month. I really enjoy his quirky story lines. even so, I did not expect to be so blown away by The Midnight Library.
The blurb starts off , “Between Life and Death There is a Library”, and went on to tell of Nora Seed who is stuck in that moment between life and death where she had the opportunity to live her life if she had made different decisions at different points in time. I was hooked. I brought it, and I couldn’t put it down.
Nora is disappointed in herself and always believed she could have lived a better life, been a better person, if only she had made the most of the opportunities she had squandered. In the Midnight Library she is able to see the lives she has missed out on.
It’s funny, because Nora is not the most likeable person as a main character in a book, to be honest she comes across as a bit of a loser, and that is because that is how she portrays herself. Her lonely life is one where she is isolated and focuses on the regrets she has for not taking chances.
I started off feeling sorry for her, but as I lived through her other lives where she took different paths, I understand her more, and began rooting for her—hoping she would find a life where she was truely happy.
This is a great piece of story writing, growing from a really interesting concept, but what I loved about this book (apart from my inability to put it down), was all the thinking I did after I had finished. It had me mulling over how little we realise the impact we have on the lives of those around us, and also how often we interpret our relationships with others from our own perspective, especially when we are depressed.
Although this is not truely a Teen/YA book, it is one I believe many older teens would benefit from reading, as it might actually help them understand what some of their friends are dealing with. And I defiantly recommend it for parents, just because it is a great read.
Buy A Midnight Library from Amazon
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Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle 2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
So I finished The Midnight Library and moved on to the next book in my kindle, Aurora Burning. This is the second book in the series, I reviewed an Amie Kaufman co-write some time ago, and I have read more of her books in the meantime, including Aurora Rising, the first book in the Aurora Cycle. I loved the book but didn’t get round to reviewing it, and I am not going to make the same mistake with Aurora Burning.
I have been waiting patiently for the second book in the series to come out. The only problem was, in the meantime I had forgotten how much I loved the characters, and how fast paced the actions is, and how you get caught up in the story then you find it is three am on a school night and its only three hours until you have to get up. I curse you Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
By far my favourite character in this book is the super brain Zila. She is slowly coming our of her shell and learning to have a sense of humour. Still, Finn’s sarcasm and surprising heroism is quite cool. Then again, super-sexy Scarlett shows there is more to her than meets the eye, and her brother Tyler—if I was a boy I would want to be him, the all round hero. Though, if I think about it, Aurora now has super-powers, and a super-cool boyfriend who adores her in Kal. And Kal, the war machine is a super-being, who wouldn’t want to be him? So many great characters, and every time the chapter changes to a new point of view I want to be that one.
In Aurora Rising a crew of military misfits rescue a girl lost in space, thence across a scary hive mind wanting to take over the galaxy. In this book they are trying to find the weapon Aurora, the girl they rescued, has been told she must use to to save the universe. In the mean time, Kal’s family life starts to get in the way and places them all in peril.
This book is almost non-stop action, but still manages to expand on the characters backstories, and take us through a political minefield that is not as straightforward as it seems. When I finally did finish the book, I was unable to sleep, wanting to know what happens next, and imagining all sorts of scenarios.
I have it now, I want to be Amie Kaufman or Jay Kristoff. I mean who doesn’t want to be a writer who produces mesmerising books? Scfi fans will really enjoy this offering, but so will those who like a little romance, or action adventure books. So many people will like this book it is probably a waste of time my writing a review as you’re probably all read it, and like me are waiting with baited breath for the next book in the series.
Buy Aurora Burning from Amazon
Looking for More Book Ideas? See Below.
[image error] Available Until 16 October
September 18, 2020
When a Book Just Wows You!
Many thing in my life this month have not gone to plan this month. So it isn���t surprising this was not the review I was going to write for September, but it is the review that was clamouring to be written. This month I w...
