Stasi Child - David Young

Blurb:

East Berlin, 1975

When Oberleutnant Karin Müller is called to investigate a teenage girl's body at the foot of the wall, she imagines she's seen it all before. But when she arrives she realises this is a death like no other: the girl was trying to escape - but from the West.

Müller is a member of the national police, but the case has Stasi written all over it. Karin is tasked with uncovering the identity of the girl, but her Stasi handlers assure her that the perpetrators are from the West - and strongly discourage her asking questions.

The evidence doesn't add up, and Muller soon realises the crime scene has been staged. But this is not a regime that tolerates a curious mind, and Muller doesn't realise that the trail she's following will lead her dangerously close to home . . . 

Stasi Child is David Young's brilliant and page-turning debut novel. 

My Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Genre: Crime

My thoughts:

                ~~~~~~ Sorry for any spoilers ~~~~~

I struggled with is book, not because of the storylines which was absolutely spot on but with the whole situation of 1970s Germany.  Before I began reading I was completely unaware that there were so many policing departments and titles, and to be honest I skipped most of them whilst reading.  

Split into three sections, each deeply untwined in the overall plot.  It was Karin's story that both intrigued and confused me.  The levels of policing and corruption could be possible in every society but those in place that allow the ill treatment, slavery and abuse of the most vulnerable are the sickest.  Karin is good and she will stop at nothing but the truth, despite the physical and mental pain it causes her.  The confusion came with my lack of knowledge of the German seperation following WW2 and the different German names for Police and police levels.  

All in all the book was well written, the protagonist mostly likeable, the antagonist evil and the mystery slowly unfolds itself to a sound ending.

               ~~~~~~ Sorry for any spoilers ~~~~~

Read: 27-31 October 2015

The Milliners Secret - Natalie Meg Evans

Blurb : London,1937. A talented young woman travels to Paris with a stranger. The promise of an exciting career as a milliner beckons, but she is about to fall in love with the enemy...

Londoner Cora Masson has reinvented herself as Coralie de Lirac, fabricating an aristocratic background to launch herself as a fashionable milliner. When the Nazis invade, the influence of a high-ranking lover, Dietrich, saves her business. But while Coralie retains her position as designer to a style-hungry elite, Paris is approaching its darkest hour.

Faced with the cruel reality of war and love, Coralie must make a difficult choice—protect herself or find the courage to fight for her friends, her freedom and everything she believes in. 

My rating : 4 stars

Genre : historic fiction

My thoughts: I love reading books fact or fiction based around the Second World War and this book took me in a direction I had never thought about much before. Cora an English hat maker runs away from her father in London, changes her identity and becomes absorbed in a new world she knows little about in Paris and lives a life she could never have imagined. 

It did take me a while to get into but after the first third it picked up pace and I was literally transported back to 1930/40's Paris. I could literally feel the danger that Coralie and her friends and acquaintances faced as well as her passion to do what she believed in despite the concequeces if caught.

The only negative about the story was I know little about Paris I would have liked a little more descriptive prose but other than this it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Read: 22nd September - 24th October 2015

Wildalone - Krassi Zourkova

Blurb: 

In this darkly imaginative debut novel full of myth, magic, romance, and mystery, a Princeton freshman is drawn into a love triangle with two enigmatic brothers, and discovers terrifying secrets about her family and herself—a bewitching blend of Twilight, The Secret History, Jane Eyre, and A Discovery of Witches.

Arriving at Princeton for her freshman year, Thea Slavin finds herself alone, a stranger in a strange land. Away from her family and her Eastern European homeland for the first time, she struggles to adapt to unfamiliar American ways and the challenges of college life—including an enigmatic young man whose brooding good looks and murky past intrigue her. Drawn to the elusive Rhys and his equally handsome and mysterious brother, Jake, she ventures into a sensual mythic underworld as irresistible as it is dangerous.

In this shadow world that seems to mimic Greek mythology and the Bulgarian legends of the samodivi or “wildalones”—forest witches who beguile and entrap men—Thea will discover a family secret bound to transform her forever . . . if she can accept that dead doesn't always mean gone, and love doesn't always distinguish between the two.

My rating : 5 stars

Genre: fantasy

My thoughts: 

Omg! I want more.... Please tell me there will be a book 2.

This book captured me from the blurb, it is riveting, fast paced, mystical, mythical and blooming fantastic. This book was not predictable at all, I actually thought I had it sussed half way through but I was totally wrong. The characters were great, even the stock characters like Rita and Dev had their own story. The fantasy elements had a perfect blend with reality. Only problem is that I want more! 

I really can't believe this is Krassi Zourkova's first book. Brilliant!

(Krassi also confirmed to me that there will be a book 2)

Read : 30th December 2014 - 8th January 2015

Husk - J. Kent Messum

Blurb: 

LIFE GOES ON

For a lucky few, death is merely an inconvenience. With the help of technology the mind can survive long after a body has been laid to rest. This afterlife, however, is far from paradise...

MAKING A LIVING

Rhodes is a 'Husk'. It's an illegal, controversial and highly lucrative job - renting out control of his body and mind to the highest bidder. It's a sure way to gain a better life, but some clients go too far. Sometimes, he wakes up with scars.

MAKING A KILLING

Then the visions start - terrible sights that haunt his waking hours. They could be dreams, or they could be something far worse - they just might be memories... 

My Rating - 4 stars

Genre - dystopia

My thoughts - 

Wow! A rollercoaster of a book. Pulled in one direction then thrown in another, this book held my attention and strained my brain throughout.  Just the through of this story becoming reality is a horror in itself and it does make you wonder how far the human race will push to avoid death.

I was on the side of the main protagonist from the beginning I hoped for his happy ending. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists of the story but wonder how any individual could physically cope with so much violence.

Read : 4-31 August 2015

Everyday Superfood - Jamie Oliver

Blurb: Jamie’s Everyday Super Food makes eating well exciting, delicious, easy and fun.

No matter how busy you are, you’ll find that healthy eating the Jamie way is both straightforward and achievable, making it super easy to choose exactly the kind of meals that suit you.

The book is divided into breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and every tasty meal is nutritionally balanced so that any combination over the day will bring you in under your recommended daily allowance of calories, allowing you to enjoy snacks and drinks on the side. You can eat Smoothie Pancakes with Berries, Banana, Yoghurt and Nuts for breakfast, Tasty Fish Tacos with Game-Changing Kiwi, Lime and Chilli Salsa for lunch and Griddled Steak and Peppers with Herby-Jewelled Tabbouleh Rice for dinner, and still be healthy! Whether you dip in and out of it, eat from the book Monday to Friday to use it faithfully every day for a month, it’s totally up to you.

In Everyday Super Food, Jamie’s done all the hard work for you—all you need to do is choose a delicious recipe, cook it up and, most importantly, enjoy it.

Every meal in this book is a good choice and will bring you a step closer to a healthier, happier you.

My Rating: 5 Stars

Genre: Cookbook

My thoughts: 

Great book, lovely looking recipes, fab photos, excellent explanation of Jamie's Super food ethic at the back. As always a stunning book from Mr. Oliver.  Although as typical of health food books many of the ingrediece are expensive and I would love it if he could combine the superfood ethic with more frugal recipes like those in Save with Jamie as for millions of us out there that want to eat well but need to do so on a tight budget.

I love that his books have a TV series too so you can become truly inspired when you see how he makes the recipes and where the food products he uses come from.  Can wait to did in and get cooking.

Read: 16-17th September 2015 

Concent8 - William Suttcliff

Blurb: In a future London, Concentr8 is a prescription drug intended to help kids with ADD. Soon every troubled teen is on it. It makes sense, doesn't it? Keep the undesirable elements in line. Keep people like us safe from people like them. What's good for society is good for everyone. Troy, Femi, Lee, Karen and Blaze have been taking Concentr8 as long as they can remember. They're not exactly a gang, but Blaze is their leader, and Troy has always been his quiet, watchful sidekick - the only one Blaze really trusts. They're not looking for trouble, but one hot summer day, when riots break out across the city, they find it. What makes five kids pick a man seemingly at random - a nobody, he works in the housing department, doesn't even have a good phone - hold a knife to his side, take him to a warehouse and chain him to a radiator? They've got a hostage, but don't really know what they want, or why they've done it. And across the course of five tense days, with a journalist, a floppy-haired mayor, a police negotiator, and the sinister face of the pharmaceutical industry, they - and we - begin to understand why.  This is a book about what how we label children. It's about how kids get lost and failed by the system. It's about how politicians manipulate them. 

My rating: 4 stars 

Genre: YA

My thoughts:    A very thought provoking YA book. A population of youths drugged to keep them out of trouble to control a social epidemic of violence and trouble, all with their parents blessing as after all they are being paid to make sure their kids take the drugs. The withdrawal of funding from the drug leads to rioting and worse, the kids in the story get muddled up in a world they don't yet understand.

A must read.

Read: 4-18th September 2015

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley

Blurb:  1883. Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later, the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last, he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something. When Grace Carrow, an Oxford physicist, unwittingly interferes, Thaniel is torn between opposing loyalties.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is a sweeping, atmospheric narrative that takes the reader on an unexpected journey through Victorian London, Japan as its civil war crumbles long-standing traditions, and beyond. Blending historical events with dazzling flights of fancy, it opens doors to a strange and magical past.

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Science Fiction, Historical Fiction

My thoughts:  A strange book, good strange but very odd nether-the-less.

As a whole, the book made sense although in parts it was a mix of both confusing and predictable. The genre of the book is also equally perplexing - a mystery, a love story, a historical drama, a coming of age (Thaniel)? 

Mori is somewhat an enigma, his character and his intentions - strange and confusing and certainly not straight forwards. Nathaniel (Thaniel) is straightforwards, predictable, likeable and genuine. Grace - unrelenting, boyish and selfish. All three completely different and manage to bring out the best and worst of each other. Katsu the octopus was a fantastic addition although he somewhat cartoonises Mori and Williamsons characterisation as a police officer was great.

I can say no more at the moment as I'm still to involved in London in the 19th century to think of it objectively. 

Except that I love the cover.

Read: 9-29 September 2015

Into the Magic Shop - James R Doty

Blurb: Extraordinary things happen when we harness the power of both the brain and the heart

Growing up in the high desert of California, Jim Doty was poor, with an alcoholic father and a mother chronically depressed and paralyzed by a stroke. Today he is the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, of which the Dalai Lama is a founding benefactor. But back then his life was at a dead end until at twelve he wandered into a magic shop looking for a plastic thumb. Instead he met Ruth, a woman who taught him a series of exercises to ease his own suffering and manifest his greatest desires. Her final mandate was that he keep his heart open and teach these techniques to others. She gave him his first glimpse of the unique relationship between the brain and the heart.
 
Doty would go on to put Ruth’s practices to work with extraordinary results—power and wealth that he could only imagine as a twelve-year-old, riding his orange Sting-Ray bike. But he neglects Ruth’s most important lesson, to keep his heart open, with disastrous results—until he has the opportunity to make a spectacular charitable contribution that will virtually ruin him. Part memoir, part science,  part inspiration, and part practical instruction, Into the Magic Shop shows us how we can fundamentally change our lives by first changing our brains and our hearts.

My Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Genre: Health and wellbeing, Biography

My Thoughts: Don't be put off by the title of the cover, there is more yo this book than what is first perceived.  

As soon as I picked up this book I was hooked, the language used reaped me in. The mix of self help and biography drew me deeper into the book and my own mind.   I do believe that we have a certain level of power that is based on our confidence and self belief and that is what this book is based on. The ability to meditate as directed in the writing is the key to finding ourselves. The amount of times I have told someone who keeps moaning they are unhappy - that only they themselves have the ability to change and without the effort nothing will change.

I liked this book a lot and I think some of it will stick with me for a long time.

Read:  22-24th September 2015

Placid Girl - Brenna Ehrlich

 Blurb: Punk was created for the malcontents, something that loner and aspiring drummer Hallie understands all too well. Trapped in a boring suburban life – dysfunctional parents included! – Hallie drowns her angst in the angry songs of Haze, a masked musician who has not been heard from in five years. So naturally she’s surprised – and more than a little skeptical – when someone who seems to be Haze starts flirting with her via her favorite photo-sharing app. Is he who he says he is? What does he want from her? The questions only multiply when Hallie — along with bandmate Sarah and aspiring music journalist Steve — roadtrip to Haze's comeback gig to unmask the reclusive musician once and for all.

Genre: YA

My rating: 4 stars

My thoughts: I liked this book a lot, mainly because the meaning behind it is real. You can not trust people are who they say they are on the Internet. So many kids get suckered in by weirdos and quite frankly dangerous people out in the real world that it is good that there is fiction that can show the dangers without being condescending or outright didactic.

In addition to this the story was well written, protagonists likeable and language both accessible and fun. 

I would definatley recommend this book to my nieces and friends kids of the relevant age.

Read: 24-25th September 2015