Lost in a Good Book

Bloggers Dinner

09 Apr 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in Rambles Tags: bloggers dinner, blogging

Just a quick post, I know it is very late but I wanted to share. I just came home from a great dinner in Sydney with Suzie from Suz’s Space and Jess from The Never Ending Book Shelf and it was so fun. The dinner was organised by Suzie and it was a great chance to catch up, especially since I hadn’t seen Suzie since the Book Bloggers Forum last year. Suzie chose a great restaurant called Whispers Cafe at Parramatta which was really nice, and their food was pretty great as well.

While dinner ended up being a bit more brief than originally planned, it was no less enjoyable. The conversation was fun and it was great as we got to know one another a bit better. Topics discussed covered a many number of things but naturally the discussion soon turned to blogging and it was wonderful (as it always is) to discuss with others in your situation the ups and downs of blogging, interesting stories about the blogging life, various types of blogs out there (and why I could never run a food blog).

Even though there was just the three of us it was still a great night out. The trip to Parramatta was an adventure and the great dinner company made the trip worthwhile. I hope there are more little casual catch ups away from festivals and organised formal events because sometimes a chat over a nice meal in a nice restaurant is just as good!

Book Bingo: The Road So Far

08 Apr 2015 1 Comment

by Amy in Book Bingo Tags: book bingo

Time again for a Book Bingo update! It has been a couple of months since the last one and I just know you are all eager to hear how my progress has been going. I am almost through my first book Bingo card, though I have yet to reach a Bingo. There are a few spots as you can see with 3/5 squares covered and one column that only needs another spot filled to reach BINGO but the category for that one means distraction from my review pile so it may be waiting for another few weeks. Being so close though I am thinking of straying more from my review list, albeit briefly, just so I can read some of my own things and not be weighed down by review books only. I planned to balance out reading the review books and those of my own choosing as one of my goals early on in the year, and while it started off going well, it soon because harder and harder. Now I am getting more under control with reviews I am warily willing to stray a bit so hopefully that can fill up my card sooner as well.

From the last update post I have filled in a few more squares. I am still eagerly waiting to start my second card because that has some great categories on it but until then we must strive to finish this one! While I didn’t find a way yet to really show which book was read for what in one image, I decided on another approach instead. If I have reviewed a book that I have used in a Book Bingo category I tagged it under the Book Bingo tag so you can scroll through and see them. The other thing I have been doing is adding a little box (see below) saying it is a book bingo book at the bottom of my reviews, as well as the box they correspond with, so keep an eye out for them if you are interested to see what book was read for what. A few are missing, such as the rereads or others I haven’t reviewed, but there is still a fair few that are under the tag.

That’s all my Bingo updates for now, I best get back to reading. If you have decided to do a Book Bingo or any kind of reading challenge this year I hope it has been going well and I wish you the best luck in your continual success.

Book Bingo icon

In Your Sights by Elizabeth Krall

07 Apr 2015 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Romance Tags: ebook, elizabeth krall, four stars, romance, romantic suspense, suspense

Published: 14th December 2014
Publisher: Self published
Pages: 280
Format: ebook
Genre: Romantic suspense
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Caroline Bready is being watched. Someone has posted a photograph of her on a mysterious website.
Still struggling to rebuild her life after the unsolved death of her husband, Caroline tells herself that the photo is unimportant. She drifts into an affair with a colleague; the relationship begins casually, but quickly becomes intense and disturbing.
After Caroline discovers the first victim of a serial rapist who has begun to attack women in Sydney, another photograph appears. Are the online images a threat, or simply coincidence?
Against a backdrop of deception and lies, Caroline finds herself drawn to an enigmatic stranger. Is he protecting her, or does he mean her harm?
If Caroline cannot distinguish friend from foe, it could cost her life.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book for review.

Krall’s story is one that is filled with suspense and the unexpected which makes it a wonderful read. She is great at misdirection and red herrings and creating multiple mysteries to solve. The plot is fascinating and a wonderful approach for a mystery. There is a range of things happening in this story; romance, crime, suspense and intrigue, and Krall links them together aptly and intersects them with ease.

The characters are curious, certainly odd and peculiar, and unfortunately for some I didn’t have much of a connection with. They are not flat per se, but they were bland and despite a few being given a chunk of back story, it didn’t help bring them to life.

There is the good detective who stays awake worrying about the case he cannot solve, main character Caroline who is naive and a little foolish, she isn’t the brightest person for someone working in IT, and there is the emotionally abusive fling who Caroline has no misunderstanding about his relationship with her but she still manages to be blind to some of his faults despite it being clear to others.

The characters seem to be connected to the roles they play in the story which means they have little to them when examined on their own. They are at times simple and one dimensional but I appreciated them in the story and the support they provided in continuing the narrative. The mystery and the compelling plot pull you along so in that sense the characters play their roles well which adds to the suspense.

The events of the story appear to be unconnected but with overlapping events and characters coming together, soon the unconnected becomes connected and everyone becomes a suspect. Not knowing what to expect makes this an exciting read and Krall is skilled at leading the reader in one direction only to have it stop at a dead end or veer off entirely.

Krall’s strengths are in her ability to create a captivating story that offers suspense and intrigue and an ongoing whodunit story that never is what it seems. After a reasonable beginning the events of the early chapters come together in an exciting and fast-paced conclusion that even when secrets are revealed remains a suspenseful and thrilling read.

There is sexual content in this story, some of it rougher than most, and the threat of the Redback Rapist is an ongoing topic but Krall limits her descriptions and does not describe outright the sex scenes or makes it too graphic to read. Reece’s behaviour is clearly emotionally abusive and Caroline cannot see that which is frustrating as a reader but it makes the story believable in a way. As annoying as it is, it does show how manipulative people can be in abusive relationships and makes the victim feel like they are in the wrong. Krall uses dialogue quite cleverly to show how Reece twists Caroline’s words and makes himself out to be a nicer guy than he is. From very early on it is clear that Reece is a horrible person, but the way Krall works with this is on another level entirely and makes gripping reading as a result.

The problem I have is with the ending. On one hand it was a great resolution to the story, it was unexpected and intense, but on the other hand, around a different matter, it seemed wrong. I know Krall tries to justify it, but I still think that there could have been a better direction than the one taken. Other than that this is a great story, there is enough intrigue from the beginning to get you interested and it is maintained until the last pages.

You can purchase In Your Sights via the following

Happy Easter!

06 Apr 2015 5 Comments

by Amy in Rambles Tags: easter, easter bunny, fun facts, rambles

A very happy Easter to you all! I hope the Easter bunny was good to you this year and if you were lucky enough to also get a long weekend, then I hope you enjoyed a nice break. I spent my long weekend relaxing and surprise, surprise, some reading! Which while not that much of a stray from my usual routine (but usually with less relaxing), it was still very nice. Easter Sunday was spent eating too much chocolate which resulted in me feeling slightly ill but as my mother said, “I don’t think it’s Easter without making yourself sick on chocolate” so that makes it ok. Having been going non-stop for months it felt very strange doing almost nothing, even if it was only three days and it made me feel like I hadn’t done anything in weeks which was quite disorientating. I had to remind myself that it had only been three days and the world was not going to come to an end. Today I started busying myself again so while still in long weekend mode I was trying not to get too complacent and fall behind again.

In honour of the Easter long weekend, I thought I would quickly provide you with some Easter Fun Facts because who doesn’t love a good fun fact?

Easter Fun Fact #1

While the bunny was used as early as the 1500s in Germany when discussing Easter, the first mention of the Easter Bunny bringing eggs for Easter was in a book by Georg Frankck von Frankenau in 1680. The book was called “De ovis paschalibus” (About Easter Eggs) and refers to the tradition of bringing eggs to children.

Easter Fun Fact #2

The word Easter dates back to early England and is thought to relate to Ēostre, Pagan goddess of spring and fertility.

Easter Fun Fact #3

The reason the Easter date always changes is because it’s based on the lunar calendar and the position of the moon. Easter is celebrated on the Sunday after the full moon following March 21st. Which sounds like a very complicated way to deal with things.

Easter Fun Fact #4

The first Easter egg was made in 1873 by Fry’s of Bristol. Which you can read more about in my Easter post from last year.

Easter Fun Fact #5

The tradition of giving eggs at Easter has been traced back to Egyptians, Persians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans, for whom the egg was a symbol of life.

So there you go, some nice things you may not have realised about Easter. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and managed not to get any chocolate on your books!