Guest Post - The Watchtower by Lee Carroll

Today I am pleased to introduce Sharon from Jera's Jamboree to my blog to review Lee Carroll's second novel, The Watchtower.



 

·         Paperback: 400 pages

·         Publisher: Bantam Press (4 Aug 2011)

·         ISBN-10: 0593065972

·         ISBN-13: 978-0593065976

Synopsis from Amazon:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Watchtower-Lee-Carroll/dp/0593065972/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317476549&sr=8-1

The second novel in the thrillingly original, deliciously dark urban fantasy trilogy that began with Black Swan Rising.

The last in a long line of women sworn to guard our world against evil, jeweller Garet James is struggling to come to terms with who – or what – she really is.

Will Hughes, the alluring four-hundred-year-old vampire who tasted her blood and saved her life, could help, but he’s disappeared. Garet believes he’s in France, searching for the Summer Country, the legendary land of the Fey where he might be freed from his vampire curse.

Desperate to understand her legacy, Garet follows Will. In Paris, she encounters strange, mythic beings – an ancient botanist metamorphosed into the city’s oldest tree, a gnome who lives beneath the Labyrinth at the Jardin des Plantes, a dryad in the Luxembourg Gardens – meetings that convince her she is on the right path.

But Garet is not the only one trying to find the way in to the Summer Country – and the closer she gets, the more dangerous it becomes...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Garet’s quest to find Will and find out more about herself starts in Paris. In Black Swan Rising Garet received what she thought was a sign which led her there. We are told again why she is waiting. 

Garet finds her artistic inspiration and uses Horatio Durant’s workshop and tools to create her jewellery piece in which she incorporates the symbol of the Watchtower. Horatio was a friend to her late parents. 

She doubts the obscure sign she received to follow Will but on the edge of giving up, she receives the sign that she is on the right path. 

The following chapter tells us the story of Will (400 years ago) as he leaves his ancestral estate (Swan Hall) and falls in love with Marguerite. Marguerite is Garet’s ancestor. 

What follows are alternating chapters. Garet’s written in the first person and is her quest to find Will in the Summer Country. Will’s chapters in the third person and his quest to become immortal. At one point the past and present overlap. 

There are allusions to the important points in Black Swan Rising, very cleverly built in as we journey along on their quest. If you haven’t read the first, you are able to start reading The Watchtower and it still makes sense. 

We find out a bit more about why The Watchtowers came into existence and why Marguerites’s descendants have the role they do. We also find out the connection of the alchemist John Dee. 

Parts of the story are slow going but I found enough to hold my interest and keep me reading. I love fairy tales/mythical aspects. Any book that has fey and dryads in will pull me in. This was more about these mythical beings and much less about vampires. The alternating chapters as we follow the two different time lines also add interest and negate the slowness. The second book to me was more about Will’s story than Garet’s. I did enjoy ‘living’ in Elizabethan times as I accompanied Will during his late teens and after he had met Marguerite, despite their telling slowing the story down. 

The ending – I did see it coming – but the cliffhanger leaves you with questions you want to have the answers to! I will be interested in finding out where the story will be taken in the final book in this trilogy. At the ending of Black Swan Rising I thought it would be quite a quest for Garet to find Will in the Summer Country (probably why I felt a little disappointed), at the ending of The Watchtower I really can’t see enough to fill the pages of a third book and I’m hoping it will hold more than the fight between evil (Marduk) and light (Garet and her Watchtower role). 

I am rating The Watchtower as a two fairy read. 


Thank you to Sharon for reviewing this book for me and also to Transworld Publishers for sending me the book to review.

A New Day at School as told by Peter Andre

Peter Andre is a singer-songwriter, TV Presenter & personality and businessman. Out of all these roles, he feels his most rewarding job is being a dad. When Peter was a kid, he loved his days at primary school, especially with his friends. But some children may feel more nervous. Reading this reassuring story about a young Peter, Debbie and Mike as they all start a new day at school, will help to prepare and reassure young children.

When I heard that Peter Andre was going to write a series of books for children I will admit I was sceptical, however the book clearly states 'As told by Peter Andre' not written by Peter Andre, a lesson learnt there from previous 'authors'.  

Peter Andre has written a letter, which is included within the book, stating that he loves helping his kids through new experiences and unfamiliar situations and wanted to bring them to life in a friendly and fun way for parents and children.

There is also a 'game' within this book, as included in each picture are snails and strawberries - this is a great idea in books, encouraging children to finish each book, looking at each page to find the hidden objects. The illustrations are great, they are of a style I have noticed is becoming more popular among children's books lately, a collage effect, where hand drawn pictures are added to computer generated images along with photo quality clip art images. 

When I saw the title to the book, I must admit I immediately thought about the very popular series Topsy and Tim and their books introducing new experiences to children through the eyes of Topsy and Tim. However when I read this book I realised that this book is very different and although the book does talk about a child's first day at school, the child is going to a school where their old siblings and friends have already attended or attending. I therefore do not think that this book is the right book for a toddler or young child to have before they are starting nursery/preschool for the first day but would be great for a younger sibling who has siblings already at school.

The book was an okay story, with lovely pictures, where lots of discussions could be started from the pictures, but I would not advise this book as the perfect book to give to a child before their first day at a new setting.

Thank you to Ladybird for sending me the book to review.

The Affair by Lee Child

March 1997. A woman has her throat cut behind a bar in Carter Crossing, Mississippi. Just down the road is a big army base. Is the murderer a local guy - or is he a soldier? Jack Reacher, still a major in the military police, is sent in undercover. The county sheriff is a former U.S. Marine - and a stunningly beautiful woman. Her investigation is going nowhere. Is the Pentagon stonewalling her? Or doesn't she really want to find the killer? The adrenaline-pumping, high-voltage action in "The Affair" is set just six months before the opening of "Killing Floor", and it marks a turning point in Reacher's career. If he does what the army wants, will he be able to live with himself? And if he doesn't, will the army be able to live with him? And is this his last case in uniform?

My husband is a huge Lee Child fan and when I saw he had a new release I thought I would give him a go. 


Although this book is Lee Child's sixteenth Jack Reacher book, The Affair is actually set six months before his first book, The Killing Floor. Jack Reacher is still in the army and is sent to Carter Crossing, Mississippi, to be the army's eyes in a town shocked by the discovery of a woman, with her throat slit, and left to die.


This is my first Jack Reacher book and there were areas of the story which I found strange - he has to go to the local diner to use the public telephone. Why doesn't he have a mobile phone - of course my husband, a Jack Reacher fan, was able to tell me becuase he doesn't like mobiles, he doesn't like anything which would enable others to trace his whereabouts.  There were a few things within the book that I ended up asking husband about but this was because I was nosey, not to understand the book.  It can be read as a standalone book or as part of the series as it does explain Reacher's past and his reasons for leaving the army.


Although the first crime Reacher looks at is a woman who has had her throat slit, the book did not go into gruesome detail, enough for the reader to picture the scene but not all the nastiness. The crime is in a small town, where crime is nearly non-existent and attention soon turns to the army camp which is on the outskirts of the town.  The army put Reacher into the town as their eyes and ears within the town and to find the culprit, however more murders occur and Reacher continues to investigate and unravel the truth.


The book is mainly about Reacher's journey to find out who and why are committing the crimes, however there is also time for Reacher's personal life. The investigation means that he must work alongside the female county sheriff, Deveraux, and their lives become entwined but with a secret past, does she know more about the crimes than she is letting on. There were times that I thought I had solved the crime but Child threw another fact into the case and sent us off somewhere else entirely. There were sex scenes between these two characters which I did find to be unnecessary and not as well written as other authors are able - stick to the crime Lee!


I will not reveal any spoilers of what happens in the book but I did find that although the book was a slow starter with investigations moving at a slow pace, as the book progresses, as does the pace of the story and towards the last third I found myself enjoying it more. I will definitely be raiding my husbands one book case to read more about Jack Reacher!


Thank you to the publishers, Transworld, for sending me the book to review.
I

Dani's Story by Diane and Bernie Lierow with Kay West

Neglected beyond belief, rescued by love...Dani was so severely neglected by her birth mother that she grew up knowing only squalor. She never went to school or the doctor, and rarely glimpsed sunlight. Desperately malnourished, she couldn't talk and had never been toilet-trained. The social worker who took her into care had never heard of a case so horrific. The doctors believed Dani would never recover from such a terrible start in life. Then she met the Lierows - a unique, blended family who were seeking to adopt a child. Despite being warned that she was way beyond hope of a normal life, they were instantly drawn to her and sensed a bright light behind her pale complexion. When they finally adopted her, they showered Dani with so much affection and encouragement that she came to life for the first time. Proving all the experts wrong, Dani would go on to open up and express herself in a way that no-one could have expected. Dani's remarkable and heartwarming story is a testament of the power of kindness to overcome even the most seemingly insurmountable challenges.

I do not normally read true life, child neglect or real life stories however when I was asked to review this book, after looking at the website Dani's Story I was intrigued and had to know more. So much so, that I read the book in two sittings, I was engrossed.

Diane and Bernie Lierow had both had previous marriages, each bringing their own children to their marriage and also had William after they married, however as their own children grew up and left home, Diane especially thought they had room in their home and hearts for another child and Diane began to look into fostering and adoption.

A visit to a Heart Gallery one weekend, where children who are seeking adoption all are in a room where prospective parents are able to meet them and register an interest in further meetings etc. However, Diane and Bernie were not drawn to any of the children in the room, but to a photograph behind an information desk. When Diane asked one of the staff about her, Diane found the staff trying to put them off Danielle, telling her that raising Danielle would be a lifelong struggle. However both Diane and Bernie were determined that she was the child they wanted to adopt.

Danielle had been removed from her mother's home when she was seven year old, and was still in nappies, had no communication skills and her physical, emotional and mental development was that of a six month old. She had been neglected from a very young age and lived in a very bare apartment on a filthy mattress. Doctors had said that her best outlook for life was a place in a full-time nursing facility.

However, Bernie and Diane were determined that Danielle would live with them and worked with her social worker to begin the process of adoption. There were many obstacles in the way, the main one being Danielle's mother refusing to give up her appeal to have Danielle returned to her. However, Diane and Bernie persevered and the book follows the trials and all their experiences in life with Dani and the considerable improvement to her physical, emotional and mental development since her relationship with Diane and Bernie.

I found this book to be very humbling. Society and the Social Services of USA completely let Dani down - there were a number of calls by members of the public about Dani and their concerns for her, visits were made but no one saw how Dani was suffering. The mother had an excuse for any concerns and told lies to get rid of the professionals and by the time the professionals had to remove Dani, so much damage had been done. Diane and Bernie had so much determination and for that I would love to meet them and shake their hand, the support and care both themselves and their family and friends have given Dani has given her a much better quality of life and it really proves that sometimes all a child needs is some one to one attention, love and sense of belonging.

The book will also be a great source book for my next Open University degree course as the course is about Child Development and Psychology and there is lots within the book about the effect of families and care on a child. I really learnt alot while reading this book and I would urge others to read it too. There are times within the book that I had tears in my eyes but it is really about Dani's achievements and positives in her life now and the hard work that Diane and Bernie, and their young son, William, have undertaken to provide the best possible life for Dani.

I would recommend this as a beautiful book to read, it is not all gloom and sadness, but a book to celebrate Dani's achievements and to give hope to children who have suffered neglect in their early years, the world needs more Diane and Bernie Lierow's to offer similar chances to those children the same opportunities.

Thank you to Penguin for sending me this book to review.

Hide and Seek by Il Sung Na

As the light falls through the leaves in the forest, the animals gather for a game of hide and seek. Join them as Elephant counts to 10 while everyone hides! In the thick forest, help Elephant search for all the hiding animals...but where is Chameleon? This is a beautiful toddler book, with interactive elements (Chameleon is hiding on every page) and large numbers (1-10) on each page for pre-school learning.

A fantastic book that from the moment you open the pages are full of colour and animals, with beautiful backgrounds, incorporating perspectives, shadows and camouflage. There are many animals included with in the story; elephants, flamingos, gorillas, tortoises, giraffe, rhino and bushbabies. 

The book will help young children to learn to count as Elephant counts from 1 to 10 while the animals hide. Each double page spread includes the chameleon hiding somewhere in the picture. I love books that include things to find on each page, the game encourages the children to sit through the whole book to find chameleon each time and enjoy the whole story.

This is a beautiful book, a great gift for a preschooler or a book to share at story-time or bedtime.

Thank you to the publishers, Meadowside Children's Books, for sending me the book to review.

Cool Craft by Bridget Bodoano

Craft is back and people of all ages are discovering, or re-discovering, the joys of making something by hand. Not only is it a great antidote to conspicuous consumerism, it also gives you something to do while winding down, gossiping, watching TV or listening to your favourite music. The projects in this book are simple enough for the complete beginner with clear instructions and tips on basic techniques. The designs are deliberately chosen so that even a novice will be able to achieve a good finish and ensuring that "home-made" is something smart and even chic and not a term of abuse. Cool Craft aims to lure style-conscious people into craft with the promise of things to make that they can be proud of and happy to wear or use. Divided into 7 chapters, each chapter is introduced with an opener with a photograph (showing one or two projects and possibly some materials) and a "mission statement". Under each category there will be advice on materials, techniques and tips followed by ideas and some specific projects, all accompanied by lots of illustrations. This is a book for all ages and for everyone who has wanted to try their hand at craft.

A book from the new publishers, Vivays Publishing. Set up in Autumn 2010 and releasing their first five titles at this years London's Book Fair and with ten new titles being released this autumn, and twenty titles to be released in 2012, the company have lots of exciting things planned.

As stated in the introduction, craft is back with people enjoying making something by hand. However, it has been found that many of the projects available in magazines, on television or in books are considered fussy or end results are not considered to be practical or pleasing to others/recipients. In Cool Crafts the projects are said to be things that people would be proud of and the crafter's or recipients would be happy to wear, display or use.

This book is one of the ten being released this autumn and focuses on Knitting; Sewing; Stitching; Accessories; Paper and Design and Technology. Each section begins with a getting started section, which details basic equipment and materials and techniques needed. There are old fashioned and historic crafts within the book; knitting, cross stitch, patchwork, applique, decoupage and paper dolls  but they have been given a modern twist with new ideas and designs.

There are 50 projects within the book and they are wide and varied in technicality and end result. The book is full of useful tips on all the techniques in the book. The projects include hats, scarves, bags, home furnishings, gift ideas There are many projects which children could, with help, make and also many ideas for fundraising projects.

Many of the projects give a basic idea and then can be used as a basic template for more confident crafts to adapt, customise and/or embellish to 
reflect the crafter's individuality and current crafting likes.

I really liked the paper section and technology section of the book, it is full of great ideas which I would not of thought about myself. I am a keen crafter and I thought the knitting and sewing sections contained ideas which I have either already made in some form or were easy to make however in the paper section there are projects for paper dolls using photographs of yourself, family members or friends, making flick books (an idea i am familiar with but i would not know where to start with this idea). The technology section has a great couple of pages on scanning images and ideas on manipulating and formatting images to make your own art work. There is also a section on making your own typeface - a fun idea that children may enjoy playing with.

The main thing that I noticed when looking through this book was that there is no photographs of finished projects. The illustrations are computer generated which is great for basic ideas, shapes, concepts and mapping however, i found it did not useful for finished projects i.e. knitting - showed shape of finished item but it was very uniform, blocky shaped, did not show natural shape of finished knitted piece. I think photographs of some of the finished items, including variations to show ideas of adapting the basic project, would be an addition to the book.

I liked the simplistic diagrams in some parts, they are great for how items should basically look. The diagrams are also really clear for showing knitting stitches and hand sewing stitches. 


In summary, this book is a great starting point, for people who are just dipping their toes into crafting and are unsure what area of craft they would like to try, because the book a snapshot into many different areas. It would be great for teachers and parents wanting ideas to try with children or groups of people. 


Thank you to Vivays Publishing for sending me the book to review.

Only Four Ingredients - The Australian Women's Weekly

Weeknight meals are always a challenge for the cook. There's the deciding what to eat, the shopping on the way home from work, the preparing and cooking, and the dreaded washing up. A book of delicious, triple-tested Australian Women's Weekly recipes using just 4 ingredients is an inspired solution. Naturally, with only 4 ingredients, the recipes are simple and quick and are all designed for main course meals. Chicken, pasta, seafood, meat, eggs, and vegetables - everything you want for dinner for the family can be on the table in no time with a minimum of fuss.

This is the third Australian Women's Weekly recipe book that I have reviewed and I really do like this series of books. Pies, Savoury and Sweet and Mince It have previously been reviewed on this blog.

The recipes are split into eight chapters: Soups and accompaniments; Eggs, pies and tarts; pasta, grains and pulses (including fast rice); Seafood including tinned tuna and salmon; chicken including fast bbq chicken; beef and veal including pastry bites; lamb including lamb wraps; and pork and easy ham.

As ever with these recipe books from Australian Women's Weekly the recipes are accompanied by fantastic photographs giving serving suggestions. At the end of each recipe is a summary including prep and cooking time; average servings; and the nutritional count per serving including total fat (incl saturated fat); calories; carbohydrates; protein and fibre. The front and back covers contain a pictorial guide to some of the ingredients, including alternative names and basic preparation instructions. Basic kitchen equipment is also pictured. This book also includes a great list of kitchen staples - great for first time home owners to look through when starting out on their own. As ever there is also a page of conversion charts for oven temperatures and liquid, length and dry measures.

Even the index is great, each recipe is listed within the book, and alongside each recipe there is a combination of: F(fast), E (Easy), $(cheap) (the books is from Australia) and/or V(Vegetarian).

One thing I have not mentioned on this blog while reviewing these Australian Women's Weekly recipe books is the price. Each book is priced at a very reasonable £6.99 and with the book full of easy to follow and inspirational recipes, I think that they are a great investment. Perfect for students leaving home for the first time, busy mums wanting quick and easy food for the family or a dinner party host. The books are soft backed, therefore taking up minimal space on bookshelves, another plus point for these great books!

I would recommend this as a great addition to any kitchen library but especially for students or children branching out on their own or for busy parents who need to throw together a quick meal from the contents of their fridge.

Thank you to Octopus Publishing for sending me the book to review.