Review: Angel in the Shadows (The Angel #1) by Lisa Grace

Title: Angel in the Shadows

Series: The Angel (Book 1)

Author: Lisa Grace

Format: Kindle Edition

Pages: 175 pages

Challenge: Why Buy The Cow? Reading Challenge

My Rating: 1/5

Blurb (taken off Goodreads):

"Fifteen-year-old Megan Laughlin has a gift--or what seems like a curse at times. Megan sees angels and demons.

Megan knows her destiny is to protect her friends against dark angels who try to sway them into situations that can destroy their lives, their souls, and their eternity.

At school, she recognizes Judas, an über popular boy, as an evil angel hell-bent on destroying her and everyone she loves. As Judas spreads horrible rumors and overdoses two of her classmates at a rave, Megan realizes the enormity of his power. While classmates die, Megan, with the help of an angel, Johnny, and a team of friends will face the fight of their lives as they battle Judas.

Megan thinks God hasn't given her any "special" powers, but discovers she has what she needs as she confronts Judas and his seemingly unconquerable power."

My Thoughts:

Fifteen year old Megan finds out while working as a counsellor at summer camp that she has been granted powers of light by God to battle the evil of dark angels who seek to lead unsuspecting people astray. She has been attending the same summer camp for many years and the previous summer, had noticed a strange bright light surrounding camp counsellor, Mr. Z (as she knows him). When she remarked on it, she was laughed at and so, she has not mentioned it since. However, this summer she gets Mr. Z aside and asks him about it in private, wondering why she’s the only one who can see the light surrounding him. She finds out that Mr. Z is an angel of light sent down to battle the forces of darkness encroaching upon humanity and that she has also been blessed with powers to battle against these enemies of man. Once camp is over, Megan will have to go home and prepare for a great battle that awaits her in her near future and will possibly affect the people she loves.

While I thought this book was written with noble intentions and attempted to convey an important message, I am sorry to say that the storyline just fell flat for me. No doubt, the cliffhanger at the end left me curious about what will happen in the next book in the series (as most cliffhangers do) I don’t think I’ll end up reading the next book in this series, mainly because it was really difficult for me to get through this one. There were many factors that affected my opinion of this story, but I think that the main one was that the behaviours of the characters, the dialogue and certain events were exaggerated and mostly unbelievable. I also felt that the book read like it was written for a much younger audience, even though it discussed issues of sex, eating disorders, teenage pregnancy and abortion, and it came across as too overtly preachy. I found it really hard to buy into a lot of what happened in this book.

Firstly, at the summer camp, I found it incredibly odd how fast Megan and Mr. Z got into a discussion about the light surrounding him and it was very unrealistic how easily Megan believed everything he said and didn’t question his sanity or hers. Their discussion was a relaxed one, as if it were no surprise that he was an angel and she happened to have special powers. Secondly, all the talk about dark forces and angels of light was very vague and Megan didn’t seem at all curious to know more or to know why she’d been granted the power to see these dark angels.

Secondly, I found it a little ridiculous that Megan would see a dark angel influencing two little boys to plot mischief and then decide to go over and warn them against whatever childish mischief they may have been plotting. Little boys make mischief- that’s what they do. I don’t think it warranted such seriousness.

I thought Megan’s and Seth’s relationship was sweet, innocent and quite adorable. Robbie, Seth’s friend, was such a charming prankster (he reminded me a little of Robbie, aka Robin Goodfellow aka Puck, from Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series) and I found him quite entertaining. The mornings when the counsellors met for breakfast and the evening bonfires provided a feeling of warmth and cosiness to the story. It was funny how everyone seemed to be aware of Megan’s and Seth’s relationship, but they were still forced to act like they weren’t more than friends. There was one thing that got to me, though. There was this scene in which Seth sat down to have his breakfast of six doughnuts and a can of soda (strangely, that stuck in my mind because I can’t imagine the sugar high that must cause) and I found it a little unbelievable that he’d say a little prayer before consuming his six doughnuts and a coke, all while sitting next to his girlfriend in a room full of student counsellors. That just seemed odd and out of place. I can’t imagine any teenage boy, no matter how religious, doing that in front of his girlfriend. That’s where the preachy bit comes in.

While I understand the inclusion of passages from the scriptures to explain situations and illustrate points, I just didn’t like the obvious way in which modern-day parallels were drawn to biblical references. I feel that it could have been handled with more subtlety and finesse because there were times when Mr. Z was talking to Megan and it felt like a parent telling bedtime bible stories to a child. By the way, speaking of Mr. Z- him being a camp counsellor known as Mr. Z reminded me of Mr. D in the Percy Jackson series.

I found that things did pick up later in the book when Megan went back home and met Johnny (an angel) at her high school and found an enemy in Judas/Jude, a bad boy transfer student who was leading Megan’s fellow students astray. It was very strange how a Goth chick and non-believer suddenly became a believing Christian and Megan’s closest friend after witnessing Judas’ evil in convincing her friend to commit suicide. As I said, there were just too many things that stood out for me while reading this book and my intention is not to unduly pick apart and criticise this book, but these were just a few mental notes I made as I read along, which I felt that I could not ignore. Overall, I didn’t enjoy this novel despite its well-meaning message but I hope that the next instalment in this series will not fall into the same traps as this one has fallen into and that it will be an improvement on this one.

Review: The Wedding Gift by Kathleen McKenna

Title: The Wedding Gift

Author: Kathleen McKenna

Format: Kindle Edition

Pages: Unspecified

Challenge: Why Buy The Cow? Reading Challenge

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"It is a spine-electrifying supernatural tale where a huge Southern States mansion contains one of the most terrifying, violent and indeed psychopathic ghosts to haunt any town. It is also a murder mystery - why did Robina Willets apparently kill all five of her young children, and her husband, before stabbing herself to death? And, if you are in the camp of believing that 'justice .... just is not', then this will have you frothing at the mouth with righteous social fury. Add to that the vision of two exceptionally beautiful girls lying on a landing stage in the middle of a secluded lake, sleeping naked in the sun .... .... and then see if you can find any consecutive ten minutes in this book when you don't at least snicker at the heroine Leeann's sly, caustic, sometimes-knowing sometimes 'too stupid to live' commentary."

My Thoughts:

I'd read a few positive reviews for this book and even heard that it was picked up for movie production, so when I saw it available for Free Download at Amazon's Kindle Store, I was excited to finally read it. In this book, the narrator and main character, Leann, tells us her story through her diary entries. We learn that she comes from a small town, Dalton, and is a local beauty queen who has been winning contests from a young age. She comes from a good Christian home and has one sibling, an older brother. Before she was born, their eldest brother died while trespassing on private property owned by the richest family in Dalton, the Willets. Ever since the murder of the Willets family’s elder son, Roger and his children at the hands of his wife, Robina, (who also took her own life in the incident) the locals believe that the house has been haunted. Over the years, the house became the source of many Halloween pranks for teenagers seeking a little excitement. Leann’s brother was one such teenager who decided to break into the house out of curiosity and to showcase his bravery in doing so. However, something went wrong that night and he and his friend, Donny, were found by the police lying in the mansion’s empty pool, having fallen from a great height and sustaining serious injuries. While Donny survives and is eventually released from hospital, Leann’s brother Charlie does not make it. After that night, Donny refuses to talk about what happened, readily going along with the Sheriff’s explanation for the events of that night. However, many years later, when Leann ends up pregnant with the child of George Willets, the murdered Roger Willets’ nephew, and moves into the long abandoned Willets mansion as his wife, Donny feels he needs to speak up and warn her.

Having loved Donny for most of her life while being regarded by him as a little sister, Leann never expected Donny to show up at her house after marriage. Despite marrying George, she doesn’t love him and Donny’s not too happy with his wife either. They soon realise that they actually love each other and Donny is afraid for Leann’s safety in that house. After witnessing a few strange occurrences in the mansion herself, Leann becomes determined to find a way to put an end to all of it by finding out the truth about what happened the night of the Willets’ family massacre. She is lucky to have the unflagging support of her best friend, Jessie, and the love of her life, Donny. Surprisingly, the people one would expect to have supported her most- her husband and parents- are the ones who don’t even believe her. However, another murder occurs in the mansion soon after Leann moves in and she is placed under suspicion. So, with the help of Donny, Jessie and Mark , Leann sets out to clear her name and uncover the secret behind what happened in the mansion many years before.

Firstly, let me just say that I was happy for Leann and Donny when they finally realised that their attraction was mutual and that they’d been foolish to resist each other all those years. I just didn’t like the way they chose to be together- by cheating on their spouses. I thought Donny was an admirable character for being married to a “junkie whore” and sticking with her for so long. It really bothered me how casually George’s drug problem was accepted by Leann and I found myself disgusted with how easily she was able to manipulate him. Leann was a pathetic character who I had very little respect for. She was pretty, dumb, vain, self-centred, manipulative and a heartless gold-digger. There was also this annoying tendency to repeat senseless statements like “get killed dead and then murdered”. While the statement may be unique to the setting, I just felt that it was overused.

While I understand that George was ugly and unremarkable and Leann thought she was too good for him, I don’t think he deserved what he got. I loved Jessie with her snarky personality and great sense of humour. I admired how loyal she was to Leann. Mark was sweet for putting up with Jessie’s bossiness and still adoring her. Leann’s dad was rather funny and a little adorable, even if he was a drunk. Leann’s mum was a little too perfect to believe, with her firm religious faith and her claims that she never hated anyone in her life. I felt that there was not enough of Leann’s mother-in-law in the book except for the beginning, where we only have Leann’s descriptions of her to go on. It’s possible the lack of information is due to the novel being written from Leann’s point of view and Leann not wanting to discuss her mother-in-law, but it seemed to me that Leann had very little to complain about since her mother-in-law seemed to keep out of her life completely after marriage. However, given the role played by her mother-in-law towards the end, I expected her to appear more often throughout the novel. Overall, this was an okay read. The only gripping part was when the mystery was unveiled, but other than that, it made for predictable light reading.

Review: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay

Series: The Hunger Games (Book 3)

Author: Suzanne Collins

Format: ebook

Pages: 293 pages

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Kattnis, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding."

My Thoughts:

I thought that this final book in the trilogy was sad yet beautiful. It was sad for me due to certain events in the latter half of the book- there was a lot of damage and destruction and no one emerged unscathed. However, they each had to pick up the broken pieces of their lives and move forward. I thought the ending was beautiful.

This book highlighted important issues like PTSD, greed and the corrupting influence of power. It showed how easily power changed people and could turn the oppressed into oppressors. There were new alliances formed in this book. Katniss felt very lonely for most of the book although she had Gale, Finnick, Haymitch, Boggs (her bodyguard in 13) and even her stylists and camera crew on her side. Much of her loneliness, I believe, stemmed from not having Peeta by her side. Katniss found that she couldn’t really trust the people at the helm of the resistance effort (people such as President Coin, Plutarch and Flavia) adding to her uncertainty and stress in the midst of the turmoil facing the country.

This final instalment in the series was action-packed with a lot of battle scenes and more political power play than in the previous two books. After all the battering that Katniss has taken throughout the series, it never ceases to amaze me how she manages to stay alive and maintain her sanity. Sadly, all the upheaval meant that there was very little romance throughout the book and the changes we witnessed in Peeta just made me sad and very angry that the Capitol was able to taint such a noble soul. Despite knowing how this series ends, I find myself excited for the release of the movie in March and look forward to seeing the excitement of The Hunger Games brought to life.

Review: Text Order Bride by Kirsten Osbourne

Title: Text Order Bride

Author: Kirsten Osbourne

Format: Kindle Edition

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"In this short story, Amanda, a home making teacher from Texas, believes that love has passed her by. She agrees to start communicating with someone her friend knows in Wisconsin, because she wants children, not because she believes that there is love out there waiting for her.

When, after two months of communicating, Jason proposes, she agrees, thinking it is her last chance for a husband and children. Love doesn't enter into it. After she meets Jason, she isn't so sure about that part of things."

My Thoughts:

This was a short, sweet, old-fashioned romance that took me out of my reading slump and reminded me why it is that I favoured the romance genre so heavily in my teens. There's something about a marriage of convenience and the slow falling-in-love that comes with a mature relationship based on mutual respect and admiration that gets me every time.

While Kirsten's beginnings as a writer show in the sometimes awkward dialogue and prose, characterised by repetitive descriptions and use of the same phrasing in consecutive sentences, as well as excessive descriptions of the main character's thoughts that could have been more subtly woven into the story (I believe), I can't deny that the story gripped me and had me experiencing some of the nervous excitement and downright giddiness of a new bride who's found herself married to a complete stranger.

I think this book makes for a sweet, romantic read that will leave the reader with a case of the warm fuzzies and a whole-hearted belief that it's never too late to find true love.

If you would like to read this short story (and I suggest you do) it is currently available for FREE at Amazon.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY

P.S. I'm not sure how much longer this offer will last, so you'd better hurry and grab it now!

Review: Winter's Passage (Iron Fey #1.5) by Julie Kagawa

Title: Winter's Passage

Author: Julie Kagawa

Format: ebook

Pages: 59
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl...until she discovered that she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck--Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon--who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.

Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter--a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat....

An eBook exclusive story from Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series.

Prince Ash is escorting Meghan Chase, the girl he loves (who is also a half-faery princess and daughter of the Summer King, Oberon) to the Winter Court at Tir Na Nog as promised to Queen Mab. Meghan has to go with him to fulfil her end of the bargain since he helped her retrieve her kidnapped little brother and return him safely home. However, she wants to stop off and check in on her injured friend Robin Goodfellow (aka Puck). On their way, they realise they’re being followed. They manage to shake off their follower for a while and reunite with the faery cat, Grimalkin, while visiting with Puck. They soon set off again with Grimalkin in tow but come upon their predator once again and are forced into a confrontation. When all is said and done, they finally reach the Winter Court and Meghan is unsure about whether she can still trust that Ash’s feelings for her are true, as he distances himself from her once at Court, and whether she can count on him to be there for her while she’s held captive there.

This icy little snippet of what to expect in the second book of the Iron Fey trilogy certainly whet my appetite. Before starting this series, I was so sure I’d be Team Puck (I love my underdogs!). Besides, Puck was my favourite character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Then along came Prince Ash and, along with Meghan’s, he stole my heart. There’s something about his icy demeanour and internal struggle over his feelings for Meghan that just makes my heart melt every time he’s around Meghan. I expect that’s how most Team Ash supporters feel about this fierce and noble prince. I look forward to seeing what happens in The Iron Daughter.




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Review: I Loved You First by Reena Jacobs

Title: I Loved You First

Author: Reena Jacobs

Format: Paperback

Pages: 212 pages

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"My best friend was more than just a best friend to me. Three words summed it up: I heart him. I’d never tell him though. I wasn’t stupid. Besides, what he’d told no one, but me, was a little something I wished I could forget… or ignore. He was gay. I guess gay wouldn’t be bad if I wasn’t so in love with him. Now it was just cruel.

Stereotypes run amok in this college love story: Parties, alcohol, hookups, and breakups. Alexandria Carmichael may find it a bit much as she deals with the unreturned love from the boy who completes her. When all is revealed, not only does she risk losing her best friend forever, but also herself. Without her childhood companion for support, Alexandria takes a journey of self-discovery but fears what she’ll find at the end."

My Review:

Alex and Seth have been best friends since primary school, when Alex saved Seth from being bullied. Ever since then, Alex has been Seth’s shadow and sidekick, fighting his battles for him and being his rock of support. All that while, Alex has silently yearned for Seth’s attention and love- as more than a friend. Unfortunately, Seth has confessed to Alex that he is gay. So, she sits silently by while he parades girl after girl before her to maintain his popular image and not let anyone know that he’s gay. Being a player on the university’s baseball team, and possessing extremely good looks, makes Seth quite a catch and very popular. He cannot risk losing face before his teammates and fellow students. So, Alex doesn’t say a word about it and doesn’t push him to come out of the closet. What she does try to make him do, is use her as his fake girlfriend so that it could serve them both- her by being able to be physically intimate with him (even if it’s just an act) and him by appearing to be straight. Of course, Alex doesn’t know for sure that Seth is entirely unaware of her attraction to him. That’s something I found a little frustrating- although Seth hinted that he knew of Alex’s feelings for him, they never just brought it out into the open and discussed it.

After Seth exposes his attraction to a jock friend at a campus party, he is beaten and rushed to hospital. After this unintended falling out of the closet, Seth is no longer himself and distances himself from Alex. Alex is left all alone without her best friend as he had formed the centre of her existence for as long as she can remember. However, she has an opportunity to broaden her horizons and make new friends when Dink arrives. Dink is the friend of Bruce, the jock Seth had a crush on and Dink had invited Alex to the party at his fraternity house. So when Seth needs to be rushed to the hospital, Dink steps in and takes charge, sitting through the ordeal with Alex. I thought Dink was so sweet and, although Alex tried to give him a chance by going out with him, I hated that she judged him by the way he ate and how big he was compared to her. All of that just seemed so petty next to his nicenesss. But I guess when you’re in love with someone else for most of your life, even sweeties like Dink aren’t good enough. Based on the descriptions of Dink in this book and the fact that he belonged to a fraternity, I imagined Dink looking a little like Beaver from the TV series, Greek.

Beaver from "Greek"

Another person who entered the picture and provided an opportunity for Alex to expand her social circle and get over Seth was Trinity, a friendly new girl on campus who instantly made Alex feel comfortable about an embarrassing experience in a previous lecture and soon became her pillar of strength. Trinity’ss character reminded me a little of Maya in Pretty Little Liars.

Maya from "Pretty Little Liars"

This book evoked a myriad of emotions for various reasons. My heart broke for Alex because she loved her childhood best friend who had grown up into quite a hunk. Unfortunately, she was left yearning for his attention as he used other girls to keep up the act and hide his secret. Of course, once the truth accidently slipped out, he was beaten for it and treated in a vastly different manner by people who had claimed to be his friends. Throughout it all, Alex remained his unfailing supporter but when he withdrew within himself and cut her off, she realised that she needed to stop living for him but start living for herself, by first starting to love herself. It was a simple, sweet message conveyed in this book and I’d definitely recommend that others pick it up in order to understand the social challenges faced by many of today’s youth who find themselves in similar situations.


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Review: The Initiation (The Secret Circle #1) by L.J. Smith

Title: The Initiation

Author: L.J. Smith

Format: Paperback

Pages: 320 pages

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Blurb (from Goodreads):

The Circle's Power has Lured Her Home...

Cassie must confront a shattering challenge: an ordeal that could cost her life or gain her more than she's ever imagined...

Charmed by the Secret Circle, she's initiated into the mysterious "in crowd," a coven of young witches whose power has controlled New Salem for three hundred years.

Hopelessly in love with the coven leader's boyfriend, Cassie risks falling prey to dark powers in order to have him. But if she does, her endless love could destroy the coven, New Salem, and her!

...And She Will Emerge the Leader or Perish!

This was a fairly short read. After reading LJ Smith’s The Vampire Diaries series in preparation for viewing The CW TV series, I was a little hesitant to pick up this series after being left very disappointed with The Vampire Diaries. However, I do not like watching a new book-to-series TV show without being familiar with the characters, their backgrounds and situations beforehand, so I felt the need to pick up this series before watching The CW show based on this book. I’m sorry to say that this book didn’t exactly impress me either. I didn’t want to have to read the whole series before watching the TV show, so I started my viewing as soon as I was done with this book and I have to say that (as with The Vampire Diaries) I much prefer The CW ‘s take on this series.



There were noticeable differences between this book and the TV show, like the absence of a few members of the circle. The TV show only has 6 members, while the book has 10. Characters such as Sean, Melanie, Deborah, Susan and Laurel were left out in the TV show, while Nick, Adam, Diana, Faye, Cassie (of course!) were retained with anew character being added in the form of Melissa. Cassie’s mum also dies in the very first episode, while she’s alive (if a little unwell) throughout the first book. Oh! And Cassie’s grandma doesn’t look like the warty, bent old hag she’s described as in the books. She’s a beautiful, warm, gracious and supportive character in the TV show. I’m glad they portrayed her in a much better light in the TV show.

Unlike the book, Cassie doesn’t mysteriously meet Adam at a beach in another beachside town while on holiday. She doesn’t have to save him from her obnoxious friend’s brothers by lying for him and she’s certainly not handed a piece of chalcedony for good luck and for summoning him in times of need. More importantly, he doesn’t mysteriously kiss her wrist and a lightning-like silver cord doesn’t connect their two hearts as in the book *rolls eye*. I found all of that a little too dramatic!



I also found it creepy the way Cassie seemed to be obsessed with golden-haired, angelic Diana who she trailed like a lost puppy and then betrayed by kissing her boyfriend- Adam! *gasp* Okay, you can see where I’m going with this. I can’t help but compare the book with the TV series, as the TV series just poses a much more relatable and realistic image of teenagers’ lives in a small town like that. Maybe it’s because this book was written a long time ago and teenagers were different then (or maybe I’m just making excuses and the author was way off the mark in portraying teenagers then). There were quite a few differences between this book and the TV show and I preferred the TV show’s portrayal of life in this quaint little town.



Note: Even the name of the town has been changed from New Salem *rolls eyes* to Chance Harbour. Okay, so my eyes are starting to spin out of control here, so I’m just going to say that this book didn’t really appeal to me and I don’t look forward to reading the next two books in this series (even though I know I most probably will- because I’m obsessive about finishing series and these are short reads and I can’t help but give these books another chance). So, you can expect two more eye-rolling reviews ahead.




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Review: Human Blend by Lori Pescatore

Title: Human Blend

Author: Lori Pescatore

Format: Paperback

Pages: 234 pages

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"Marion, Virginia seemed like a nice place to live a normal life, but she is not a normal girl. Laney has special abilities that keep her looking over her shoulder as she makes her escape from the men who had kidnapped her. A young doctor's interest is piqued when he witnesses her mysteriously curing a young child's illness. He befriends her due to his growing fascination with uncovering the true nature of her abilities, but not without harboring secrets of his own. Laney's budding relationship with a local boy puts both of them in danger when the men she was hiding from find her. All of their lives will change forever as ancient secrets become unearthed. "

My Review:

Julie Miller’s got a secret and she’s on the run. After years spent being held captive and exploited by a bunch of bad guys, she has escaped and changed her name from Laney to Julie in order to avoid detection in any of the towns she passes through while on the run. She eventually ends up in the little town of Marion, the home of Mountain Dew. As soon as she enters town, she visits a market place to have lunch and is approached by a handsome teenager named Austin.


Although she does not want to involve anyone else in her problems by getting into a relationship, she can’t deny the attraction she feels for Austin. She soon finds herself spending more and more time with him and they fall in love. In the meantime, Julie’s checked out the local hospital to sign on as a volunteer. If she’s happy with the hospital, she just might stay. It turns out the hospital is as great as she’d hoped and so she goes looking for a place to stay. Enter Dr. Elsworth- aka Eli- the hunky doctor with a secret of his own.


Eli and Julie have an almost magnetic attraction and he feels strangely protective over her. When he witnesses her cure a little boy with her touch, he is fascinated and curious about her gift. Julie finds that he is too persistent in his inquiries and soon has to confide in him. Wanting to keep her close, Eli sets her up to view an apartment in a building he happens to own and they both become neighbours. Even though he’s aware that she’s in a relationship with Austin, he can’t help but resent their intimacy. Nevertheless, he has his precious hours working side by side with Julie at the hospital each day and gains satisfaction in their short time spent together.


Soon, another doctor joins the staff- he also has a secret. Dr. Marcus Samson is a devilishly handsome, incorrigible flirt who tries to get into Julie’s panties the first day at work. That’s before he finds out whose girlfriend she is and exactly what she is. That doesn’t stop him, though, and all this Greys-Anatomy-like drama makes for some interesting entertainment on the side. When all seems to be going well for them and Julie is almost assured of having finally evaded her pursuers and actually having a chance at a normal life, her past finally catches up with her and her one chance at happiness is threatened, along with the lives of those she cares about. What follows, is an action-packed series of events with some very interesting new characters introduced and a lot more background filled in for the reader to enjoy and, ultimately, anticipate the next book in the series- Earth Blend. Bring it on!


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Review: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Title: Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen

Format: Kindle Edition

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited, while he struggles to remain indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life."

My Review:

This was one of those books I'd meant to read for a long, long time and when I'd eventually gotten down to reading it- found that I had no inclination to finish it. I finally decided to pick it up again as part of the South African Book Lovers' Book Hoarders Reading Challenge on Goodreads and I'm really glad I did.

Firstly, I would like to place on record the fact that the main objection I have to reading classics (especially Jane Austen novels) is the flowery language, complex sentence construction and the sheer wordiness of it all. Although this continued to frustrate me as I read on, I found that having recently watched the movie with Keira Knightley and Colin Firth playing the leading role while I was halfway through this book helped significantly speed things up for me and clear any misinterpretation of said flowery language, etc. I feel that watching the movie helped me gain a greater appreciation of the book but I think that even if I had not watched the movie, I would've still loved the book. Maybe it's because I've grown to identify so much with Elizabeth Bennett's character that I so thoroughly enjoyed this book- especially towards the end. Someone recently told me that my life reminds them of a Jane Austen novel- particularly, Pride and Prejudice- and that I could be best described as a cross between Elizabeth Bennett and Jo from Little Women(not sure who that is, but will find out soon as that's next on my to-read list).

My favourite scene in both the book and the movie has to be the one in which Elizabeth's father calls her into the library after Darcy asks him for Elizabeth's hand in marriage. I suppose it's because I'm a daddy's girl- but I totally teared up at that part while watching the movie and almost teared up again when reading the scene in the book.

There are so many memorable quotes I'd like to add here, but I'm actually quite lazy to look them up right now. I'll probably revisit this review again and, hopefully, will then add my quotes. For now, I'd just like to express how much I've enjoyed this book and how glad I am that I gave it a second chance.

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Review: Always and Forever by Cathy Kelly

Title: Always and Forever

Author: Cathy Kelly

Format: Paperback

Pages: 600 pages

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb (taken from Goodreads):

"When the going gets tough.....
In the Irish town of Carrickwell, with its lush, endlessly rolling hills and authentic country tranquility, three women's lives are anything but calm. There's Mel, a compulsively ambitious mother/publicity manager at a high-powered PR firm -- living proof that balancing motherhood and a full-time job is no walk in the park. The hot-headed, indomitable Cleo, just out of college with a degree in hotel management, would like nothing better than to modernize and revive her family's dwindling hotel -- but faces a constant battle with her old-fashioned parents. And finally, there's the stylish, sweet-tempered Daisy, a self-consciously curvy fashion buyer for an upscale clothing boutique, who has been struggling -- and longing -- to have a baby with her absolutely perfect boyfriend. Although unconnected, these three women have one thing in common: they all need a break from their stressful lives.

These tough gals hit the nearest spa!

So each one sets out for a little R & R at the new Clouds Hill spa, built by an American woman with her own secret turmoil. It is there that Mel, Cleo, and Daisy meet -- their worlds and troubles colliding -- forming an intimate bond that helps them to realize what matters most in life, always and forever."

My Review:

I wouldn't normally so thoroughly enjoy a chick-lit novel and, now that I think about it, the storyline was rather predictable but maybe it's due to my utter, irrevocable and foolish love for novels, movies or anything else set in Ireland (a country that I know very little about, but the aesthetic appeal of which continues to draw my hungry gaze)that I was so drawn into the lives of these women. Strangely, I've realised that part of the reason for my lack of knowledge and inability to sympathise with and understand the daily hassles of the contemporary woman is due to the fact that I've never read a good work of chick-lit. I've always felt somewhat alienated from the rest of contemporary womankind and never felt that there were women out there who thought the same thoughts I did or shared the same fears I do, but by delving into the lives of these three strong and yet strangely fragile women, I have discovered a part of myself in each of these three characters.

Of course, being young and single, the character I found I was able to relate to the most was Cleo, fresh out of college with a degree in Hotel Management and out to conquer the world by creating her own hotel empire but first set on helping her parents renovate and raise the standards at their family hotel, The Willow, in their little hometown in Carrickwell. Ofcourse, all does not go as planned, with The Willow eventually being sold to pay off debts to the bank and Cleo going off in a huff after a huge family row over Cleo's not receiving her due recognition and respect and still being treated like a child by her family and her two elder brothers, who could not care less about the hotel, being included in all important decision-making. Her intelligence, creativity, vibrancy, energy and short temper are characteristics that resonated within me. Her close and conflicted relationship with her parents and deep respect for her father are feelings I can all too clearly identify with. Her fiery and independent nature that does not allow even a powerful and demanding character like Tyler Roth to have his way, is what I found most admirable.

Then there's Mel, the hot-shot career woman trying to juggle motherhood and a career while battling tremendous guilt over neglecting her children. Mel's character and her life initially represented all my hopes and greatest fears for the future. I think at some point every women realises that she can't have it all, but many of us spend most of our lives trying so hard to ignore that fact or to prove it wrong that by the time we decide to stop fighting it and adapt to life's circumstances by striking a compromise, we realise just how much of valuable time and energy was lost in the battle. I was really glad to see everything work out for Mel, but could see how easily Mel's life could have taken the route of Caroline's if her husband hadn't been as understanding and supportive of her decision to give up her career to stay at home with the children.

And ofcourse, there was Daisy (Denise), the once overweight Agorophobic teenager with severe abandonment issues who only attaches any worth or value to her life if she has her man, Alex, in it. Although her character initially disgusted me, as I got to understand the childhood issues she had to deal with, such as her cold and unaffectionate mother, I came to realise that just about any of us could have turned into a Daisy and gone through life disliking every aspect ourselves until some knight in shining armour came along to make us feel special and worthy of love.

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H. Blanchard

Title: Who Moved My Cheese?

Author: Dr. Spencer Johnson & Kenneth H. Blanchard

Format: Paperback

Pages: 98 pages

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"Written by Spencer Johnson, coauthor of The One Minute Manager, this enlightening and amusing story illustrates the vital importance of being able to deal with unexpected change. Who Moved My Cheese? is often distributed by managers to employees as a motivational tool, but the lessons it teaches can benefit literally anyone, young or old, rich or poor, looking for less stress and more success in every aspect of work and life."

My Thoughts:

"Wow!" That's all I was able to say once I was done with this book. Although a simple and straightforward parable that many could claim is based on common sense, I couldn't help but be 'wowed' by the simple lessons contained in this tale. The parable follows the adventures of four characters trapped in a maze. Two of these are mice named "Sniff" and "Scurry" and the other two are "Little People" who have the complex thought processes, beliefs and emotions of humans. These four characters represent the different parts of the mind and its thought processes, in order to illustrate the different ways we can react to change in our lives. While "Sniff", with his simpler thought processes, is able to monitor events and sniff out change so that he is prepared once change occurs and his cheese is moved, "Scurry" (with similar simplicity in the way his mind works) is the more action-orientated part of our minds that immediately scurries into action and doesn't waste time in moving on when the cheese is moved. However, "Hem" with his complex human-like thought processes refuses to move ahead but remains uselessly standing around complaining with an unwavering sense of entitlement about his cheese being moved, refusing to go out into the maze in search of new cheese but staying put and waiting for his old (and possibly mouldy) cheese to be placed back in its original place. His friend "Haw" sticks around complaining with him about their poor lot in life, until he realises the futility of their actions and that there is a possibility that new and even better cheese may be found if he could laugh at his own foolishness, overcome his fears and venture forth into the big, bad maze out there in the hope of securing new cheese for himself. The parable ends with Haw catching up to Sniff and Scurry who have found a huge pile of cheese and gorging himself on the cheese, while wondering if his friend Hem was able to overcome his foolish obstinacy and fears and ventured out into the maze or if he had remained hemmed in by his fears, grew weak with hunger and eventually died. Of the many useful lessons contained in the story, these are a few that will always stay with me: -You shouldn't take yourself too seriously. You are only able to initiate positive change when you can acknowledge and laugh at your own foolishness. -When you change your old and dysfunctional beliefs, you can finally change your behaviour for the better. -It is easy to fall into a depression and feel sorry for yourself when you're standing still and doing nothing. But, once you're on the move and are actively seeking solutions to your problems by throwing yourself back into the maze, you feel a sense of accomplishment. -It is often a fear of failure that holds us back in life and prevents us from seeing the potential positivity in change. -Going out into the maze again to look for cheese may be a long and difficult journey; we may feel disheartened and discouraged, but the important thing is learning the lessons that are taught to us along the way and noting them down for future reference so that even if we find our new cheese, we hold our lessons close to us in constant preparation for future change and moved cheese. A word of caution, however. The parable does not take into account the aspect of the divine, fate, or luck, as some would choose to call it. After reading this book, I immediately set out to let go of old cheese and move on to new cheese, but, as unlikely and impossible as it seemed to all those around me, my old cheese came back to me at a completely unexpected time and in an entirely unexpected way. Just when I'd lost hope of regaining my moved cheese, and was reeling from the shock of having it removed from right under my nose, 'voila!' and it magically reappeared through a fateful phone call I received just yesterday. However, the lesson has not been wasted on me and I will make sure to tie the laces of my trainers together and hang them around my neck (in the manner of Sniff and Scurry), in constant preparation for change.

Recommended for:

Anyone faced with change, in need of inspiration and self-help techniques or just interested in their personal development.

Review: [Refuge]e by Adnan Mahmutovic

Title: [Refuge]e

Author: Adnan Mahmutovic

Format: Paperback

Pages: 95 pages

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"After the Balkan war many Bosnian refugees ended up in Scandinavia. In [Refuge]e, we can eavesdrop on and witness the quirky characters that came out as the result of the war. Focusing on Bosnian women and their refusal to be victims, [Refuge]e gives us an insight into their mundane lives, small things with great meanings that make life worth living."

My Rating: 3/5

My Thoughts:

This book brought me just a little bit closer to understanding the plight of the Bosnian refugees and possibly even refugees the world over.

All I've ever heard about the war in Bosnia is based on newspaper and television accounts that appeared many, many years ago. However, one thing stood out clear for me and that is the fact that (as in all wars) it is the innocent people, the ones who are happy to just mind their own business and go on with their everyday lives, who suffer the most. As with the main character, Almasa, one day they have big happy families and the ordinary contentment of everyday life, and the next, they've been robbed of home and family and have had atrocious acts and various indignities performed upon their persons, only to eventually end up dead and in mass graves somewhere or have been miraculously "saved" (though who would want to really go on living after losing everything and suffering such indignities) and placed in refugee camps (but really spending most of their time travelling between these camps) and never really experiencing a sense of home anywhere.

It is a sad reality that we are exposed to in the reading of this book and Almasa's story is representative of hundreds, and possibly even thousands, of Bosnian women whose worlds have been turned upside down, who've had everything worth living for stripped away from them and who have to painfully gather themselves in the aftermath of destruction and trudge through the seemingly barren landscapes of their futures with the mantra that "time is the greatest healer" being repeated over and over again in the hope of shutting out the internal screams of agony that haunt them. For me, this book of less than a hundred pages spoke volumes.

Recommended for: Anyone with an interest in the Bosnian situation

Review: The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi

Title: The Mango Season

Author: Amulya Malladi

Format: Paperback

Pages: 229 pages

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"From the acclaimed author of A Breath of Fresh Air, this beautiful novel takes us to modern India during the height of the summer’s mango season. Heat, passion, and controversy explode as a woman is forced to decide between romance and tradition.

Every young Indian leaving the homeland for the United States is given the following orders by their parents: Don’t eat any cow (It’s still sacred!), don’t go out too much, save (and save, and save) your money, and most important, do not marry a foreigner. Priya Rao left India when she was twenty to study in the U.S., and she’s never been back. Now, seven years later, she’s out of excuses. She has to return and give her family the news: She’s engaged to Nick Collins, a kind, loving American man. It’s going to break their hearts.

Returning to India is an overwhelming experience for Priya. When she was growing up, summer was all about mangoes—ripe, sweet mangoes, bursting with juices that dripped down your chin, hands, and neck. But after years away, she sweats as if she’s never been through an Indian summer before. Everything looks dirtier than she remembered. And things that used to seem natural (a buffalo strolling down a newly laid asphalt road, for example) now feel totally chaotic.

But Priya’s relatives remain the same. Her mother and father insist that it’s time they arranged her marriage to a “nice Indian boy.” Her extended family talks of nothing but marriage—particularly the marriage of her uncle Anand, which still has them reeling. Not only did Anand marry a woman from another Indian state, but he also married for love. Happiness and love are not the point of her grandparents’ or her parents’ union. In her family’s rule book, duty is at the top of the list.

Just as Priya begins to feel she can’t possibly tell her family that she’s engaged to an American, a secret is revealed that leaves her stunned and off-balance. Now she is forced to choose between the love of her family and Nick, the love of her life.

As sharp and intoxicating as sugarcane juice bought fresh from a market cart, The Mango Season is a delightful trip into the heart and soul of both contemporary India and a woman on the edge of a profound life change."

My Thoughts:

Set in India. An American-returned Indian young lady who's come to tell her family about her American fiance. Really loved it! The ending packed quite a punch. Definitely worth a read...

A more detailed review:

This is the story of Priya Rao, a young woman who had left India at the age of twenty to study in America. Seven years later, she returns for a visit to discover that her parents are intent on arranging her marriage to a suitable Indian boy. Not just any Indian boy, but a Telegu-speaking Brahmin. She has arrived home in time for the harvesting of mangoes- the hottest time of the year, with days filled with ritual and ceremony.

As a child, she had loved this season best but, after years away, Priya finds the heat of an Indian summer unbearable and everything about India seems different- dirtier and more chaotic than she remembers. Her extended family are also consumed by talk of marriage- particularly the marriage of her uncle Anand, and his decision not only to marry for love but to marry a woman of a much lower caste. Priya can only guess at what reaction her own engagement would provoke if she were to reveal that she has left behind a fiancé in America; a fiancé of an entirely different race and religion...

This book was highly entertaining and provided a humorous outlook on Indian traditions, especially the bride-seeing ceremony. It is well-written and enjoyable, with popular Indian recipes included throughout. It is certainly worth reading.

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Book Review: Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Specials (Uglies #3)

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Series: Uglies

Format: ebook

Pages: 238 pages

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"Special Circumstances":

The words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor — frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary.

And now she's been turned into one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.

The strength, the speed, and the clarity and focus of her thinking feel better than anything Tally can remember. Most of the time. One tiny corner of her heart still remembers something more.

Still, it's easy to tune that out — until Tally's offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat, or carry out the mission she's programmed to complete. Either way, Tally's world will never be the same."

My Thoughts:

What a disappointment!

I expected so much more from Scott Westerfeld after reading about Tally's adventures in the first two books, but this installment in the series fell short in so many unexpected ways. I don't believe I've ever before been this disappointed by the turn a series has taken. While I've been willing to overlook certain flaws in the previous two books simply because the characters were so interesting, I found that Tally's whiny voice just got to me in this one.

The fact that she was a Cutter with heightened senses and amazing reflexes, who was programmed to find all normal pretties and uglies weak and repulsive (even the boy she loved!) and yet found herself following him to a new city just to protect him- all of this just didn't sit well with me. I thought that the plot had no clear direction in this book and I don't look forward to reading the fourth and last book- even though I know I will have to, simply because I've listed it down as part of a reading challenge for this year.


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Book Review: Murder in Italy by Candace Dempsey

Due to the release today of Amanda Knox, I decided to post up my review of a book I was lucky enough to read which details every aspect of her case and seeks to make the reader think critically about the events surrounding her conviction and sentencing.

Title: Murder in Italy: The Shocking Slaying of a British Student, the Accused American Girl, and an International Scandal

Author: Candace Dempsey

Format: Paperback

Pages: 352 pages

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"The real, the true, the definitive book on the Amanda Knox case. Best True Crime Book 2010 Editor's & Reader's Choice Awards. Library Journal Bestseller .

In Perugia, Italy, on November 2, 2007, police discovered the body of a British college student stabbed to death in her bedroom. The prosecutor alleged that the brutal murder had occurred during a drug-fueled sex game gone wrong. Her housemate, American honor student Amanda Knox, quickly became the prime suspect and soon found herself the star of a sensational international story, both vilified and eroticized by the tabloids and the Internet.

Award-winning journalist Candace Dempsey gives readers a front-row seat at the trial and reveals the real story behind the media frenzy."

My Thoughts:

I received this book from goodreads in a firstreads giveaway and I'm grateful to the author, Candace Dempsey, for hosting an international giveaway and to the goodreads team for providing me with the opportunity to enjoy such an engaging piece of work.

I have never before read a true crime novel and it never crossed my mind to actually ever try one, since I’m the type of reader who prefers to escape reality and enter exotic and fantastical worlds, far away from the harsh reality and nitty-gritty of life. I tend to ignore newspaper headlines and newspapers in general, but for some reason (perhaps the mention of my favourite social networking site- facebook), I sat up and paid attention when I came across the headline of an article about the murder of a British student in Italy. This tragic tale stayed with me and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I’d won a copy of a book based on the mysterious circumstances surrounding this case.

Throughout the reading of this book, I was struck by the injustice of it all. The harsh allegations made against American student Amanda Knox, who was the prime suspect and later went on to be sentenced for the murder of her roommate, were without sufficient evidence and I believe that her arrest and sentencing were as a result of prejudice (due to her nationality) and the need for a speedy conclusion to the case. Amanda’s bubbly, free-spirited and somewhat eccentric personality worked against her by serving to confirm suspicions held by authorities that she was unstable and capable of murder. While I have to admit that certain aspects of her behaviour may indicate an underlying layer of pathology, especially in a country where behaviour tends to lean towards the conservative, the fact that psychological assessments conducted on both Amanda and her boyfriend, the co-accused Raffaele Sollecito, did not come up with any results indicative of pathology serves to work against this theory. It is understandable, though, how Amanda could appear unstable after hearing accounts of an episode in a restaurant when she met her roommate’s British friends for the first time at a restaurant and randomly burst out singing at the table- an action which would create a lasting negative impression among the more reserved British students. However, it is quite obvious from descriptions of Amanda in the Italian media and from statements made by police officials, that she was often judged by her loud and assertive personality as they kept making mention of the fact that she would loudly complain of tiredness, hunger and thirst. One thing I found particularly irrelevant and confusing was why they would view Amanda’s and Raffaele’s lovebird-like behaviour with suspicion. They were often referred to as co-conspirators because they were always together and when one of them was called in for questioning, the other would naturally follow.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the quaint little hilltop town of Perugia with it's buzzing student life and party scene which provided an insider's view into the social customs and general attitude of Italians to foreigners. I particularly enjoyed getting to know each character involved in this case on a more personal level and found it funny how Raffaele was often described as an Italian Harry Potter. After viewing the photographs captured by the author of the accused and deceased as well as their families, I can see why Raffaele was described in that manner and why Amanda was described as having sweet, innocent features that could easily lead lower-ranking officers to lose objectivity in her presence. The fact that both Amanda and Raffaele could not accurately remember their alibis for the night of the murder due to drug use serves as a strong argument against the use of drugs and has taught Raffaele a lesson that will remain with him, I am sure, for the rest of his life. Reading about their time spent in isolation in prison made me imagine myself in their shoes and I realised the full import of the judgement that would be made.

I found it appalling how manipulative the wardens were by encouraging Amanda and Raffaele to keep journals in prison only to later turn around and use their written words against them. The pulling of information, pictures and videos off their facebook, myspace and blog pages to prove that they were capable of murder was one aspect of this tale that just scared the crap out of me. It shocked and disgusted me to see how the media twisted their words and used statements (even those made in e-mails, text messages and diary entries) as well as videos and pictures out of context and presented them as ‘evidence’. The fact that the public unquestioningly bought it all and were just relieved to return to a sense of safety angered me.

I believe that that Italian police made a hasty decision after coming under pressure to crack the case as soon as possible or risk being regarded as incompetent and that, in serving their own interests, they may have ruined innocent lives.

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What do YOU think?

Book Review: Desert Royal by Jean Sasson

Title: Desert Royal (Princess #2)

Author: Jean P. Sasson

Format: Paperback

Pages: 303 pages

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blurb (from Goodreads):

"Readers of Princess Sultana's bestselling memoir, Princess, were gripped by her revelations about life of unimaginable privilege and wealth inside the royal family of Saudi Arabia, as well as her powerful indictment of human rights abuses in her country against women of all social strata. In Desert Royal she continues her story, at a period of crisis in her own life and that of her family. The forced marriage of her niece to a cruel and depraved older man, and her discovery of the harem of sex slaves kept by a cousin, makes her more deterrmined than ever to fight the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia.

Princess Sultana's cause is given an extra sense of urgency against the background of increased dissent against the Al Sa'uds, and the looming spectre of Islamic fundamentalism. But an extended family 'camping' trip in the desert brings the luxury-loving Sultana and her relatives closer to their nomadic roots, and gives her the strength to carry on the fight for women's rights in all Muslim countries."

My Thoughts:

This is a tale of men with great wealth and power, whose morals have lowered to such an extent that they seek their pleasure at the expense of others. This is a tale of woman who, despite having the means to obtain almost anything they desire at any cost, cannot gain their ultimate desire: Freedom. This is a tale of oppression, in which women have no right to map out their own futures, but instead are married off as young girls to men twice their age and are treated with the utmost brutality. This novel unveils the ugly truths hidden beneath masks of greatness, wealth and power. This is reality...

This book is the third book in the Daughters of Arabia series, the first being the internationally-acclaimed book Princess, which provided a shocking expose on the lives of Saudi royalty by narrating the true-life account of Princess Sultana Al-Sa’ud as a young girl born into a life of wealth and privilege as a member of the Al-Sa’ud royal family. In this book, we are taken through Sultana’s life as a married woman with two daughters, Maha and Amani, and a husband she has grown to love (a rare occurrence in Saudi marriages since women are often forced to wed men who do not suit their tastes).

In this book, Sultana speaks of her despair and disillusionment in the face of helplessness when attempting to fight for the cause of Saudi women. After witnessing the marriage of her niece, Munira, to an evil and heartless older man, Sultana turns to alcohol in an attempt to drown her sorrow. She speaks of the many Saudi women within the royal family who abuse drugs to avoid facing the pitiful reality of their lives. We learn that men have more privileges than women and that it is not unusual for Saudi men to be unfaithful to their wives. We come across a cousin of Sultana’s who maintains a private harem of young girls ranging from eight years of age and we read of the brutal treatment inflicted on women and the injustices practiced in the name of religion, when in fact, most of these practices go against the teachings of Islam.

This book moved me to the depths of sorrow and the heights of fury. It was, nevertheless, interesting, informative and provided valuable insight into the lives of one of the richest families in the world. This book proves that wealth cannot provide happiness and after reading it, I am grateful for the fact that I live in a country that acknowledges women’s’ rights. I would not trade freedom for all the wealth the world has to offer. I would recommend this book to those who are able to read a book filled with tales of injustice and brutality without tearing it to shreds in a burst of fury.

This book rates 8/10.

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