Another Blogger problem... argh

Dear readers

My internet connection isn't working that well today...for more than an hour I've been trying to open some pages and it takes forever...I think I'll just try tomorrow or something...

But my biggest problem is, where is the reading list of the blogs I follow?????? Blogger says I don't have any blogs to follow and I am positive I did have several yesterday! Where have they gone to????

Has anyone had any issues with Blogger like this? Unbelievable.

Signed:

A mad blogger right now!

Edit: Apparently all the blogs in my reading list are back. I don't know if I should feel thankful or suspicious. Annoyed I certainly am.

Mary Ann Shaffer/Annie Barrows - The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society

" I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers." January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb....

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends--and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island--boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.
Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Comment: Some time ago, a group of people in one of the message boards I go to decided to do a joined read of this book because it had such great reviews. I decided to join in because I was very curious and a friend who shares some of my reading preferences also loved it. Based mostly on that recommendation I went for it.

This is a story told through letters the characters send each other. Juliet is an author who has had great success and recognition with a book about the war. Now she is concerned about what her next book should e about, after all the war is over, so while she informs her publisher about this she starts to receive letters from strangers in the island of Guernsey and as time ans letters go by, she makes friends and starts a story that is both simple and powerful.

This wasn't the first book I've read where the action is told by letters. I actually like this type of stories because they're different and allow a different way to see what is happening. Sometimes it is easier to read between the lines this way too.

Juliet is a successful author because of her humorous stories about the war. Now the war is over and she doesn't know what to do and fears her next book might not be so good. One day, by chance she gets a letter from a man in Guernsey because he found out her address and is interested in knowing more about a certain poet. From this moment on, we get ourselves immersed in the life in Guernsey and their experience with the Nazi occupation.

I found this book amazing. One if the best I've read this year. The pace is very slow as everything happens described in letters but what they contain...this is a heartfelt story about what the war was to those people, their fears and experiences and even the good laughs they got. Some parts were so sad. Even more so because I am positive they must have been the exact real experience of so many of those people. It makes me want to cry to think how so many people were humiliated and made ridiculous and hurt and killed because of such petty reasons. Stories about the Second Wold war always get to me, but most times in a good way, because the worst we could is to pretend it didn't happen. The authors have managed, though, to insert enough amounts of funny scenes and replies so the book isn't heavy. I'm not overreacting, the story is very balanced. The end is so beautiful too, I'm sure everyone who hasn't read it yet would love it! I can't explain how wonderful the book truly is.

The characters that write to Juliet are members of a literary society so part of the conversations are about books and what they like to read. I loved this part, it reminded me why there are so many different ways to look at a book and how special it can be for that person to read that book. It has amazingly beautiful sentences about the love for books and what it means. So many great scenes and passages to book lovers to look for... I especially liked two. One member once says his best friend mocked him for not reading the best books and how it was best to read than to play games and how sad and small that made him feel, that the friendship moments they shared were less than a book. Then the friend felt ashamed, he apologized and they went to play together a game. I thought t was such a good scene, how friendship matters and the best thing is to share your love about things with others not pushing them to enjoy what you like.

Another wonderful part was how a member described seeing the ocean with the love of his life with a Wordsworth's quote. For me, one of the most beautiful quotes in the whole book:

"The Gentleness of Heaven broods o'er the sea - Listen, the Mighty Being is awake."

The book is small but is full of poignant quotes and literary wonders. I really think any book lover would love to read this book. I still think of it and can't help myself but to read my favorite parts. It's a book written in a simple way, no flourishes or shiny words, just the simplicity of good characters and their passion.

I can't recommend it enough, please, please, go read it.

Elisabeth Naughton - Enraptured

Orpheus -- To most he's an enigma, a devil-may-care rogue who does whatever he pleases whenever he wants. Now this loose cannon is part of the Eternal Guardians -- elite warriors assigned to protect the human realm -- whether he likes it or not.

Orpheus has just one goal: to rescue his brother from the Underworld. He's not expecting a woman to get in the way. Especially not a Siren as gorgeous as Skyla. He has no idea she's an assassin sent by Zeus to seduce, entrap, and ultimately destroy him.

Yet Skyla herself might have the most to lose. There's a reason Orpheus feels so familiar to her, a reason her body seems to crave him. Perhaps he's not the man everyone thinks... The truth could reveal a deadly secret as old as the Eternal Guardians themselves. 

Comment: This is another installment on the Eternal Guardians series by Elisabeth Naughton. This time, it’s Orpheus’s story. He has been the guy in the sidelines, never belonging to anything, always suspected to being able to betrayal, but having to be dealt with because he is half brother to one of the Argonauts. In his book, we find out Orpheus is a lot more than we expected.

This story is about Orpheus and his sort of quest to help his half brother after the terrible thing that happened to him in the last book. Orpheus isn’t sure of much, but he knows Gryphon is the true hero and will do anything to make things right again.

Skyla is a Siren, a warrior from Athena’s military faction. She has a past she tried to put aside which is connected to Orpheus. She is led to believe Orpheus has something bad inside, his daemon side is the powerful one and she has to get something from him and kill him, before he gains more power. But after meeting each other things start to happen and Skyla finally realizes she has been a pawn and Orpheus isn’t who he used to be.

As far as a continuation of a series, this book is alright. I mean, it wasn’t the most amazing thing in the world, but the action moved a bit forward and we got to know more things about the people in there and even get clues about interesting and a bit mysterious things too.

So, it’s almost all good, and I enjoyed reading it. The romance also had some strong moments, but it wasn’t spectacular. Why? Because it was based on a kind of supposition, something that annoys me in books. They were a couple in the past, although none of them knew until they had sex and after that only Skyla remembered. It’s tricky to explain, but it certainly wasn’t the type of romance I think would be the best to Orpheus because his characters has been following a certain mode and I don’t think this romance suited him.

Orpheus has been characterized as a rebel, someone not caring when obviously we as readers knew there was something good about him. I thought he would be swept in love by someone and not put in the position of already having had a romance and now his new self not remembering a thing. How to explain without spoilers? He used to be someone and now he’s changed and I think this didn’t have to be, I wanted him to be his own person, which he ended up being, but the premise itself was a bit weird and I really thought it wasn’t the best. Although the author has stressed in the story how Skyla now loves the man Orpheus is and not what he used to be and that Orpheus knows this to, I think why all the trouble? It didn’t add that much conflict to the storyline so it could have been gone. Anyway, it happened and it’s done but I still think didn’t suit…

The action, like I said, moved along and offered many interesting scenes and details. I’m very curious to see how the new romance will happen, as I know who the next par will be. It was also funny to see the previous couples show up and participate in the story, it’s always good to see the characters from before don’t just disappear. We also have scenes with some more key characters, especially one of them whose story I can’t wait for and I know it will be the next one to be released.

This book was a god installment, but the romance could have been better in my opinion.

World Book Day

Happy World Book Day to book readers everywhere!!!!

Today is the annual book day. It's the day to celebrate and enjoy books!

Hope everyone can have a smile on their faces and a good book on their hands!

Ruth Rendell - An Unkindness of Ravens

Rodney Williams's disappearance seems typical to Chief Inspector Wexford -- a simple case of a man running off with a woman other than his wife.
But when another woman reports that her husband is missing, the case turns unpleasantly complex.
Are the two disappearances connected? In her inimitable, suspenseful way, Ruth Rendell has fashioned a terrific mystery that keeps you guessing till the final pages.

Comment: This title was one of the chosen ones by one of my book clubs. I had never read anything by the author and the only thing I knew is that she is British. I got my copy at the library because I wasn't convinced I could like it, so it was nice not to have spend money on it. I end up enjoying the read, but it didn't rock my world.

Let's see if I can summarize the plot, so, this all starts with one of the detective Wexford's neighbor missing. At first it was believed she had run away with another woman, leaving his wife and children. But as time went by, new clues would pop up and things weren't as simple as that and the missing neighbor's life wasn't as plain as people thought. He had a secret and from the moment we know that, it's almost like the rest of the domino pieces start tumbling down.

I wasn't very eager to start the book. But I was also curious why someone would have suggested it in the first place, so I decided to give it a try.

The book is a mystery, very much in the liens of Agatha Christie, but having now read the two of them, Agatha is far superior. The reader was told things in a very slow pace and usually after things happened, so there was no other option but wait to see what would happen.It doesn't mean it was a bad thing, it's clearly the author's style, nothing wrong with it, it's just something one can't help but notice.

the story has several elements, obviously from author's research, and quite interesting, like feminist societies, how to look for clues in different writing machines, and so on. It all made a very interesting book, offering quite the few ideas for thought. I think if an author can manage to insert some sort of cultural idea in the story so the reader can wonder about it, it's at least a good effort to make the book more readable. I certainly enjoyed it.

As far as the characters go, some of them were very interesting and provided some good scenes and thoughts. I was very curious over the whys of some of their actions. At some point I suspected one or two of them weren't as simple as they looked and I was proved right when I found out who the villains were. I think it's not such a surprise after some point because the clues become a little bit obvious. Not how but the who's, definitely so.

The book isn't very big. I managed to read it fast and I didn't finish sooner because of other things to do. This book apparently is the #13 in a series with that detective, but as fas as I could see, there's no connection between books, the series is a series only due to the presence of detective Wexford.  I was thinking, should I recommend this' If someone likes mystery books along the British style, then I guess so. Otherwise, I think apart from the solution, obviously right at the end, it can be a bit too slow...

Still, I'm glad I tried it because there's nothing better than to try for yourself to see if it works.

Nalini Singh - Archangel's Kiss

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find herself changed -- an angel with wings the colors of midnight and dawn -- but her fragile body needs time to heal before she can take flight. Her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel Raphael, is used to being in control -- especially when it comes to the woman he considers his own. But Elena has never done well with authority...
They've barely begun to understand each other when Raphael receives an invitation to a ball from the archangel Lijuan. To refuse would be a sign of fatal weakness, so Raphael must ready Elena for the flight to Beijing -- and to the nightmare that awaits them there. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan holds a power that lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena...

Comment: This is the second story in the Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh. After not being very impressed by the first book, I didn’t have many expectations about this one and to be honest I only decided to read it so I could get it over with. I must say we don’t always have the results we look for, because I liked this one quite a lot. 

In this second book, Elena wakes up after a year in a coma. Raphael changed her into an angel, the first ever, and now she has to learn to live with several new particularities, most of which her new wings. But while she’s learning to cope, someone else is using Elena to distract the archangels from a power struggle that might have unpredictable results…

I don’t have many good memories of the first book. I mean, the author’s writing is recognizable and I more than love her other series but Angel’s Blood didn’t captivate me that much, I thought there was too many alpha behavior going on. In this second book I felt this wasn’t the case, and there was more air time for feelings and reasons behind actions.

In this book Elena has to learn to deal with the changes in her life. It’s more physical, as she has to fight while learning to use her wings too, but there’s emotional differences as well. She still firmly believes she’s part of the Guild and she is constantly thinking about the day she has to let the ones she loves go, because they will be old and dying. This is an interesting topic but I hope the author doesn’t get to it all the time because it can be consuming. She also has having nightmares, more often each day, about the tragedy that destroyed her family and she fears it was all because of her. She had some closure about it in the book so I expect this subject to be over.

Raphael also showed some more human emotions although we still got to see other signs he’s didn’t change everything. I think, in a way, this is reassuring, because we got a character with certain traits and it would feel wrong to change him too much.

The both of them are dealing with the new challenges in their lives but they are in love and it’s beautiful.

We get to see many secondary characters, we see Elena interact with more warriors in the Seven, Raphael’s sort of personal guards, and we get to see a little detail here and there about them which is hopeful, I hope all of them get at least a novella size story. I know two of them got books, this is hopeful too.

In the end, the action was interesting, not too slow paced to be boring and not that fast to be redundant. I liked this one, it covered a whole new set o emotions. Besides, the world is set, so there wasn’t that feeling of trying to understand everything all the time.  I hope the next one is in the same lines as this one, meaning, more than interesting.

Song #8

This is  a cover David Fonseca, Portuguese singer, has done of "rocket man" by Elton John. I kind of like the slight modern touch. I hope you like it too...

TBR Challenge: Miranda Neville - The Wild Marquis

The Marquis of Chase is not a reputable man. He is notorious for his wretched morals and is never received in respectable houses. The ladies of the ton would never allow him in their drawing rooms ... though they were more than willing to welcome him into their bedchambers.
Ejected from his father's house at the age of sixteen, he now lives a life of wanton pleasure. So what could the Marquis of Chase possibly want with Juliana Merton, a lovely, perfectly upstanding shopkeeper with a mysterious past?
A moment's indiscretion?
A night's passion?
Or a lifetime of love?
Even the wildest rakes have their weaknesses...

Comment:  It’s time for another TBR challenge post. This month the theme is new to you author, and as I like to follow the scheduled themes, I chose a book by an author I haven’t tried before. This book has been in my pile for I don’t know how long, but I’m positive it was somewhere last year, minimum. I got it after knowing the heroine was bookish and wasn’t considered that interesting but I didn’t read any other reviews, so in a way I went to this reading almost blind.

This story starts with the marquis of Chase looking for mrs Merton, the owner of a bookshop, in order to have help in upcoming auctions to purchase a book very important to him. Knowing the owner of the bookshop is a woman was a surprise but he didn’t mind that, and expected her help. They started a relationship soon after, despite issues to settle in both of them and past experiences. Chase has a very rakish reputation and isn’t taken seriously by other book collectors, but after some time he gets very involved in the world of books and even helps mrs Merton discover her true heritage, while changing his ways to become a better man.

I don’t think I liked this book that much. I mean, it has some points that are compelling, but I found myself not very fascinated with the story of the character’s traits. It’s not that the story is boring, although it had some moments where I wasn’t very interesting in reading, but I feel the bigger issue I had was the writing itself. It was obvious the author has done a lot of research and even used her experience working in Sotheby’s to build her story, but in general I didn’t feel it was that well done. I mean, of course she writes better than, say…me!, but for me her style wasn’t very appealing. I’ve read several other authors very similar, but I don’t know, her narrative just wasn’t very dazzling and I never got that feeling that I just had to read one more page. I put the book down easily when I had to and didn’t feel itchy to get back to it. I don’t know about you, but if a book makes me want to forget everything else so I can read more is always a winner for me! This, unfortunately, wasn’t one of those.

The characters have their strengths and weaknesses of course. Chase is known for being a rake that even his father expelled him from the house when he was 16. Throughout the book we know why and I have to admit, it was a original enough plot line that I found wouldn’t be that unbelievable, after all, we know it’s hard to apologize, to try to make things better and we let time pass because we don’t know how to work things out and in this case Chase didn’t want to make things worse so he led everyone to believe he didn’t mind what happened to him before. The way he found some closure was human and true, so no concerns on that field.

Juliana, mrs Merton, also had some baggage to solve from her past and I found her troubles a bit more uninteresting, but in the rules of a good romance, Chase helps her and they get their HEA.

While they both had good points apart, together not so much. I don’t think their story was very romantic; there wasn’t that intensity I expected in two people falling in love. As they didn’t know each other, there wasn’t the simplicity of already knowing someone for a long time either. Another person that read this book along with me has said that they lacked chemistry and I agree, sure they can be in love from a certain point on, but it’s not obvious and although that idea having merit, according to their behavior and conversations, it should be, so I think it really lacked romance. What a pity.

I guess I’m being a bit hard on this book, but not even the talk about books and all those interesting things saved the lack of romantic gestures, even when they were meant to be. This is a truly just OK story for me.

Now, there are some secondary characters that seemed intriguing but I wasn’t really interesting in reading their stories…but I’ve read some reviews about the next book and it sounds something I would like to try but the writing puts me off… has anyone read it, what can you say about it?

So, this book was OK, it had an interesting but not very developed storyline despite its promising mystery and details. Overall, a good enough effort, but it lacked several things to make me more than just satisfied with it.

Anne Bishop - Sebastian

Long ago, Ephemera was split into a dizzying number of magical lands-connected only by bridges that may take you where you truly belong, rather than where you had intended to go. In one such land, where night reigns and demons dwell, the half-incubus Sebastian revels in dark delights. But in dreams she calls to him: a woman who wants only to be safe and loved-a woman he hungers for while knowing he may destroy her.And an even more devastating destiny awaits him, for an ancient evil is stirring-and Sebastian's realm may be the first to fall.

Comment: I’ve had this book to read for a long time, since 2009 actually. I really need to get going with my TBR pile.

I delayed the reading of this one because I like to space the reading of books by the same author that aren’t in the same series, just another tactic to not mix worlds together.

Sebastian lives in Ephemera, a place where the world exists as created places come out of the power of talented women. Then, talented man create the bridges, which can be stable or moody, to connect all the places. One day, a young apprentice unleashed the trapped evil and from that moment on, freedom starts to disappear and the only hope is with Belladona, the most powerful of them all.

First of all, I’ve read this book translated. I got it a long time ago, in a book fair and I couldn’t wait to get it, although, obviously, I didn’t get to it at the time. I have to confess, these days, I read a lot more in English. Not only it’s cheaper but the words flow better. This is awkward saying as I’ve studied translation studies and I know the importance of them to the culture and the possibility to people who don’t understand foreign languages. I should advocate more nicely reading in Portuguese, but the truth is, lately, I find reading certain books in Portuguese too awkward because I can’t stop thinking how weird some things get, as I know them in the original. The same doesn’t happen when I read classics, for instance. I assume it’s the language factor, but with other works, it feels wrong to read some things in Portuguese, it sounds translated, and it shouldn’t but I know it’s not easy to use words and expressions that we don’t have and make them sound like every day's talk. It’s complicated.

So, all this to say I think my experience reading this was a bit ruined by the language. I don’t think I should let it get to me that much, but in a way, it did happen.

Another thing I noted is, after reading the other two published series, I found this one a bit darker. Nothing wrong with that, but I couldn’t help but look for that same usual balance between the darker scenes and the friendly ones where the reader can see the bond between characters. In this story this didn’t happen as obvious as that and I think the story felt unbalanced to the darker side because of that. I hope this issues gets “solved2 in the next book.

The world is quite imaginative. I had some trouble following some processes, but I was delighted by the author’s ideas about how it all should work.

The characters have their strong points, of course, some mystery, otherwise how boring could it be, and it has a romance between Sebastian and Lynnea. I won’t go into spoilers, but I found their romance not only too fast as too easy. I’m used to romances taking time, where the couple knows each other for a long time before being intimate and in here this didn’t happen and when they had sex it wasn’t special, it wasn’t magical, although it was a first experience for them both, in different ways, but still. And not a word about it until later and still very unemotional..I don’t know, I expected better.

I’m reading the next one because I already have it, but it’s a series that didn’t captivate me as much as the others.