Monday 28 November 2011

Review of The Birthday Party by Veronica Henry

Thank you to Veronica Henry for the copy - you can follow her on twitter or take a look at her website

** What it's about **


"Secrets, rivalry, glamour - it's time for the party of the year... 

Delilah has lived out her tempestuous marriage to hell-raiser Raf in the glare of the media spotlight. Now planning a milestone birthday, she has more on her mind than invitations. 

Raf has been offered a part in a movie he can't refuse. But will he succumb to the temptations he's struggled to resist for the last ten years? 

Delilah's three daughters are building careers of their own, only too aware that the press are waiting for them to slip up. For the Rafferty girls might look like angels, but they are only human

It's the perfect recipe for a party like no other..."

** Taken from back cover




** What I thought **



The Birthday Party is a book about a family who could easily outrun The Osbournes!  This book is packed full of unique and vibrant characters with exquisite detail.  There is quite a bit of jumping about at the beginning but Veronica Henry weaves the characters and their lives together seamlessly to create an enthralling story that you can’t help but get sucked into.  It might be a little difficult to relate to the actual lives of the Raffertys but their feelings (in particular their instincts and insecurities) will be easily related to by most readers! On top of all that, there are a few steamy moments buried within this wonderful story.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Review of Angel and Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly

Thank you Usborne for the copies!!


** What Angel is about **

Willow knows she's different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into people's futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where she gets this power from...

But Alex does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows Willow's secret and is on a mission to stop her. The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous - and irresistible. In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy.


** What Angel Fire is about **

Only Willow has the power to defeat the malevolent Church of Angels, and they will stop at nothing to destroy her. Willow isn’t alone, though. She has Alex by her side – a trained Angel Killer and her one true love.

But nothing can change the fact that Willow’s a half-angel, and when Alex joins forces with a group of AKs, she’s treated with mistrust and suspicion. She’s never felt more alone…until she meets Seb. He’s been searching for Willow his whole life – because Seb is a half-angel too.



** What I thought **

What more can I say about these two books other than I LOVED THEM! Weatherly has a captivating style of writing that draws you in and keeps you hanging on every word.  I adored the first book, and luckily had the opportunity to go straight into the second without any waiting!  I was a bit wary about Angel Fire, as it’s a chunky book at 709 pages but I shouldn’t have been - every word on every page is relevant and I was far from disappointed – if anything I got sucked even deeper!

There are some characters to die for in this series and these characters love one another so dearly that they would die for each other.  This makes for a great action packed set of books with just the right amount of romance to counteract it.  Weatherly has developed some wonderful characters with such depth that they create an incredible story.  There isn’t anything predictable about this series.  Right from the go, it’s different – we usually think of angels as heavenly creatures, however the tag line to this series is “The only good angel is a dead angel” so this makes for a fabulously unique read!

The books are split between first person narrative in relation to Willow and third person narrative in relation to the rest of the cast.  This allows you to get inside everybody’s head and makes you realise Willow’s anguish at having to make certain decisions!  I loved watching Willow and Alex grow closer and closer in Angel, and this makes it hard at times to read Angel Fire, but the journey Weatherly takes you on is captivating and addictive.  Despite the length of Angel Fire, I devoured it as quickly as possible.

Move over Twilight – the Angels have arrived! We will all have to wait until October 2012 to find out what Angel Fever has in store for Willow, Alex and Seb! Plus, this is going to be make a fabulous film(s) (the film rights have already been snapped up!)