Review: The Deliverance of Evil

The Deliverance of Evil by Roberto Costantini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: Paperback copy courtesy of Pan Macmillan Australia via The Reading Room

The curious thing, when you’re reading a translated work, is that you’re always wondering about the original work and how close the translated version is to the original language. Whether there are nuances missed or certain implication that’s inadvertently lost on you due to language / culture differences. Nevertheless, translating literature piece is not easy and my compliments to all translators out there who do not just translate the words but also succeed in bringing forward the atmosphere, the nuances, and the effect intended by the authors. This is coming from someone who is fluent in 2 languages.

Reading a crime / mystery novel, you’d always try to pick up all the clues and guess whodunit before it’s revealed. I tried it with this book as well and whilst I did get it near the ending, I kept questioning whether something’s amiss due to it being translated from another language; especially in regards to one particular clue which I cannot disclose. Setting this aside, however, I managed to enjoy the beauty of Italy and of life there.

“You’re a likeable idiot, Michele, but a dangerous one. Paola advised me to steer clear of you.”

Michele Balistreri, to begin with, was an aimless, self-centred, womaniser –basically, an idiot. He’s hiding from his past and yet, unable to move on. He was living for himself and for pleasure, nothing else truly matter until his attitude in solving a murder brought some inexcusable consequences. Fast forward 24 years into the future, this unsolved murder came back to haunt him but this time, he is an older man somewhat broken with damages wrought by time and lifetime of pleasure. This time, though, he is determined not to let evil stand.

I downed a bottle of whisky and found myself reflecting drunkenly on the fact that this wasn’t the usual childhood melodrama that the infant Mike had fed himself on. I was no longer the ‘Michelino’ who watched Westerns, the fearless cowboy who killed all the bad guys. I was a man of thirty-two who didn’t give a shit about anyone, not even himself. I knew the reason well enough – they were all very clear.

And now what the fuck was I looking for? Did I want to absolve myself? Did I want to avoid eternal remorse by finding evil? And what evil?

It changed little; fate was not in agreement with me anyway.

To begin with, the mystery sounds quite simple: a beautiful woman went missing and years later, more have gone missing. Things are never quite what they seem, however, as the nature of each characters are revealed, piece by piece. The crimes, the deceptions, the corruptions are woven in a complex layer and brought into a well fitted jigsaw puzzles. The Deliverance of Evil is a sterling piece of crime novel featuring a world where corruption reigns and evil abounds; where a broken man haunted by his past seeks to put things to right and yet he is only a man. Despite the dark world of crime and corruption, there was also innocence to be found and beauty and… love. I would highly recommend this book to mystery lovers.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia via The Reading Room for copy of book

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Review: Spellcaster

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: book courtesy of Harper Collins Australia and The Reading Room

One of the most engaging first chapters I’ve ever read. It started in the car with Nadia and her family on their way to their new home when she felt that something just wasn’t right. It ended with Mateo living out the reality of his dream in rescuing her and what may happen in near future. This sense of doom began right from the very first sentence, continues throughout to the very end.

The supernatural component of the book was not the best part of this book. Whilst it helped lent the sinister air to the story and is an appeal to the current market of readers, I didn’t find it to be outrageously unique. The only bit that I found of interest was the way spells are cast; in bringing up appropriate bits in your head / heart to suit the spell.

What I really loved about this novel was the issues Nadia was working through. She was working through a lot of things though mostly as consequence of her mother leaving the family. These issues felt quite real they really cut the heart, and I truly felt for her.

It was weird how hurting someone you loved was even worse than being hurt. That stayed with you longer, and weighed you down all through the night into the dawn.

Spellcaster was a lovely easy read with the right amount of tension (both good, ie. romantic, and bad) to tease you through the story, a real climax good vs evil sort of face off, and ending which leaves you wondering what’s coming next. I can’t wait for the next instalment of this series.

You had to love people while you could, because you never knew how long you had.

Thank you, Harper Collins Australia and The Reading Room for copy of book

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My Reading (or rather Baking) Week

Phew!  Golly, I’m so glad it’s done and over with!  Over the weekend, my son had his 4th birthday party and as always, every year for the past 4 years, I’ve started baking at least 2 weeks before.  There is a theme and therefore, themed cookies and cake.  Hence, the intense pressure of it all.  I have to confess that the pressure comes from myself -The Perfectionist Queen :p

The theme this year was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and theme-related food includes:

1. Shuriken Cookies (thanks to Lizzie’s Cake Log for the tips though I used my own sugar cookies recipe)

2. Raphael (Ninja Turtle) Cake (thanks to homespooled for the instruction though I tried to make it look as if he was peeking out of a manhole but… well, it was an interesting result!)

3. Turtle Cupcakes (it was green tea cupcakes with chocolate icing which was meant to look like the shells but I didn’t have time to draw the lines)

4.  Swamp Jelly with sour worms (hubby says no one will get this reference so I’ll spell it out… Michaelangelo loves to cook and he comes up with weird & wonderful recipes with disastrous results)

The main meal itself were bought: Sushi and Pizzas (of course!).  I got some garlic bread too though as my son told me, “turtles never eat garlic bread.”  Hhhmmm, why didn’t I think of that?!

 

Now that it’s over, it’s time to knuckle down and write tons more of reviews (I’m so behind that my NG stats have fallen, boo!) so you can look forward to more chatter from me the next couple of weeks while it’s quiet before the Christmas festivities come blowing in.  PLUS, I’ve committed to read Game of Thrones with a couple of GR friends starting 1 December.  We’re aiming to read about 30% per week and then finish it off as we can fit it in between Christmas parties 😉  If you’d like to join in, you can find the GR discussion thread, here.

And now for the newly arrived:

Thank you, Harlequin Australia, for these beauties:

• Right as Rain by Tricia Singer (I’m late getting into these Aussie farm lits)
• Pawn by Aimee Carter
• Captivate by Vanessa Garden

Thanks The Reading Room for these review copies:

• Canton Elegy: A Father’s Letter of Sacrifice, Survival, and Enduring Love by Stephen Lee & Howard Webster
• The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1) by Jonathan Stroud (courtesy of Random House Australia via Netgalley)

Plus a number of Unexpected Approvals (!!!) on Netgalley:

• The Lost Sisterhood: A Novel by Anne Fortier (courtesy of Random House)
• Shadowplay (Pantomime #2) by Laura Lam (courtesy of Strange Chemistry)
• The Descent (The Taker #3) by Alma Katsu (courtesy of Gallery)
• The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian (courtesy of Harvest House Publishers)

Let’s not forget the WINS that arrived too:

• Dark Heart by Tony Park (thanks, Get Reading!)
• Empower (The Violet Eden Chapters #5) by Jessica Shirvington (thanks, Date a Book)
• Almost Mine by Lea Darragh (thanks, ARRA & Harlequin Australia) 

This week, I’d be reading some looked-forward-to Romances (*sighs* be still, my heart!):

• Awakening (The Twins of Saranthium #1) by Lara Morgan (I’ve started it this morning and this, I think, will turn out to be a comfort read -that mix between fantasy & romance, love it!)
• Nobody but Him (Boys of Summer #1) by Victoria Purman

And to fit in between:

• The Deliverance of Evil by Roberto Constantini
• Infamy by Lenny Bartulin

Review: Currawong Creek

Currawong Creek by Jennifer Scoullar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: Copy courtesy of Penguin Australia via The Reading Room

I am trying to think of whether I’ve ever read any Aussie rural romance type of books prior to Currawong Creek and I can’t think of even one title! I think I’ve a number of them on my to-read list on GR but for one reason or another I’ve not read any of them. I have to thank Anna from The Reading Room for her generous offers to date , including this book. Sometimes, I decided to take the plunge (like this time) and enjoyed the read enormously.

The appeal was twofolds. The cover which depicts a woman in a slim black dress walking bare feet in a rural Australian setting –just gorgeous background and I love the contrast! The blurb about Clare finding “herself the unlikely guardian of a small, troubled boy”. This calls to my maternal instinct and I really wanted to find out whether that boy found the help he needed. I know, I didn’t really read it for the ‘romance’ still… I enjoy romance in all forms!

It was an easy book to get into; Clare, a Brisbane lawyer, was finding life to be lacking. Whatever it’s lacking, she’s not quite sure because she’s doing well career-wise and she’s even got a good looking and successful boyfriend. She’s just going with the flow… This side of Clare was so easily identifiable that she’s caught my interest very early in the story. When she found herself responsible for a little boy, she tried to keep living her life as before but (as all mothers will know) this was a disaster. Clare found herself thinking of her childhood and turned to Currawong Creek where she herself had some happy memories.

Currawong Creek was a heart-warming story that calls to your nurturing soul (I’m not just talking about the little boy here), of finding home where one’s soul and body belongs, and of course, no story is complete without loss, forgiveness, and love. I devoured this book in no time at all as I really didn’t want to put it down. It was such a comfort read and whilst, the ending was a little choppy and slightly rushed for my liking, I still found myself happy, relaxed, and content when I closed the book. The best bits of the book for me though was the light humours peppered throughout the story; one of which I will close with…

Clare climbed the tree. She didn’t quite know how she did it. One minute she was standing on the ground, rigid with fear. Next minute she was astride a broad branch, peering down like a possum, with the heeler leaping and snapping below. There was no risk of falling. She was wrapped around that trunk so tight it was like she was welded on. Getting down, on the other hand, might present some problems.

Thank you Penguin Australia via The Reading Room for providing copy of book

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• Author Interview – Jennifer Scoullar (catherineleeauthor.com)

Review: Dance of Shadows

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: Courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing and The Reading Room – get your own copy from The Book Depository

In my adolescent years, growing up in Asia, manga was very popular. I devoured many series though my most favourite would have been Sailor Moon. I remember the wait for the publication of the first book then the next and so on and so forth. One other type I would voraciously hunt down are any ballet related manga. I probably would have read all the Mari-Chan’s series and fell in love more and more with ballet. The lines of drawing ballerina gracefully in mid-flight, each character’s love of ballet and determination to succeed –what can’t you love about these series?!

I just love love love this cover of Dance of Shadows –beautiful colours which gave an impression of movement. The blurb falls along the line of a ballet manga and I couldn’t resist. It was a pretty easy read despite struggling with ballet jargons (I know some but not all) and whilst I know the theory, sometimes, it’s just hard to imagine the movement they’re supposed to do. Knowing ballet and ballet terms would definitely help in understanding the characters’ struggles in their ballet class and goals.

Whilst Vanessa was likeable enough, Blaine was the character which made this book for me. He’s Caucasian-Japanese in descent, bread in Texas and bat for the other team. He might be a bit flamboyant and at time, stereotypical, but you can only be stereotypical up to a point with a Texan-Japanese boy. Most of all, he made me laugh! I always fall for guys who make me laugh…

[Blaine] “Or I could settle for a Russian dance. They’re so severe. I love it. I wouldn’t even care if he spoke no English whatsoever. As long as he made sweet, sweet love to me while feeding me caviar, and then helped me play with my set of Matryoshka dolls.” He paused. “Not that I have any Matryoshka dools.”

Vanessa and the girls continued staring at him. “The how would you communicate?” Elly asked quizzically.

“Darling,” Blaine said, leaning forward and batting his eyelashes. “The language of love requires no words. Haven’t you seen The Little Mermaid?”

The story was a little slow for me until maybe the last 100 pages when the pace picked up and things progressed in a tremendous whirl. It began with Vanessa’s arrival at a most prestigious ballet academy though it was foreshadowed by her missing elder sister. The story was slow as we follow Vanessa in fitting into school-life and discovering a mystery surrounding the school. The foreshadowing is there, bits of darkness lurked around but after pushing through 2/3 of the book, I found the resolution quite a bit exciting. All the time I was reading, I could so see it in my head in something like

This story is not in any way light-hearted though much darkness (and slowness) was pierced by chuckle-worthy humour [see Blaine above]. Whilst the ending isn’t a cliff-hanger per se, it is well set up for the next book which I look forward to!

Thank you Bloomsbury and The Reading Room for the privilege to read and review this book

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The Hidden -GIVEAWAY (AU only)

The Hidden (Avena #1) by Marianne Curley
Publication Date: 1 March 2013 (in Australia)

For as long as Ebony can remember, she’s been sheltered. Confined to her home in a secluded valley, home-schooled by her protective parents, and limited to a small circle of close friends. It’s as if she’s being hidden.

But something is changing in Ebony. Something that can’t be concealed. She’s growing more beautiful by the day, she’s freakishly strong, and then there’s the fact that she’s glowing.

On one fateful night, Ebony meets Jordan and she’s intensely drawn to him. It’s as if something explodes inside of her—something that can be seen from the heavens. Ebony still doesn’t know that she’s a stolen angel, but now that the heavens have found her, they want her back.

GIVEAWAY (AU only)

Totally by coincidence, I have got 2 copies of this gorgeous looking book so I’m sharing the love by giving away one of the copies.  I’ve not read it yet but this just looks really good, I had to share the love around 😉  Please note the right hand bottom corner is slightly creased (for a folding or something) but that is how I got it in the mail.

Giveaway is limited to Australian mailing address only (am about to sign a new mortgage docs so am feeling terribly poor :() and condition of entry is that you are either over 16 or have your parent’s / guardian’s permission to enter.  The only other condition is to like my Facebook page, as the Rafflecopter is being hosted over there, but that’s all there is to it.

The giveaway is open NOW and will end on Midnight Thursday 21 February 2013.  I will draw on Friday and you will have the weekend to respond with your mailing address.  I’ll be away for the weekend but I will post the book on Monday so that it will hopefully arrive by 1 March 2013, at the latest!

Review: The Secret Keeper (+ GIVEAWAY -AU only)

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: Uncorrected Proof courtesy of The Reading Room and Allen & Unwin -get your own copy from The Book Depository (psst… check out the giveaway at the bottom of the page too!)

My reaction at the end of chapter 1:

*GASP*

*No, she did not just do that!!?!?*

*flicked the page*

*Yes, she did… Golly!*

And with that, I’ve bitten the bait, was totally hooked and reeled through the story.

Due to some personal issue, I am not a fan of The Forgotten Garden. I am very sensitive about it and would usually avoid a story that’s blatantly obvious that’s where it was going. With The Forgotten Garden though, I wasn’t really sure until maybe midway where it’s going but (my compliments to the author), I really had to know the ending so I just couldn’t put the book down. Unfortunately, the book not only breached my comfort zone, it nearly killed me! Hence, am not really a fan. I can’t tell you what this personal issue is as it will give away the story a bit much… The Secret Keeper, on the other hand, was borderline but the ending was on a very acceptable level to me so it was a story I enjoyed reading, overall.

A dark secret is overshadowing the Nicolson family though not all knew or even felt the shadow but Laurel does. She was a part of the shadow whilst not fully aware of the secret. As her mother lay close to the end of her life, Laurel was compelled to explore this mystery and in effect, came to know her mother for who she really was –as a person, a woman, and not just ‘Ma’. This story spans over a century and over the ocean, through war, filled with friendship, love, and betrayals.

A totally heartbreaking story that stays with you long after you read it. I finished reading this quite late at night and I just couldn’t get to sleep as the book continues to haunt me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it even now! Thank you, Kate Morton, I believe your tales will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Thank you Allen & Unwin and The Reading Room for providing me with the Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review

GIVEAWAY (AU only)

A kind and generous offer by Allen & Unwin – I have 3 uncorrected proofs to giveaway to anyone with an Australian mailing address.  Sorry, peeps – Aussie publisher plus am paying for the post 😉

Edited: I’ve tried setting up a Rafflecopter but there’s been some glitch that Rafflecopter just isn’t loading for us in Australia *humph!* so… just leave a comment (don’t include your email address within the comment body just include it in the comment form) and I’ll draw 3 random winners this coming Sunday (28th October 2012).  Please do respond to my email within 48 hours with your mailing address.

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