Nalini Singh - Angel's Blood

Nalini Singh seems the opposite to L&P – world famous, but not in New Zealand. A bit of research shows she’s been in NYT best seller lists; nine books in her Psy-Changelings series and soon to be three in the Guild Hunter series, plus a few others. She lives in Christchurch, has not a bad blog and a good website (warning – DO NOT go on this at work. J)

Anyway, as Nalini is signing at our Borders Armageddon stand, I picked up one of her titles, Angel’s Blood, the first of the Guild Hunter series. Christine Feehan raves about the author so if you like well-imagined paranormal, you should like the books.

Amazon description: Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux is hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael. But this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad. The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other—and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn’t destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break.

It’s been my “bus book” for a few days but I will admit to burning part of dinner last night as I had to finish it and know what happened. Cue protests from the kids. Overall, a solid 4 stars. Love how it’s in our world (like the Dark Hunter series, it’s a recognizable place, in this case, New York City), good plot, well written, leaves a bit to the imagination – I’m rushing onto book two now. And in case you were wondering, now that I've read this I get where LA Weatherly got her Angel idea from. But you already know how I feel about THAT book...

you against me - jenny downham

A while ago I read an absolute tear-jerker of a book. Tears, because it was so well written and both simple and complex; with a lot of smiles, because it was so realistic. That book was Downham's Before I Die. A really good review of it can be found here, on the Guardian's site.

On Chris' slush pile was Downham's latest, You Against Me. It's about teens again - Mikey, whose sister has been allegedly attacked and raped, and Ellie, sister to the supposed rapist. Again, its realistic and confronting and so far (up to chapter 13) it's living up to my expectations.

If you have a teen girl, go out and buy these novels. Read them first & you'll be amazed at the conversations you'll be having with your girl. I was.

EDITED TO UPDATE: This is a good read. Not a great read, but certainly good. While Downham's first didn't pull punches, I got the feeling that towards the end, in this book she did. Rape, denial, false allegations have such a taboo to them, even more so that a child dying, that there were avenues that I thought she could have gone down. All in all tho, still one to get the mind thinking.

old favourites

Cleaning up in the garage this weekend I came across some old friends. Solid romance, lots of laughs. I wish she'd write some more!

The series starts when cat burglar Samantha Jellicoe finds out she's been double-crossed, and saves the life of (very hunky) English billionaire Richard Addison. With a strong supporting cast that flow thru the four books and one novella, it's fun and fresh to read. Love the Star Wars mentions.