Sunday, September 21, 2014

Holding Every Breath

Every Breath (Every #1) by Ellie Marney

Rating: 5 out of 5 hearts
335 pages
Released: September 2013
Buy it @ Angus & Robertson

Rachel Watts is an unwilling new arrival to Melbourne from the country. James Mycroft is her neighbour, an intriguingly troubled seventeen-year-old genius with a passion for forensics. Despite her misgivings, Rachel finds herself unable to resist Mycroft when he wants her help investigating a murder. And when Watts and Mycroft follow a trail to the cold-blooded killer, they find themselves in the lion's den - literally.

A night at the zoo will never have quite the same meaning again...



Review


Such a captivating story with a modern twist to that detective everyone loves so much. I was sucked in from the first few pages. Ellie Marney has a fantastic way of capturing Melbourne so that I could picture every detail in my mind so clearly. 

Rachel Watts is a fresh, new type of character who I liked straight away! A country girl trying to fit in while in the big city. The romance between Mycroft and Watts was something, after hearing reviews, that I was looking forward to and boy was I happy with what I got. It slowly crept up on me, it happened so quickly and all of a sudden I was left feeling all warm and gooey inside. 

There was also a lot of depth to both Mycroft and Watts. Their friendship is something I savoured and enjoyed. I was learning things about them that they were finding out for themselves and because of this I could really connect with them. 

The grisly murder that kick starts Mycroft and Watts into a duo detective team was developed perfectly. Little tastes of what may have happened were ever so slowly revealed until the most unlikely character is found out. I liked how the whole story seemed real, I didn't think while reading that certain things they were doing seemed too ridiculous. I believed that two teenagers can solve a murder. Although there is quite a unique and frightening escape made by Mycroft and Watts at the end which I found to be a bit unbelievable, but I can let that slide because it was so quirky. (there are others books in the series so I'm not giving any spoilers away by telling you they lived!)

I have heard even better things about "Every Word", so I'll have my magnifying glass ready. I fell into this book head first hoping and wishing for it to be wonderful, and I got that and SO much more! The game's afoot and I never want it to end!


On the cover

It's so awesome to see a local landmark on a book!! It's Flinders street station from Melbourne in the background. Both people on the front look very alike what I imagine the main characters to look like. It's a shame though that the girl on the cover is the same girl on the cover of "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher.

What I'm reading next: Stolen by Lucy Christopher



Friday, September 19, 2014

Falling....asleep....

Falling Fast (Flynn #1) by Sophie McKenzie

Rating: 2 out of 5 hearts
247 pages
Released: March 2012
Buy it @ book depository

This is life, not a rehearsal...
When River auditions for a part in an inter-school performance of Romeo and Juliet, she finds herself smitten by Flynn, the boy playing Romeo. River believes in romantic love, and she can't wait to experience it. But Flynn comes from a damaged family - is he even capable of giving River what she wants? The path of true love never did run smooth...






Review

Falling Fast is your typical boy/girl love story. Boy comes from the bad side of town and the girl is from the middle class side of town. There's also lots of family issues going on behind the scenes - throw in sex, alcohol and Shakespeare which adds up to be a fairly predictable Young Adult romance novel.

I might not have been in the mood, whatever it was, this was not the book for me. There must have been something though that made me want to keep listening. Could be the simple, easy story or that it was a quick 5 hour/4 CD set so I knew that if I kept going there wouldn't be much longer to go.

I didn't know this was the beginning to a series, and I have no desire to find out anything more about River and Flynn. Sorry guys! 


On the cover

Typical teen romance cover, couple cuddling in a field and looking so in love. I love the awesome bright colors of the title but that's about it. It's very boring..

What I'm listening to next: Broken by C.J Lyons



Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The Fox chases the O'Hare

The Heist (Fox and O'Hare #1) by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts
372 pages
Released: June 2013
Buy it @ book depository

FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare is known for her fierce dedication and discipline on the job, chasing down the world’s most wanted criminals and putting them behind bars. Her boss thinks she is tenacious and ambitious; her friends think she is tough, stubborn, and maybe even a bit obsessed. And while Kate has made quite a name for herself for the past five years the only name she’s cared about is Nicolas Fox—an international crook she wants in more ways than one.              

Audacious, handsome, and dangerously charming, Nicolas Fox is a natural con man, notorious for running elaborate scams on very high-profile people. At first he did it for the money. Now he does it for the thrill. He knows that the FBI has been hot on his trail—particularly Kate O’Hare, who has been watching his every move. For Nick, there’s no greater rush than being pursued by a beautiful woman . . . even one who aims to lock him up. But just when it seems that Nicolas Fox has been captured for good, he pulls off his greatest con of all: He convinces the FBI to offer him a job, working side by side with Special Agent Kate O’Hare.

Problem is, teaming up to stop a corrupt investment banker who’s hiding on a private island in Indonesia is going to test O’Hare’s patience and Fox’s skill. Not to mention the skills of their ragtag team made up of flamboyant actors, wanted wheelmen, and Kate’s dad. High-speed chases, pirates, and Toblerone bars are all in a day’s work . . . if O’Hare and Fox don’t kill each other first.





Review 

I'm a huge fan of the 'Stephanie Plum' series also written by Janet Evanovich, so I thought I'd give this new, co-authored series a go.

I've never read anything by Lee Goldberg but after reading this, I really like his style. To me, it felt like I was watching a movie. I could imagine everything so easily in my head and the plot was more suited to a movie or tv show formula than that of Evanovich's normal writing method that I'm used to. 

This was another book I listened to as an audio and it wasn't too bad. The voice actor was a man and I didn't particularly like how he performed Kate's voice, but I learned to live with it.

People who read crime novels all the time may find this a little predictable and maybe even boring, but for me I found it to be an easy read that was a lot of fun, and what I've come to expect from Evanovich. What I usually expect from her is hot romance and she doesn't disappoint with this series. The sexual tension between Nick and Kate was steamy, but I have a feeling once something does happen between them, then it could fizzle out quite quickly. Here's hoping the series doesn't drag on too long with this going on.

If you're looking for something similar to the 'Stephanie Plum' series with a different twist, then I highly recommend this series. A bit of fun and a whole lot of action rolled in to one pretty cool book!

On the cover

I'm not a huge fan of this cover, I think it's the green and yellow. It almost looks like a movie cover - I can see it now, two well known rom-com actors (male & female) with arms crossed and back to back staring over their shoulders at each other...

What I'm listening to next: Falling Fast by Sophie McKenzie



Monday, September 15, 2014

Killing is what Jack Reacher does best

Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1) by Lee Child

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts
524 pages
Released: 1997
Buy it @ book depository

Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a drifter. He’s just passing through Margrave, Georgia, and in less than an hour, he’s arrested for murder. Not much of a welcome. All Reacher knows is that he didn’t kill anybody. At least not here. Not lately. But he doesn’t stand a chance of convincing anyone. Not in Margrave, Georgia. Not a chance in hell. 

The sleepy, forgotten town of Margrave, Georgia, hasn't seen a crime in decades, but within the span of three days it witnesses events that leave everyone stunned. An unidentified man is found beaten and shot to death on a lonely country road. The police chief and his wife are butchered on a quiet Sunday morning. Then a bank executive disappears from his home, leaving his keys on the table and his wife frozen with fear. The easiest suspect is Jack Reacher - an outsider, a man just passing through. But Reacher is a tough ex-military policeman, trained to think fast and act faster. When authorities learn the first victim was someone from Reacher's past, and he cannot convince them of his innocence, his patient self-defense becomes a raging crusade of revenge. With two cops who believe in him - a thoughtful black detective and a woman named Roscoe - he closes in on a ruthless conspiracy hiding behind Margrave's rural charm. But closing in on him is a team of killers. Step by step, the two teams circle - waiting to see which will be the first to walk onto the killing floor.




Review

I saw the movie adaption "Jack Reacher" and I thought it was awesome! Because of this I knew that I HAD to read the books, so I started at the beginning of the series. Now that I've read one I still think that even though Tom Cruise looks nothing like the 'book' version of Jack Reacher (blonde and VERY tall), he still did a pretty good job and I think the movie does the book justice.

I decided to listen to this on audio book mainly because it was available through the library, and when I can, I like to listen to books instead of read them. It means I can get through twice as many books - one I'm reading and the other I'm listening. I'm so glad I listened to this because it had me hooked almost right away.

Jack Reacher is a tough, ex-military bad ass who doesn't care who he has to kill to get answers. Normally I read mystery/crime novels in which the detective or main character catch the bad guy to put him in jail, but nope not Jack Reacher. He doesn't care about catching the bad guys - he kills the bad guys!

The story was really exciting and had me guessing the whole time. There was lots of detail and I learned a lot from this book (I can't tell you what I learnt because it will give away too much of the story). To sum up it was fast-paced, intriguing and at times very funny. I can't wait to read more about Jack Reacher.


On the cover

I'm not sure what the red hand print represents, makes me think this is a horror novel not just a thriller/crime novel. I do like the clean, simple look though.

What I'm listening to next: The Heist by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg




Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...