Top Ten Tuesday: Settings I'd Like To See More

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature / weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we make a top ten list from a given topic.

This week's topic is

Top Ten Settings I Would Like To See More Of

1) Scotland
I fell in love with Scotland through Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher and A Scottish Ferry Tale by Nancy Volkers and I've wanted to read more books set in this wonderful country ever since.

2) Theatres
I've always had a passion for acting and I love being in a theatre, both on stage and off. There is this special kind of anticipation and excitement in the air. So much could happen behind the stage and I think it would be a great setting for many different novels.

3) Gothic settings
There's just something about big old mansions with towers and secret passageways and strange inhabitants and gloomy weather.

4) Sydney, Australia
Sydney is my very favourite city in the world, and I love reading about it. After having lived there for a few months it's even more fun to read stories that are set there, because I can recognise places and picture everything much more vividly in my mind.

5) Northern Norway
The unique landscape, the rough weather and the many contrasts of this area would be an amazing setting for a mystery or thriller. Plus, it's my home and I'd love to see it through someone else's eyes.

6) Hogwarts
Because.

7) Completely original worlds
Think the prison in Catherine Fisher's Incarceron series. I love it when an author can make me believe in a whole new world I've never imagined before.

8) New England
I visited some small towns in New England last year and absolutely loved it.

9) Yorkshire
Green hills, cosy stone cottages, quirky characters and sheep - I blame the TV show Heartbeat for giving me this romantic view of the area.

10) Libraries/book stores
I think all of us book lovers like this setting, right?

What settings would you like to see more of?

Thoughts on The Christmas Bus

The Christmas Bus

By Melody Carlson

First published: 2006 by Revell

Read: 30 Nov - 1 Dec 2012
E-book

Description
The people of Christmas Valley always celebrate Christmas to the fullest extent. The mayor plays Santa, every business is holiday themed, and there's a nativity for the kids each Christmas Eve. This town knows Christmas. But this year nothing goes according to plan. Shepherd's Inn is full of strangers, Mad Myrtle is causing problems, and a young couple with a baby due any minute rolls in to the middle of town in their Partridge Family-style bus. It's hardly the holiday Christmas Valley wanted--but it may be just what they need. This charming novella is sure to become a new Christmas tradition for readers who love a great holiday story.

My thoughts

This was such a delightful little Christmas story! In many ways it reminded me of the Harmony series by Philip Gulley which I love, with its small-town charm and quirky characters. It's the perfect way to spend a few relaxing hours in this otherwise stressful holiday month.

The main character is Edith, the pastor's wife who runs Shepherd's Inn. This year none of the couple's grown children are coming home for Christmas, so Edith decides to keep the inn open over Christmas in the hopes of making the holidays feel less lonely. Before long the inn is filled with guests, the most notable being old Myrtle, who's set on stirring things up in Christmas Valley.

Yes, the story is somewhat predictable and because it's so short we don't get to know some of the characters as well as others. But it's still an engaging story and it almost had me in tears towards the end. I admit to being a big softie at this time of year but I really enjoyed this tale and I wouldn't mind spending more time in Christmas Valley, perhaps during another season.

I've never read anything by this prolific author before, but this certainly won't be the last book by her I read. In fact, I think I'll start Christmas at Harrington's right away.

Bottom line: A delightful Christmas story that I'm sure I will re-read for many holidays to come.

My rating:

Melody Carlson online: Website

Random Acts of Kindness - December

December seems like the perfect time to participate in RAK, courtesy of Book Soulmates:

The RAK Rules:

• Please sign-up each month that you can participate (and by participate, we mean give as well as receive).
• Show off your participation by grabbing our RAK button.
• Create a wish list (on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog, etc) and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month.
• If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wish list and contact that blogger directly for their information.
• Once you receive a RAK, send us an our new email to [rakbybooksoulmates @ gmail . com] so that we can update the Google Doc. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SEND EMAILS TO THIS ADDRESS!
• E-book participation is limited to files being gifted directly to a person from the e-book store. Amazon's Kindle Store is set up to allow this, as well as the Kobo store and we believe Barnes & Noble with Nook as well.
• At the end of the month, SHOW US YOUR R.A.K by making a "RAK Wrap-Up" post.  This post should include who you SENT gifts to as well who you RECEIVED gifts from :)
• OPEN TO EVERYONE including all our International brethren!
• Remember, there's always the Book Depository and they offer FREE shipping!

SIGN-UP PAGE FOR DECEMBER IS HERE.

My wishlists are pretty full because I add anything that sounds interesting, but these are the main two: Kindle wishlist and general wishlist in case anyone wants to take a look. :)

Happy RAK-ing!

Thoughts on Twenties Girl

Twenties Girl
By Sophie Kinsella

First published: 2010 by Black Swan

Read: 27 August - 11 September 2012

Goodreads | Amazon

Description

Lara Lington has always had an overactive imagination, but suddenly that imagination seems to be in overdrive. Normal professional twenty-something young women don’t get visited by ghosts. Or do they?

When the spirit of Lara’s great-aunt Sadie–a feisty, demanding girl with firm ideas about fashion, love, and the right way to dance–mysteriously appears, she has one last request: Lara must find a missing necklace that had been in Sadie’s possession for more than seventy-five years, and Sadie cannot rest without it. Lara, on the other hand, has a number of ongoing distractions. Her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, her start-up company is floundering, and she’s just been dumped by the “perfect” man.

Sadie, however, could care less.

Lara and Sadie make a hilarious sparring duo, and at first it seems as though they have nothing in common. But as the mission to find Sadie’s necklace leads to intrigue and a new romance for Lara, these very different “twenties” girls learn some surprising truths from each other along the way. Written with all the irrepressible charm and humor that have made Sophie Kinsella’s books beloved by millions, Twenties Girl is also a deeply moving testament to the transcendent bonds of friendship and family. (Goodreads)

My thoughts

This was my first Sophie Kinsella book, and for the first half I was mildly entertained but nothing more. I found some of the situations Lara got herself into because of Sadie too far-fetched and it felt like the author was trying too hard to be funny. I didn't really like Sadie, she was selfish and annoying, and Lara's pining for her ex-boyfriend was a bit irritating as well. But about half-way through the book something changed, and I started really enjoying it. The pace quickened, things finally started happening and the characters started developing. I went from wanting to knock some sense into both Lara and Sadie to wanting to hug them both.

Lara is a likeable, albeit naïve, girl in her late twenties, trying to sort out her life. Although I have never been in her situation, it was easy to relate to her. Sadie the ghost started out being very annoying, but she grew on me as we learned more about her. The glimpses into her old life in the roaring 20s were very interesting, and the author does a good job of bringing some of that 20s feeling into the 21st century. Oh, and the handsome American Sadie takes a fancy to is quite the dashing romantic lead (and the scene in which he and Lara meet is hilarious).

It is interesting to see how the relationship between Lara and Sadie slowly develops into a friendship, and what the two are willing to do for each other. The bittersweet but satisfying ending took me by surprise and was the best part of the book - definitely worth waiting for.

Bottom line: A fun and sweet story of unlikely love and an even more unlikely friendship.

My rating:

Sophie Kinsella online: Website | Facebook

Booking Through Thursday - Emotions

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading.

This week's question is:

What is the most emotional read you have ever had?

 

The most recent ones would be A Scottish Ferry Tale and Scotland By Starlight by Nancy Volkers. These two books made me feel so many different things all at once. They made me hopeful, optimistic, angry, satisfied, yearning, peaceful, sad, even devastated (particularly the latter book; tears were still streaming down my face hours after finishing it), but most of all they made me happy. The kind of happy that makes your heart swell and makes you all warm and tingly inside; the kind of happy that makes you think the world is good and true love really does exist. The very best kind of happy. I don't remember any other books making me feel quite like these two wonderful books did.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

 

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.

Wow, I haven't done one of these since May! Even though I haven't been reading that much lately, it's time to catch up:

READ LATELY
Hounded (my review) and Hexed by Kevin Hearne, the first 2 books in the Iron Druid Chronicles, a very entertaining and action-packed urban fantasy series. In addition I read Clan Rathskeller and Kaibab Unbound, which are two short stories set before the first novel.

I also read Her Majesy's Will by David Blixt, a historical fiction novel in which Shakespeare (quite by accident) was a spy before he became know as a playwright. I have yet to write a review of this one, but I will, because it was a very enjoyable read.

In between I've also read The Big Book of Top Gear 2009, which is "just like on the telly except it's a book."

CURRENTLY READING
I started re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night, because it felt like the thing to do.

WHAT'S NEXT
As usual, no idea. I should probably pick up Les Miserables again though.

What are you reading this week?

Review: The Bewitching Tale of Stormy Gale

The Bewitching Tale of Stormy Gale
By Christine Bell

First published: 28 May 2012 by Carina Press
Series: Stormy Gale #2

Read: 1–14 May 2012
E-ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads | Amazon | Carina Press

Description

London, 1841

There I was, retired from time pirating, enjoying a full if somewhat conventional life as a wife and mother. Then a chance encounter with a stranger drew me back into a world I'd thought I'd left, quite literally, in the past. From his odd behavior and even odder answers to my questions, I knew Phineas Grubb was up to something. I should have trusted my instincts--before he pulled out a time-travel mechanism and dragged my brother, Bacon, back with him...

Salem, 1698

The infamous Witch Trials may have ended a few years earlier, but the people of Salem are still pretty touchy about outsiders that appear in town as if by magic. Thanks to Grubb, my brother's been accused of witchcraft and thrown in jail. Now it's up to me and my husband, Dev, to save Bacon's bacon before the hysteria starts up again, and the course of history is altered forever...

My thoughts

Regular readers of The Turn of the Page will undoubtably have heard me gush about the first book in this series, The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale. I loved the fresh, fun story of the time-travelling Stormy and have been eagerly awaiting the sequel for a year. I'm happy to say it didn't let me down.

A few years have passed since the events of the first book, and Stormy has settled down in Victorian London with her husband Dev and their little daughter and abandoned time-pirating for good. But when she discovers a mysterious man looking for a large amount of mercury, one thing leads to another and before long Stormy's brother Bacon is trapped in Salem in 1698 and Stormy and Dev have to devise a daring plan to save his bacon (yes, I've been wanting to use that pun for a long time).

The plot is action-packed and fast-moving, but what really drives the story are the characters; especially Stormy. I said in my review of Twisted Tale that I would love to have her as a friend, and that hasn't changed. Providing a 21th century perspective on 19th century London, her narration is filled with modern references (I'd miss Google too) and is often laugh-out-loud funny. She may be hot-headed and prone to acting before thinking, but she's also witty, clever and fiercely loyal to those she loves. Speaking of which, I was happy to see her dashing husband Dev, the Loony Duke of Leister, play an active part in the story, keeping Stormy level while proving to be quite the resourceful time-traveller himself.

Bacon is such a lovable dork and I loved getting to know him more. He's very kind and sincere, as well as funny – without really meaning to. For instance, in the beginning of the story his girlfriend has broken up with him, and Stormy suggests it might have something to do with his surname "Frogs", to which Bacon solemnly replies: "She said it wasn't that either. It wasn't until I went to her house last night and serenaded her with my digeridoo that she told me the real reason she left me." (Dev and I both had serious trouble containing our laughter at that mental image.)

As with the first instalment in the series, my only complaint is that it is a little on the short side. At 138 pages it is longer than Twisted Tale, but it's still a novella. I think a bit more time for both the plot and the characters to develop wouldn't have gone amiss. Although if I'm honest, the main reason I wanted it to be longer is because I was enjoying myself so much I didn't want it to end.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a fun, thrilling, character-driven story with steampunk elements, this is the book for you (but I advice you to read Twisted Tale first for a bit of background as well as a great story).

My rating:

The Stormy Gale series:

1. The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale (2011)
2. The Bewitching Tale of Stormy Gale (2012)

Christine Bell online: Website | Twitter