Looking at the state of my database (apologies to Jodie and Mailyn … I lost your comments while trying to salvage the situation, boohoo…), I was hesitant about posting my review on two Julia London books I read before flying off to Sydney, lest I stress the server too much.

However, the posts are piling up and it is kind of cathartic to get this off my chest before I talk about my wonderful sojourn down under. So here goes …

I’ve never thought of reading London’s contemporary works until Marg recommended them to me. Wedding Survivor was a great starter for me, and I suspect it is merely the beginning of the downfall, so to speak, of the four eligible founders of Thrillseekers.

From the moment I read the synopsis at the back, I knew this book was going to be one fun roller-coaster ride of one wedding planning disaster after another with a HEA somewhere, and I was right. It really was an enjoyable laugh-a-minute light reading romance with sexy scenes and touching tender moments that’ll make your toes curl with the fuzzy warm feeling you get from reading something utterly romantic.

Just a quick post to wish you G’Day from scenic Sydney, pictures and more to come when I’m back home.

For now, my most pressing decision is which markets to visit. This came after catching HP and the Order of the Phoenix at IMAX last night.  It was explosive, that fight in the Department of Mysteries, compared to what we caught in a normal cinema screen the Saturday before I left for Sydney.

I’ve already released a book and have one more to go. For my reading pleasure, I’ve brought along Ice Blue by Anne Stuart and Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, having finished Killing Time by Linda Howard my second night here.

Am very tempted to just spend the day reading in Hyde Park.  The weather is lovely although freezing cold when the wind blows. But I’m warmly dressed, and there’s gift hunting to do … so now, it’s either Paddo (Paddington Markets) or Paddy’s. 

More later … I promise. Have to dash now.
 

If there was one thing I could wish for, I’d wish to have the prodigious talent of Christopher Paolini and the faith and support of his family (oops! That’s two wishes). 

But you get the idea. This young writer wrote the epic adventure of Eragon, a marvellous book full of magic, fantasy, a sort of rites of passage story, when he was barely out of college. It is an amazing feat in itself, but to have garnered such huge success and wide following is another accomplishment that’s nothing short of a phenomenon. 

Eragon, a poor farm boy, stumbles across a polished blue stone while out hunting in the forest one day. Thinking it was a lucky discovery that may just fetch him some coins or food for his family, he was surprised and disbelieving when the ‘stone’ hatched, and a dragon bonded to him as her rider. At first contended to just keep his dragon hidden, Eragon was prodded into action when his uncle was killed by the veil evil henchmen of the Emperor Galbatorix. He went seeking vengeance, hitching up with story-teller Brom, a dragon rider whose sole role is to train the next generation of riders, whose mysterious knowledge of magic ignites his hunger for knowledge. 

You know you’re in deep trouble when you can’t sleep without knowing how a story turns out, when your hands itch to pick the book out of your bag at work and when you hunger for that moment of solitude when the kids are in bed and you can at last settle down in on the sofa for a good night’s reading. 

Well, that’s what I went through when I read A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole and Jacob, the debut of Jacquelyn Frank’s Nightwalkers series, back to back. First of all, take heed and learn from my experience: read these two books over the weekend, preferably starting the read-a-thon on a Friday night. I was loathed to drag myself off to bed because I simply had to know what happened to the main characters. 

I happened to pick up Hunger at a UBS on a whim, and by the time I finished the prologue (page 3), I was hooked on the story. This book introduces a sizzling series about immortal creatures that will have any paranormal fan clapping in glee … werewolves, Valkyrie, vampires, witches. What separates this book from other paranormal works is the marvelous way Cole built up the tension and her characters. With each chapter, you peel off another layer of Emma, the half-Valkyrie/ half vampire super being, who’s being pursued by the tortured Lykae king, Lachlain (I just love Scots) for his soul mate. 

Let me go on record to say that when I first read Almost Innocent by Jane Feather years ago, I was sympathetic towards the plight of the two main characters, Guy and Magdalen, and was in fact moved by their passionate love for each other. 

However, when I picked it up again to read recently (go here for the synopsis, for I shall not summarize it), I wasn’t too enamoured of the way they deluded themselves into carrying on an adulterous relationship. Granted, Guy had believed Magdalen’s young hubby, Edmund, to be dead by mishap but not our dear heroine. She’s so strong willed and self-serving when it comes to preserving their relationship that to me, she became almost as spoiled and ruthless as her royal father. 

Somewhere along the line, I started to get annoyed at her insensitive treatment of Edmund. Granted, few women in those medieval days have the freedom and power to choose whom they marry, and marrying for love is a dream few can afford. She has a husband who loved her so much he died rescuing her and thus paving the way free for her to be with her lover and the father of her daughter. It was a bittersweet ending, but I thought it would have been more poignant if she’d lost Guy but healed under Edmund’s patient and gentle loving. Funny how reading the same book sometimes yield different results … it has to be me. The story didn’t change. I did, about the way I view and feel about things. Maybe that’s why this book has suddenly lost its appeal. 

My Amazon book orders, ahead of the anticipated date!! I’m officially in book heaven tonight! Not only are these books much eagerly awaited, but the covers of some of them are simply gorgeous!!

For a start, I love the whimsical font embossed in gold used on the cover of Maria Snyder’s Magic Study. The hardcover is worth every penny just so I can continue with Yelena’s adventure. Goddess of Love also spots a similarly fanciful font but embossed in matt gold.

Nalini Singh’s Visions of Heat glows with a dark background that brings out the figure silhouetted against it, with the leopard spots clearly visible and giving the cover model a feral, dangerous allure. 

By far the most eye-catching cover belongs to The Nightwalkers: Gideon by Jacquelyn Frank. This book cover has a dark silvery sheen, and is a stunning follow-on to the gilded gold cover of its debut Jacob. The word Gideon and the author’s name are embossed in red and white respectively, giving the book texture and class. 

My only headache would be to decide which books to bring along to Sydney. Decisions, decisions …