241. Love Miscellany: Eveything you Always Wanted to Know About the Many Ways we Celebrate Romance and Passion by Deborah A. Levine

BOOK REVIEW: Love Miscellany - Everything you Always Wanted to Know About the Many Ways we Celebrate Romance and Passion by Deborah A. Levine

Love is a beautiful feeling that gives you pinpricks of emotions in your heart, makes you float in thin air and magically satiates physical hunger. But do you readers know the origin of Valentine's Day or how sweet nothings came about? This informative book has all you need to know about love.

Come take a breezy tour through the history and traditions surrounding the many ways people celebrate love. 

You may be surprised to learn that not one, but 3 St. Valentine's died on February 14th; that more than just dishes are broken at a traditional Greek wedding; that the same recipe has been used to make Conversation Hearts candies since 1902; and that aphrodisiac Spanish fly is made from powdered beetle carcasses.

Delightfully illustrated and complete with crafts and recipes, this book will appeal to everyone who has ever waited with bated breath for a suitor's roses - whether or not they actually arrived.

I found this book quite intriguing to say the least, and it's a generalized book that can be read by the young and old. For a non-fiction, I give this book my two thumbs up! Eat, pray and love people!

240. Every Which Way but Dead by Kim Harrison

BOOK REVIEW: Every Which Way but Dead by Kim Harrison

How's about throwing witches, warlocks, vampires and demons into an action-packed romance? It is sure to be one hell of a rollercoaster ride. This book definitely has all these elements and more.

There's no witch in Cincinnati tougher, sexier or more screwed up than bounty hunter Rachel Morgan, who's already put her love life and her soul in dire jeopardy through her determined efforts to bring criminal night creatures to justice.

Between "runs", she has her hands full fending off the attentions of her blood-drinking partner, Ivy, keeping  deadly secret from her backup, and resisting a hot new vamp suitor.

Rachel must also take a stand in the war that's raging in the city's underworld, since she helped put away its former vampire kingpin - and made a deal with a powerful demon to do so that coul cost her an eternity of pain, torment and degradation. And now her dark "master" is coming to collect his due.

Extremely fast-paced, this novel was one I couldn't put down for a second, relishing each and every page. Funny and with sprinkles of romance throughout, this novel is a great read which I would rate a 4/5. 

239. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

BOOK REVIEW: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

What happens when you put a dysfunctional family into a manor that is going to ruins after generations of their lineage with a self-sacrificing family doctor? A slowly unearthed ghost story that slowly and inadvertently turns every one of its residents over the brink.

In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire (all supposedly eerie ghost stories start in England), a doctor is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house (yes, eerie old English house = eerie ghost out for vengeance *sigh*), once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, its owners - mother, son and daughter - struggling to keep pace with a changing society.

But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become entwined with his.

On a personal level, I found the book below my standards for the supposed horror genre that it was. The scares were pretty drab with poltergeist activity that was really annoying. With the issue of the brother turning mad, fear can drive a person to insanity so nothing there to see. Unknown blemishes, dark shadows and such are pretty much the norm. 

However, the style of writing and flow of words is beautiful and the characters are very individualistic. Do give this book a read, maybe you will find it jives with you. Happy Reading!

238. Family Trust by Amanda Brown

BOOK REVIEW: Family Trust by Amanda Brown

Before you say, 'Stop it already! I had enough of the endless romance novels!', I'm afraid I may just have to stop you in your tracks. Yes, it does have elements of guarded love and a solitary kissing episode (yes, I totally mean a SINGLE one!) but not even a single 18SX scene (sorry cumbu fans).

This novel speaks of how two completely unlikely individuals put together due to the force of their friends' wills end up caring for a sweet, bubbly girl as guardians. 

Becca Reinhart's life is work, work, work. The youngest ever partner of Davis Capital, her job is her life and she has no intention of being sidetracked from it. 

When Edward Kirkland isn't at his racquet club, attending charity dinners or gala concerts, he's being pursued by countless women who consider him to be the most eligible bachelor in town.

A more unlikely pair you couldn't hope to meet. But when Becca and Edward become joint guardians to a four-year-old child called Emily, their lives collide with a bang.

It's hilarious to see how two characters who are hardly parent material embrace parenthood with Emily's rambunctious behaviour and an almost-slip-up by Edward (he was to marry an icy gold-digger Bunny Stiŕrup, who was constantly hatching plans of getting rid of sweet Emily). 

In a lighthearted manner, this novel portrayed the complexities of co-guardianship and the legalities involved around the wills left by the dearly departed. I found this story rather refreshing from the cloyingly sweet romances that involves one too many randy scenes. A wonderful book on love and family that I highly recommend.

237. Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

BOOK REVIEW: Julie & Julia - My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

What could complete my reading life more than combining two of my biggest pleasures in an amalgamation of lipsmacking possibilities? Food and reading has been the two biggest passions that drive me through the hazards of life and this book sure did a fine job of ensuring my full attention.

Does anyone know the famous chef Julia Child, the home cook-turned-celebrity chef who took the world by storm with the rich decadence of none other than French cuisine? No? Well then, you have a lot more food-enriched reading ahead of you dear readers. If salivating over food porn is your kind of thing, the descriptions of food endlessly doused in butter and oozing creaminess will set you back in bliss.

In this funny, heart-warming memoir, the author relates to the reader how a cooking project she took upon herself following the famous cookbook by Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (MtAoFC), enabled her to pull in the reins on her somewhat horrendous life. Through food, she bonded with family and friends, finding new meaning on what life could offer her.

Nearing 30 and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, Julie Powell resolved to reclaim her life by cooking, in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's legendary MtAoFC. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves' livers and aspic, but a new life - lived with gusto.

Much of my personal pleasure reading this book is in the author's direct honesty (peppered generously with the F word, not suitable for young chefs). She gives an insight on what it's really like to try and achieve something new in one's life. Incredibly beautiful, I give this memoir a major thumbs-up!

236. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith

BOOK REVIEW: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith

I'm sure most of you readers out there simply adore classics from Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens and the never-ending list of literary maestros that have given us the pleasure of reading. However, what happens if the classics were to be twisted, adding in modern supernatural elements like zombies in the mix?

I can almost here your sharp intake of breaths. For those of you who can stomach the plot twist, this book will deliver spills, thrills, tears, fears, laughter and macabre. It's a classic on steroids.

Readers will witness the birth of a heroine in this book - a thrilling prequel set 4 years before the horrific events of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. As the story opens, the Bennet sisters are enjoying a peaceful life in the English countryside. They idle away the days reading, gardening and daydreaming about future husbands - until a funeral at the local parish goes strangely and horribly awry.

Suddenly corpses are springing from the soft earth - and only one family can stop them. As the bodies pile up, we watch Elizabeth Bennett evolve from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. Along the way, two men vie for her affections: Master Hawksworth is the powerful warrior who trains her to kill, while thoughtful Dr. Keckilpenny seeks to conquer the walking dead using science instead of strength.

Will either man win the prize of Elizabeth's heart? Or will their hearts be feasted upon by hordes of marauding zombies? Complete with romance, action, comedy and an army of shambling corpses, this book will have Jane Austen rolling in her grave - and just might inspire her to crawl out of it!

I found this spin on a classic great though it may make purists flinch at the blasphemy of such a twist. Quirk Classics have come out with plenty of supernatural spoofs on classics so be sure to watch out for them. Urrrrrrrrr! (That's a zombie cry by the way..haha)

235. The Age of Shiva by Manil Suri

BOOK REVIEW: The Age of Shiva by Manil Suri

I especially love books written by Asian writers as they resonate with the culture and surroundings that are close to my heart. Those written by Anita Desai and Arundhati Roy are some of my favourites as they portray the Indian culture, thus reiterating my Hindu background. Manil Suri is no exception.

In India in the year 1955, as the scars of Partition are beginning to heal, 17-year-old Meera sits enraptured: in the spotlight is Dev, singing a song so infused with passion that it arouses in her the first flush of erotic longing. But when Meera's reverie comes true, it does not lead to the fairy-tale marriage she imagined.

Meera has no choice but to obey her in-laws, tolerate Dev's drunken night-time fumblings, even observe the most arduous of Hindu fasts for his longevity. A move to Bombay seems at first like a fresh start, but soon that dream turns to ashes. It is only when their son is born that things change and Meera is ready to unleash the passion she has suppressed for so long.

A heart-wrenching tale of broken dreams and suppression of feelings set in the colourful country of India. Vivid descriptions abound of the sights and smells that the colourful land has to offer. Peppering the novel throughout are the Hindu traditions and anecdotes from famous scriptures like the Ramayana and Mahabharatha.

I found this book to be intricately woven and beautiful in its storyline. Another wondrous book woven by none other than Manil Suri, do read his book the Death of Vishnu which is also written in his individualistic storytelling.