A taut, intense and brilliantly written erotic read in the first book of a trilogy that Fifty Shades wants to be when it grows up.
Zachary Easton is the most brutal editor of ‘high brow’ literature around, and Nora Sutherlin, best-selling erotica writer, wants him for her next book. Unbeknownst to Zach, Nora is also New York’s top dominatrix, but she’s afraid that this would cloud his impartiality in editing her work as a writer of erotic BDSM fiction. In addition, she’s running from a former lover and trying to keep her hands off Wesley, the virginal (and vanilla) nineteen-year-old she lives with.
Everything about The Siren is deliciously complicated and it’s an experience I don’t want to spoil (plus I’m not in the habit of killing fairies, so to speak).
“I like doing things that hurt.” She gave him a Cheshire cat grin.
Nora pretty much introduced herself as one of my new favourite literary heroines of all time. Full of contradictions, she epitomizes female sexuality and is so wonderfully glib about all things sex that it’s both amusing and horrifying. Not to mention exciting. No wonder she’s considered dangerous. The banter between Nora and [insert any character she comes into contact with in the novel here] is fantastic, and her chemistry with all the men in her life is palpable.
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A mixed bag—the characters aren’t sugar-coated, but the plot and characters lack depth, and I’m not entirely sold on the ending.
This review is part of the AWW2012 Reading and Reviewing Challenge. Click here for a list of books I’ve read so far.
It’s taken me three years to finally read this story about Laila, a mail-order bride from Malaysia looking for a better life in South Australia with a man she’s known for a year via letters.
On one hand, the plot intrigued me. The term ‘mail-order bride’ is often pejoratively used, and I wanted to see its portrayal by Malaysian Australian author Siew Siang Tay. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure I’d like the ending.
When Laila leaves her family in Malaysia in order to marry a man she’s never met, her father all but disowns her. But she has bigger dreams than an arranged marriage and life in a farm, and when she lands in South Australia and finally meets Jim, she’s overwhelmed with happiness.
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The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
A well written and somewhat heartbreaking story that explores how we understand our relationships. It’s also a film.
Matt King is descended from Hawaiian royalty and one of Hawaii’s largest land owners. His wife, Joanie, was injured in a sailing accident and will soon be taken off life support. Matt will be left with the care of his two daughters, Alex, 17, and Scottie, 10.
Matt decides to give his wife’s friends and family a chance to say goodbye and in the process finds out that his wife had been having an affair. He decides to find her lover, so that he can let him have a proper goodbye.
Matt is an interesting character. He’s well-meaning, but as his wife has taken care of their kids all his life, he has no idea what to do and is somewhat shocked at how different they are from what he perceives them to be. He has no idea how to be a parent, despite being a parent for almost 18 years. The book, to me, is less about his wife’s affair, but more about Matt’s relationships, especially with his daughters, and how his journey to find his wife’s lover turns into a journey for his own growth.
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This is a book to be sped through, then read again and savoured and, when it’s tattered and the pages are curling, passed on to your kids.
This is the Melina Marchetta I thought I wouldn’t finish.
The story begins with a shocking scene of children trapped in a car wreck on the Jellicoe Road. But this isn’t the main story.
Twenty-two years later, Taylor Markham is elected to lead Jellicoe School in the annual territory wars against the Townies from the local public school, and the Cadets, who camp out in town for the summer holidays.
But Taylor has other things to worry about. Her dreams are filled by a boy in a tree who whispers in her ear. Hannah, the closest person she has to a mother, has mysteriously disappeared, and Taylor’s teetering on the brink of a breakdown—or worse.
What happened to the kids in the car accident and the boy on the bike who came along to save them? And what do they have to do with Taylor?
I was so confused, I killed a fairy before I even reached page 50.
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I’ve made up my mind. This is my favourite Melina Marchetta book. If my house caught fire, I’d probably grab it on the way out.
We have a signed copy of The Piper’s Son to give away. We’ll post details of the giveaway this week, so watch this space!
Last year I declared Saving Francesca as my favourite young adult book, but that’s not totally accurate. It’s my favourite teen novel. The Piper’s Son is a little more grown-up, and in this book, Melina Marchetta moves more firmly into young adult territory.
I was crying before I got to the end of chapter one, right through to the end, and I loved every minute of it.
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I Came to Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington
Interesting insight into the Australian legal and welfare system. Keep the tissue box within reach.
Something tragic occurs, involving an infant and her mother. Using letters to the judge written by the mother’s father, sister and a nurse, Caroline Overington builds a backdrop against which the horrifying event—not revealed until the final part of the novel—is put into context.
Much of this novel sheds light on the ineffectiveness of the welfare and justice systems. Sometimes this is due to negligence or poor management, but it can just as easily be the result of good intentions. It’s heartbreaking to see how misunderstandings and the lack of resources can put already disadvantaged families into worse circumstances.
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Slice: Juicy Moments From My Impossible Life by Steven Herrick
In short: I loved this book.
Let me start by saying that Slice isn’t a book I would’ve picked up on a whim. The reasons I picked up my review copy had nothing to do with interest: it was skinny enough not to weigh down my bag; I love watermelons. Seriously, there’s something delightful about that cover.
This novel doesn’t have much of a plot, but Steven Herrick is such a fabulous craftsman that he manages to connect tenuously related vignettes about teenage life into a story I couldn’t put down.
Sixteen-year old Darcy admits he suffers from chronic ‘premature enunciation’. It’s not that he talks without thinking: ‘I mean what I say, I just shouldn’t say it aloud.’
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Comrades by Dominic Knight
Dominic Knight’s second book has everything I love about his writing, but the subject matter—student politics—may limit its appeal for many readers.
Knight’s debut novel, Disco Boy, made it to my keeper list, so I was excited to get my hands on his next book. Comrades is a semester in the life of Eddie Flanagan, outgoing Student Representative Council (SRC) president, as he tries to reconcile his ideals with the reality of the political system.
Comrades was an interesting read but a bugger to review. Knight’s wit doesn’t disappoint, and there’s a gentle romance in the story that I found irresistible, but there are aspects of the book that other readers may struggle with.
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Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Not to to be effusive or anything, but this is the book that began my love affair with Melina Marchetta’s books.
When I read fiction, regardless of genre, I automatically seek a sense of connection with the words on the page. Sometimes a scene will get me, or a character, or a turn of phrase. I long for these moments of empathy that can turn an otherwise forgettable book into a treasure in my bookshelf.
Saving Francesca gives me diamonds on every page.
Francesca Spinelli is one of thirty girls at St Sebastian’s, a previously ‘all-boys’ school that has opened its doors to girls in Year Eleven for the first time ever.’ She misses the feeling of belonging she had at her old school with her old friends:
St Sebastian’s pretends it’s co-ed by giving us our own toilet. The rest of the place is all male and I know what you’re thinking if you’re a girl. What a dream come true, right? Seven hundred and fifty boys and thirty girls?
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The Family Farm by Fiona Palmer
The Family Farm’s blurb shows promise, but a slow plot and lacklustre romance make for a rather dull read.
I really, really wanted to like this book. I’m always on the lookout for good outback romances and at first glance The Family Farm fits the bill.
Isabelle Simpson returns to the family farm, eager to help her parents and show her father that she’s more than capable of managing the farm. But her father is convinced that farm life is too harsh for his remaining daughter, and this causes some conflict between then. When her father is hospitalised indefinitely, Isabelle surreptitiously takes over managing the farm.
Her father thinks their neighbour, Will Timmins, is in charge. For years Isabelle has blamed Will for her sister’s death, but gradually she learns the truth behind her sister’s tragedy and she discovers that Will has changed from the skirt-chasing prankster she knew as a child.
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