Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Series, Book 6)

Branded by Fire was one of my most-awaited novels of the year, and it has definitely been worth the wait. The sixth novel in bestselling author Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series is packed with political intrigues, explosions, beloved characters, and a surprisingly strong romance that’s placed firmly at the centre of the story.

Mercy is a DarkRiver sentinel, the frontline defence for her leopard changeling pack. She has an awfully strong itch, and it seems the only one who can scratch it is Riley Kincaid, a lieutenant for the neighbouring wolf pack, SnowRiver. That’s assuming she doesn’t scratch him first. Mercy and Riley are equivalently ranked soldiers in different packs, and neither is used to giving up control.

Alpha vs. alpha

For Mercy, it’s a particularly painful dilemma. As a sentinel, as a dominant female, her chances of mating are slim. She could never be attracted to a weaker male, and yet her leopard nature may never accept a dominant mate. Worse, she’s attracted to the wrong changeling. As in wrong pack. And she’s attracted in a big way. So is he. Also in a big way. (more)

The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns by Elizabeth Leiknes

I’ll begin this review with a caveat: The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns isn’t the sort of book I’d normally buy without skimming first. But when the publisher emailed me to offer a review copy, I was happy to give it a go. This is the debut novel for author Elizabeth Leiknes, and I wanted to like it, but the story hit too many of my pet peeves and left me feeling like it could have been so much better.

When Lucy Burns was a child, she made a deal “To Whom It May Concern”: save her sister’s life, and Lucy will be forever in their debt. She’s been dealing with the devil ever since. In exchange for fulfilling her material and cosmetic desires, Lucy becomes a Facilitator—someone who lures damned souls into the devil’s pit, which, as it turns out, is accessible from Lucy’s basement. It’s an interesting premise (and it immediately reminded me of Kathleen O’Reilly’s The Diva’s Guide to Selling Your Soul), but Lucy as a character starts to unravel for me early in the story.

Sympathising with the devil’s henchwoman

Leiknes sets Lucy up as a sympathetic character trapped into working for the devil (more)

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (True Blood, Book 9)

I have a confession to make: Although I have been a long-term reader of this series, when the books started being released in hardcover first, I lost track of it while waiting for the paperbacks. So when I received a review copy of Dead and Gone, I had to catch up with All Together Dead and From Dead to Worse. Each book brings major changes to Sookie’s world and I find trying to pick up my place in the story without remembering what happened in earlier books disorienting so I wouldn’t recommend reading the books out of order or as stand alones.

This review contains spoilers from earlier books in the series.

Werepanthers and vampires and fairies, oh my!

Dead and Gone is the ninth book in the Sookie Stackhouse (aka True Blood, aka Southern Vampire) series and picks up two and a half months after From Dead to Worse. Sookie is in a relatively strong position, with favours owed by the new King of Louisiana and the local werewolf pack, as well as having her own fairy godmother, not to mention 2 powerful witches as housemates. And then there’s the added advantage of being able to read human minds. The story begins with the Great Reveal—in other words, the Weres are following the vampires’ example and are coming out of the closet to the human world. (more)

So I went a little nuts and saw 6 movies at the Sydney Film Festival…

Breathless

A violent, emotional movie about a small time Korean gangster who beats up people for a living. He has serious anger issues thanks to the trauma of domestic violence when he was growing up. One day he meets a smart-talking teenage girl, and somehow they form a kind of kinship due to common backgrounds that neither is aware of. The movie shows his growing relationships with her, his best friend and gangster boss, as well as his sister and lonely nephew, and how he comes to terms with different issues in his life.

(more)

Keeping it in the Family by Sinéad Moriarty

I was lucky enough to win a copy of Keeping it in the Family by Sinéad Moriarty when Penguin Australia ran a Twitter contest (@PenguinBooksAus) to win a book from its new release catalogue. I was intrigued by the blurb, which sounded a bit like an Irish version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Being from a relatively large extended family of immigrants, I’m well acquainted with the insularity and cultural protectiveness that can be stifling and frustrating for immigrant children.

Keeping it in the Family isn’t exactly a romance novel, but the romance sets up the premise of the story, and what romance there is is rather sweet. The story begins with relationship columnist Niamh (pronounced NEEV) O’Flaherty falling in love. Pierre Alcee is gorgeous, intellectual and quite a bit older than Niamh, but their differences seem trivial when they’re together.

Their actual relationship takes up relatively few pages in the novel, and their dialogue has an almost staccato rhythm in its sparseness, but Moriarty does a good job of conveying their connection and the sense of fun that’s part of their attraction. It’s a heady, almost unbelievably quick courtship—within a month Pierre asks her to move in with him, and within 6 months they’re engaged. (more)

The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuściński

I am a history and travel buff, as people who read this blog have probably already guessed. This book came up on my list ages ago as a quintessential book on Africa. I never bought it (it was expensive!) until Penguin Australia, bless their hearts, reprinted it as part of the Popular Penguins series and sold it for $10 as part of their anniversary.

Ryszard Kapuściński was a Polish journalist who was sent all over the world to cover events. He spent a lot of time in Africa, from the 50s onwards, and covered everything from their initial independence to civil wars, revolutions and everything in between.

Part travelogue, part behind the scenes look, this book provides a good introduction to Africa, showing its history and many of its problems that still exist today. More than anything, this book is about people. The many vignettes detailing the author’s encounters with different peoples and his descriptions of the tribal nuances and intricacies make for interesting reading. (more)

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

Beth Ackerley is a widow who has suddenly, unexpectedly, become an heiress. All she wants to do is sit back and relax with her money, possibly with a new husband. In the process of trying to get a husband, she comes into contact with Lord Ian Mackenzie, the youngest of the Mackenzie brothers, a family notorious for the drama worthy of a modern soap opera. Lord Ian, in particular, is infamous for being “mad” and eccentric, having been previously locked up in a mental asylum for a perceived illness that in modern times would be a disability that can be dealt with. Lord Ian decides that she must be his and sets about it in his own way, and there the story unfolds.

I loved the drama of this story. At first glance, Lord Ian could be any suitor trying to woo a woman—if not for his unconventional bluntness and his trying to prove himself suitable without even knowing that is what he is doing. Both characters have angst-filled backgrounds that Jennifer Ashley uses to show us how their characters have come to be (more)

Sea Lord by Virginia Kantra (Children of the Sea, Book 3)

Conn ap Llyr is the prince of the Selkies, children of the sea with supernatural powers. Conn’s people are dying. They have not had children in a long time, and they are under attack from the children of fire, demons that come from under the earth, who are surreptitiously trying to destroy their civilisation. Conn believes that the key to saving them lies in a prophecy that claims that the daughter of one of their witches Atargatis would have enough power to defeat the demons and bring their civilisation back from the brink of extinction.

Lucy Hunter is the daughter of the selkie Atargatis and a human. Her father fell in love with her mother and took away her pelt, without which she is unable to transform and return to the sea in her selkie form (that of a seal). They had three children, of which Lucy was the youngest, until one day she found her pelt and returned to the sea with Lucy’s middle brother, Dylan (see Sea Fever, the book before this one). Lucy is afraid of the water, but at the same time cannot be too far away from it without knowing why. She was raised by her eldest brother, Caleb (see Sea Witch, the first book in this series), and neither of them knew of their mother’s heritage. (more)

Through The Clock's Workings (Anthology)

Tempted All Night giveaway winner: SonomaLass

The winner of our first book giveaway is SonomaLass, whose biggest temptation is

…just one more chapter in a great book. Late at night, when I know I should be getting to bed because I have to work in the morning….

SonomaLass, I’ve sent you an email, but in case you don’t get it, please email me your address. Thanks to everyone who entered! It was fun judging this one, and the results were very close.

Remix My Lit Anthology

Through the Clock’s Workings, the world first remixed and remixable anthology of literature, is now available:

So how do you use a remixable anthology? Simple. (more)

See more Lolcats and funny pictures

I’ve been meaning to write another post on the issue of parallel import restrictions (PIR) in Australia, but I’ve been putting it off because, well, I just can’t decide where I stand on this issue. Anyway, when I found myself commenting on this post, Parallel importing and ebooks in Australia, over at bookbook blog, I decided to move my comment diarrhoea here instead. Before you read any further, you should check out that link as this will be a response to that post.

I have to confess, I’m on the fence with this one. I agree that book prices in Australia have to come down. I recently spent $55 to buy a hardcover. I’m crazy, I know, and it gives new meaning to the term “book crack”. But I also don’t think an open market is the solution.

First, let’s talk about price

I believe the abolition of PIR will probably result in lower wholesale prices. Will these savings be passed on to consumers? Maybe, but if Angus & Robertson admit to pricing above the RRP now, it’s certainly not guaranteed. (more)