Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran

Title: Cleopatra’s Daughter
Author: Michelle Moran
ISBN: 978-0-307-40912-6

Synopsis (from Amazon):
Following Cleopatra and Marc Antony’s deaths, their three children – twins named Alexander and Selene plus a younger son named Ptolemy – are exiled from Egypt and sent to Rome in chains to be raised in one of the most fascinating (and dangerous) courts of all time. Cleopatra’s Daughter is the remarkable true story of what happens to these three surviving children as seen through the eyes of Selene. Their adaptation to Roman culture, their treatment as both a curiosity and a threat, and Selene’s perilous journey to adulthood, are all chronicled in the elegant detail and gripping pace for which Michelle Moran is celebrated.

Review:
I’ve always been a fan of historical novels set in ancient Rome, but seldom have I enjoyed one as much as this. From start to finish, this meticulously researched novel is filled to the brim with characters and settings so richly depicted that one could almost believe one was right there experiencing the action with the narrator, Kleopatra Selene (known as Selene), daughter of possibly the most famous female ruler in history.

There is a real sense of danger and intrigue throughout the plot that kept me on the edge of the seat and made it very difficult for me to put down the book in between reading sessions – I always found myself, while doing other things, wondering about the characters and what could possibly happen next. And I was kept guessing – the mystery of The Red Eagle; the romantic feelings of Selene and also of her brother, Alexander Helios; there was always something happening that had me gagging to find out more!

The sights, smells, tastes, fashions, architecture and social strata of ancient Rome are laid out like a feast for the senses and I truly felt I was devouring this novel which, when finished, felt incredibly satisfying and complete, yet had me hankering after further research into the characters and their circumstances on my own part. After doing so, and discovering just how much of the story is based on historical fact, I am even more impressed.

If you’re a fan of historical fiction, this is a must-have addition to your personal library – get it, read it, love it, then go out and get hold of anything else you can find by the author!

Rating: 9/10

Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite

The Cave by Kate Mosse

Synopsis:
March 1928. Frederick Smith is on a motoring holiday in the mountains of south west France. He is caught in a violent storm and his car crashes. He is forced to seek shelter in a boarding house in the nearby village of Axat. There is only one other guest in the tiny hotel, a pale and beautiful young woman called Marie. As the storm rages outside, she explains how the region was ripped apart by wars of religion in the 14th century. She tells how, one terrible night in March 1328, all the inhabitants of Axat were forced to flee from the soldiers into the mountains. The villagers took refuge in a cave, but when the fighting was over, no one came back. Their bodies were never found. Axat itself became a ghost town. When Fred wakes the following morning, Marie has gone. Worse still, his car will take several days to repair and he has to stay at the boarding house for a few days more. To pass the time, he explores the mountains. Then he realises it is almost 600 years to the day since the villagers disappeared. He decides to go and look for the cave himself. Perhaps, he thinks, he might even find Marie? It is a decision he will live to regret.

Review:
At just under 100 pages, this little gem of a novella lives up to its Quick Read origins very well – you can easily read it in your lunch hour and it would certainly entertain you admirably well through that time, so it’s probably just as well it’s short or you might forget to go back to work!

It’s very predictable, especially to those who have already read Labyrinth, and as the reader you are constantly several steps ahead of the protagonist, but it doesn’t matter – events unfils exactly as one hopes they will. The Cave reads like a classic ghost story, but that isn’t a bad thing, as setting even the “modern” part of the story a little in the past gives it a slightly more mysterious air and actually adds to its appeal.

Definitely one for fans of Kate Mosse, historical fiction, traditional ghost stories and France – The Cave has it all covered within 97 pages of delightful prose that quickly gets into the action and carries the reader along smoothly and swiftly to the perfect conclusion.

Rating: 7

Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite

The Folklore of Discworld by Terry Pratchett and Jacqueline Simpson

The Folklore of Discworld by Terry Pratchett and Jacqueline Simpson
Synopsis:
Most of us grow up having always known to touch wood or cross our fingers, and what happens when a princess kisses a frog or a boy pulls a sword from a stone, yet sadly, some of these things are now beginning to be forgotten. Legends, myths, fairytales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and how we got there. It is the same on Discworld, except that beings that on Earth are creatures of the imagination, like vampires, trolls, witches and, possibly, gods, are real, alive and in some cases kicking on the Disc. In “The Folklore of Discworld”, Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jacqueline Simpson to give an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated and affectionately libelled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld.

Review:
This book is such fun to read! The way it’s set out makes it easy to dip into every now and then; as there’s no plot to follow, you don’t lose the plot. However, it would also be just as easy to read straight through – and every bit as enjoyable as any of Pratchett’s novels.

The folklore of Discworld takes all the myths, legends and rituals of Pratchett’s now famous discoid world and links them all back to their “round world” counterparts and holds the reader’s interest from start to finish – personally, I could hardly wait to find out what little gem would come next as I perused the pages.

A must for all Pratchett fans and also a lovely addition to the collection of anyone who loves folklore in general.

Rating: 9/10

Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite

The Accidental Time Traveller by Sharon Griffiths

The Accidental Time Traveller by Sharon Griffiths
Synopsis:
Life on Mars meets It’s a Wonderful Life in this inventive romantic comedy that looks at what we can learn from the past!

Journalist Rosie Hartford is having an odd day. Or one hell of a hangover…Having had a blazing row with her boyfriend – fellow journalist Will – she reluctantly sets off for her latest assignment: an interview with one of the residents of The Meadows, a grotty local estate about to become the set for a major reality TV show, The 1950s House. But stepping through the front door, Rosie finds herself in a different house – and transported back in time. Everything is grey and drab – the food, the clothes, the TV. It’s like the world is in permanent black and white. It’s not long before Rosie realises what’s going on. She’s obviously a contestant on the 1950s show! She’s pretty miffed she’s not been given warning, but she might as well give it a go – after all, the cameras are always watching and the first rule of reality TV is always keep smiling! But what really sends Rosie into a spin is the fact that Will is there too – but here he is known as Billy and has been married since he was 16 to Rosie’s best friend.In the 1950s, Will/Billy is a family man and devoted father, a side to him that Rosie finds hard to imagine.

He grows vegetables, repairs shoes and even has a shed. He is, in fact, a grown up. The truth slowly dawns on Rosie that this is reality, not reality TV. After she gets over the shock, she begins to embrace daily life 1950s-style. Gone are the excessive consumerism, drifting relationships and cheap thrills of the Noughties. In its place is make do and mend, commitment, duty and honour. Together Rosie and Billy make a great team, covering dramatic local stories, and inevitably growing closer until Rosie falls in love with Will/Billy all over again. But now he has a wife and kids and is out of bounds… Unless she can get back to 2008!

Review:
I don’t often read chick-lit, but this one kind of sparkles in the same way that a good rom-com film does. Yes, it’s light and a little fluffy, but it’s funny and sweet and sometimes serious too. I was surprised at how believable the whole thing was, despite the “time slip” element of the plot – it all slotted together very nicely. The characters were likeable and familiar, the situations were realistic and the developing relationships were wonderful to read.

It’s a lighthearted look at how a modern woman copes when plunged into a time when all mod cons are missing and she has to make do with what’s available, learning new skills and discovering that she’s capable of far more than she ever imagined.

As a bonus, there’s a “which decade should you live in?” quiz at the back (incidentally, it turns out I’d be right at home in the fifties!).

Rating: 7/10

Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite

The No Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night by Elizabeth Pantley

The No Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night
Synopsis:
A breakthrough approach for a good night’s sleep – with no tears.There are two schools of thought for encouraging babies to sleep through the night: the hotly debated Ferber technique of letting the baby “cry it out,” or the grin-and-bear-it solution of getting up from dusk to dawn as often as necessary. If you don’t believe in letting your baby cry it out, but desperately want to sleep, there is now a third option, presented in Elizabeth Pantley’s sanity-saving book The No-Cry Sleep Solution.

Pantley’s successful solution has been tested and proven effective by scores of mothers and their babies from across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Based on her research, Pantley’s guide provides you with effective strategies to overcoming naptime and nighttime problems. The No-Cry Sleep Solution offers clearly explained, step-by-step ideas that steer your little ones toward a good night’s sleep – all with no crying.

Tips from The No-Cry Sleep Solution:
- Uncover the stumbling blocks that prevent baby from sleeping through the night
- Determine – and work with – baby’s biological sleep rhythms
- Create a customized, step-by-step plan to get baby to sleep through the night
- Use the Persistent Gentle Removal System to teach baby to fall asleep without breastfeeding, bottlefeeding, or using a pacifier

Review:
There are some really nice ideas in this book, but I can’t help wishing that my own baby could read the book himself, understand it, and act upon it, because I have to say, it didn’t work for me.

As it turned out, we had already tried / were already trying many of the ideas in this book and to no avail. The only thing we hadn’t already done was keeping a sleep log, which, in the end, served only one purpose – to frustrate and stress me out, which I did not need!

I’ve now been following the book since the beginning of the year and two and a half months in there is little to no improvement. Some nights our baby sleeps in three-and-a-half-hour stints, which is all good and well, but more often than not, he still wakes every one-and-a-half to two hours on average. We’ve come to the conclusion that he’s a very light sleeper (not unlike his Mum!).

I’m sure these techniques will work for some families, unfortunately it didn’t work for us and I’m now left feeling that I’ve wasted time and energy stressing over completing sleep logs and trying various techniques when I should just be enjoying my baby and letting him get on with sleeping how he wants – he’ll eventually sleep through the night in his own time – all babies are different.

The book is well enough written, with a friendly tone, but the chatty little anecdotes from Mums extolling the virtues of the Pantley method that are supposed to encourage and reassure Mums have the opposite effect when the system isn’t working for you and your little one.

Rating: 5/10

Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Synopsis:
To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs. Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life – first discovered in TWILIGHT, then scattered and torn in NEW MOON and ECLIPSE – seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed…forever?

Review:
This was every bit as predictable as the previous books in the series, but slightly less enjoyable. It follows a different format in that the different sections are narrated by different characters (namely Bella and Jacob), but the Quileute wolves, although playing a major part near the end of the story, do not feature so much in the actual plot this time round, which is a shame because Jacob has remained one of my favourite characters, along with Alice (who also disappears for a large part of the story).

There were moments in Breaking Dawn that turned my stomach just a little, namely the imprinting and, yet again, Bella and Edward’s sickeningly obsessive relationship, and there wasn’t enough to keep me really gripped for the entire length of the novel (which is a hefty 754 pages) – I really felt that the story could have been told in half that length and been done far more neatly and enjoyably. From about two thirds of the way through I felt I was just marking time till the final page could be reached, rather than really wanting to find out what would happen (it’s actually very easy to see where everything is going, so I could have quit at that point and still have been pretty certain of the outcome).

There are strong rumours of another installment (Midnight Sun, which is the story of Twilight told from Edward’s point of view), which might be interesting, but only as a completion of the collection, rather than it being a “new story”. I would hope the standard of that installment would rise a little above that of Breaking Dawn, which, in my opinion, doesn’t really stand up quite as well as the other novels in the series. Read it, but don’t expect anything special or you may find yourself a little disappointed.

Rating: 6/10

Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite

The Immortals by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

The Immortals by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Synopsis:
Five hundred years into the third age of flight and mighty phraxships steam across the immensity of the Deepwoods, plying their lucrative trade between the three great cities. Nate Quarter, a young Lamplighter from the mines of the eastern woods is propelled on an epic journey of self-discovery that encompasses tournaments, battles, revolutions and a final encounter with the Immortals themselves. This is the final tale in the “Edge Chronicles” sequence and it’s a fabulous climax to the most original and dramatic fantasy series being written today. Set years in the future, this book is ideal for new readers to discover the series before going back to read the ‘history’ of “Twig, Rook and Quint”. Packed with incredible illustrations from Chris Riddell, this is a wonderfully funny, moving and utterly inventive book.

Review:
Having already read the previous books in The Edge Chronicles in their entirety, I already had all the back history before starting out on reading this, the last and most ambitious episode in the saga. Not that it would have mattered if I hadn’t – the characters, although with a firm history which is alluded to throughout, are all new and this is set many years after the previous trilogies have ended.

I’m pleased to say that the allusion that this can be read as a stand-alone or as an introduction to The Edge Chronicles is entirely correct, although I would still recommend leaving this gem till the end, as it pulls all the strings together and ties them up very neatly, as well as making mention of previous events (although it manages not to spoil anything of their plots – a nifty trick!).

It’s a huge, hefty chunk of a book, with 101 chapters, but don’t let that put you off! It’s jam-packed with action and adventure to keep the most reluctant reader hooked, and Riddell’s illustrations are, as always, wonderful; adding to the excellent descriptive prowess of Stewart (they really make a great team).

Overall, it’s a must-have for all fans of The Edge and will bring legions of new fans to the series.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight Saga 3)

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight Saga 3)
Synopsis:
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob – knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which? Following the international bestsellers Twilight and New Moon, Eclipse is the much-anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer’s captivating saga of vampire romance.

My thoughts:
Although still every bit as predictable as the previous two books, I actually enjoyed this one more – more action; more bang for your buck! There are also several situations coming to a head that make for breakneck pacing and sends you hurtling through the book lickety-split!

Although I was still gagging a fair bit over the lovey-doviness of Bella and Edward, Jacob came more to the fore this time round and meant that Bella had a major dilemma to contemplate, and the back-and-forth nature of exchanges made for more interesting reading than the previous novels in the series.

Alice also seemed to play a greater role this time round and, although she was too sweet to be true, I didn’t find her at all annoying – rather she endeared herself to me in a way that no other character has done (although Jacob came closer than any of the others). It was also great getting a little more of the background stories of the rest of the Cullens, as well as some more of the Quileute history/legends.

It was worth reading the other two books just in order to get to this one, and hopefully Breaking Dawn will prove to be worth the wait too.

Rating: 8/10

Review by Kell Smurthwaite

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight Saga 2)

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (Twilight Saga 2)
Synopsis:
For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of an evil vampire but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realise their troubles may just be beginning…

Review:
Following on from Twilight, I still can’t see what makes Bella Swan so special that all the boys are falling over themselves to get to her! This time round, although Edward has absented himself from her life, Mike still waits in the wings and Jacob, although younger than her, still hopes that their friendship will become something more than it is.

There was something rather confusing to me, though – Jacob says Bella is smart and will work things out. To me she seemed painfully slow in getting to the point. How can someone who so readily accepted the existence of vampires (before having it confirmed by Edward) be SO slow on the uptake when it comes to the possibility of other supernatural beings? It was very obvious to me from extremely early on what was happening (yes, it’s very predictable), so it was agonising watching Bella draw things out at a snail’s pace!

That said, I still enjoyed this sequel. It’s easy and fun to read, and its many flaws somehow make it quirkily appealing. There’s enough happening to keep the reader going, even when the pace slows down slightly, and leaves a nice lead-in for the next sequel, Eclipse.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite

How to Eat Like a Hot Chick: Lose the Guilt, Find the Fabulous by Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent

Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent – How to Eat Like a Hot Chick: Lose the Guilt, Find the Fabulous
Synopsis:
Sassy, irreverent and in-your-face, this is every hot chick’s guide to having your cake and eating it. Learn how to eat confidently, without any apologies, and still manage to look gorgeous. Originally a self-published success, How to Eat Like a Hot Chick will make every woman feel sexy and beautiful. It offers real-life examples on how to take pleasure in food without adhering to complicated diets or self-denial. In the style of the bestseller Skinny Bitch (except who wants the stress of being a vegan?), the authors take a hilarious, glam-girl, take-no-prisoners approach to looking and feeling your best. Hot chicks don’t deny themselves anything. Hot chicks don’t ever apologise. Hot chicks simply enjoy their food and learn to make the right choices every day so that they remain hot. Packed full of sassy wit and goodwill to spare, the authors reveal the secrets of what hot chicks really eat. From which cocktails will keep you light on your feet well past midnight, and exactly what you should (and shouldn’t) eat on a date to how to avoid pigging-out when you’re down in the dumps or hungover.The authors understand that sometimes you’re going to slip up – you’re only human after all, but their simple rule is that if you wolf down that big piece of chocolate cake ‘just know that you’ll be eating a ton of spinach for dinner’. Dozens of smart ideas and healthier food options, as well as lists of foods to avoid at all costs make How to Eat Like a Hot Chick every girl’s best friend. Slimming down and loving yourself is easier (and more fun) than you ever thought possible.

Review:
This is a shining example of self publishing being picked up by a publishing house and becoming a success. Lipper and Vincent have pitched the tone just right – the balance of seriousness versus lightheartedness is spot on, and the advice is all common sense.

To be honest, most of the information will already be well known to established “dieters”, but this is presented not as a diet, but as a way of life that can be maintained with minimal effort. It does have some jargony phrases, one or two of which are a little annoying on occasion, for example, repeated talk of “this is your heyday” reminded me distinctly of Miss Jean Brodie in her Prime, but it’s enough of a fun and easy read that it doesn’t bother one too much as you flip the pages.

The best thing about Eating Like a Hot Chick is that it extols the virtues of having a little bit of what you fancy – nothing is out of bounds, providing you follow up a lunchtime binge on chocolate cake with a pound of spinach for dinner! It also points out that starving yourself is, as we already knew, not Hot – Hot Chicks enjoy their food!

Rating: 8/10

Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite