Liquid Fear by Scott Nicholson

When Roland wakes up in a motel with two identities (according to the contents of his wallet) and a dead woman in the bathroom, he wracks his brain to remember what has happened. The vial of pills labelled "Take one every 4 hours or else" clouds the picture further. Porn actress Anita has the same tablets and an encounter of her own that gets the heart racing. When they are reunited with the other survivors of an unauthorised drug trial the battle is on. They all want to take control of the pills that are helping keep them sane and stop them remembering what happened ten years earlier.


I have read other books by the author in the past and enjoyed them so was looking forward to getting into this. The premise sounded interesting, a botched drug trial that had left a group of people on the edge and despite this the interest of certain parties in developing the drug for military application. It sounded feasible enough to be scary, particularly in the hands of Mr Nicholson.


However I finished it feeling a bit apathetic about the whole thing. The point of view kept switching between a number of characters and I didn't feel like I knew much about any of them. The female characters felt slightly more fleshed out but only because there were chunks devoted to their sexual pasts. 


I also had a lot of questions that could have easily been answered in the course of the book. For example the group are all described as sociopaths but it's never made clear whether that is a result of the drugs or if they were chosen for the trial for a personality trait common to sociopaths in the first place. As it is mentioned a few times it would have been nice to know. 


With a lack of interest in the fate of the characters the tension that was being built fell flat, and I felt some threads were under-developed with scope for much more about the political forces supporting the mad scientist's research and its potential applications.


I was a bit disappointed in this book after having read Scott's other work, so it's just an "okay" from me.


Format: Kindle, review copy
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
My Rating: 2*

TGIF!

Life never seems to get any quieter round here, so it's a double TGIF as I now have 2 weeks off work! This week Monkey and I clocked up 6 appointments (should have been 7 but couldn't face 3 in a single day) so unfortunately not a lot of time for reading. However I did read and review The Vagabond King by James Conway. I really liked this book, although I imagine it mightn't be to everyone's taste.

Going back to the micro-volunteering that has been whirling around in my brain recently, I have sold a lot of raffle tickets for our favourite charity's Christmas raffle, and our local pub has kindly agreed to donate the proceeds of one of their fortnightly charity quizes to that same charity. This morning I had a bundle of fundraising items arrive in the post so I ought to take a look at them in a bit.

No blog hop yet, but hopefully I'll be joining in the fun later.

Have a great weekend, TC x

Back to the blog hop

Friday has rolled around again, and with Halloween almost on us that means it's nearly November - eek! The nights are drawing in fast here, and at night temperatures are really dropping so winter is well on its way.

For the first time in a while I'm hopping with Jennifer at Crazy For Books. This week the question is short but sweet, What is your favorite type of candy?

I'm a sucker for chocolate and sweets, and love Bountys (chocolate covered coconut stuff) We've got two old fashioned sweet shops in town, that sell sweets out of jars and I always get things like lemon bonbons and flavoured toffees. Bottom line is I'm not fussy!

In the past week on the blog I have read and reviewed

The Desperate Dad's Guide to Getting Some by Jackie Papandrew, a comic look at relationships
To Faithfully Execute by Gordon Ryan, a political thriller, and
Fear in Appleton by J. Stephen Howard, a good ghostly story for the season

as well as reading an ARC of a short story anthology released next year.

Thanks for taking time to drop by, please leave a comment even if it's just to say Hi. Have a great weekend everyone.

TC x

Book Blogger Hop

That's another week been and gone, and with Christmas decorations already filling the shelves of some of our local stores I feel like I'll be saying Happy New Year to everyone very soon! I've had a good week this week, managed to spend my time off work getting things done and enjoying myself. Yesterday I made it down to the beach, where I read, sipped a latte and even did a bit of snorkelling (which makes the presence of Xmas bits even more weird when it's still so nice out) As a result I've managed to get in more reading than I have normally of late.

In the last week I have reviewed:

The Fourth Reich by Tom Schwartz, a timely thriller
The Goat Woman of Largo Bay by Gillian Royes, a Jamaican cozy mystery coming soon
An Epitaph for Coyote by Bryan R Dennis, contemporary fiction, and
The Scar by Michael S. Weiner, a crime novel

Scott Nicholson is continuing his month of promotions, Be Nicholson's Agent, and dropped by with a guest post on his inspiration for the manor at the heart of Creative Spirit. If you haven't entered already there is still a little bit of time to join the giveaway for a copy of Scott's book The Gorge, original post here for details.

Moving on the blog hop, this week Jennifer over at crazy-for-books.com is asking

As a book blogger, how do you introduce yourself in your profile?

As you'll see if you take a look at my About me page I like to share a little bit of personal info, sheds a bit of light on some the things I mention in my posts, but mostly it's about how I got to where I am with the blog. I hope it gives authors who are looking for a reviewer who is a match for their books enough info, and tells blog followers a little bit about me (without making me a prime target for ID theft :D )

I hope everyone has a great weekend, I'd like to be able to post at some point saying I have claimed a freed book from The Guardian's Book Swap, but I expect otherwise it'll just be a quiet one here.

TC x

Review of the week & Blog Hop Time

I'm beginning to wonder if I have anything other than busy weeks nowadays. It's definitely been busy on the blog with reviews, a guest post and a giveaway. So as a recap....

You have until noon tomorrow (so just over 25 hours) to enter my giveaway. As part of his Be Nicholson's Agent event Scott Nicholson is giving away a copy of his e-book Troubled. Here is the original post with details on how to enter. Once the winner has been drawn I will be announcing the next giveaway!

This month author David Brown is also busy on a blog tour. He stopped by with a guest post on creating the fantasy world of Elenchera featured in his novel Fezauriu's Epiphany.

And as far as reviews, I posted on

The Water Men, by Adelaide MacKenzie Fuss, a 5* contemporary fiction
ORPHANS stories, by Tim Cummings, a diverse collection of short stories, poetry and dramatic pieces, and finally
The Tunnelers by Geoff Gander, a great horror short.

I have another review to write and post later, and tomorrow I will have a guest post from Scott Nicholson.

Moving swiftly on...it's Blog Hop time! This week the question is Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?


Give up reading :O Never! It's not a dilemma I'm likely to ever face because I read such a mix. I think even if the only genres left were my absolute least favourites I would still read them, I'd just have to hunt down the best of the best.

Are we really going to see anyone admit they'd stop reading if they couldn't get their hands on their fave genre? I thought book blogger were all too diehard for that!

Book Blogger Hop and Freebie Friday

It's almost the weekend again, and although the air is a little cooler it's another glorious day here!

This week has been hectic, my sister is at my parents' house with my two little nieces so lots of time with them doing fun things. That's probably why I've been a little slow reading again this week. However I have managed to read and review:

Port of Errors (Born of Tyranny) by Steve Cypert, a piratical historical fiction
Creative Spirit by Scott Nicholson, a paranormal thriller, and
The Betrothal: Or How I Saved Alan Edwards From 40 Years of Hell by Richard Raley, a fun lad lit novel.

You'll be hearing a lot about Scott Nicholson in September, as he is holding Be Nicholson's Agent, where he will be giving away 15% of his e-book earnings for the month. He has a host of events going on on his blog (link on my sidebar) Here on Booked Up I will have one of his books to give away each week this month, details of the first one coming tomorrow.

And now over to the memes...

Jennifer over at crazy-for-books is asking a seasonal questions for this weekend's Book Blogger Hop -

What are you most looking forward to this fall/autumn season – A particular book release? Halloween? The leaves changing color? Cooler temperatures? A vacation?

I had been looking forward to a week abroad, but hubby can't get the time off work. Instead I'll definitely be enjoying wading through heaps of red and gold leaves, walks on the beach without hoards of holidaymakers and hopefully a nice mild autumn so we can enjoy how beautiful the world is at this time of year. I've also got Monkey's second birthday and an intensive British Sign Language course next month, so busy as always.

Over at Webbiegrrl's Writings Sarah is hosting her Freebie Friday feature, so if you are looking for some inspiration at nil cost head over and take a look.

That's all for now folks, end of the summer sun to go out and enjoy. Have a great weekend.

Meme time

Wow, I'm a bit behind schedule today! A morning round a friend's turned into a day out at the aquarium. Monkey had a definite affinity for dogfish and I was envious of the divers in the big tank. As is normal when we go to places like that we have come home with a cute new book for her.

Somehow, after another crazy week, I have almost finished the book I am reading so expect a new review tomorrow. Since last week I have completed:

A Selection of Meats & Cheeses by Danny Gillan, a short story anthology
The Wrinkly by Paul Collis, a comedy
Formed of Clay by Thea Atkinson, historical fiction, and
Stress Proof Your Life...by Elisabeth Wilson, a self-help kinda thang.

Over at Webbiegrrl's Writings Sarah has some really interesting looking free reads, so take a look if you're after some inspiration or some free e-books in time for the holidays.

At crazy-for-books.com it's Book Blogger Hop time, and this week we've got a non-book related question to answer. Simply, do you have pets?

Yep, over the years I've had all manner of pets but now living in a flat we're a bit limited so we just have 2 budgies (parakeets) called Blue and Bumble. I used to think they were old people's pets but I was very wrong, they are great fun and real little characters.

Friday meme time

This week feels like it has been super-busy for me, which probaby explains why this week I haven't got a lot of reading done. However I did manage to post reviews for:

A Paradise for Fools by Nicholas Kilmer, due for release 6th Sept, from the Art Mystery series
Waiting for Pops by John Riffice, a biography about growing up dealing with lies and betrayal, and
Walking Through Shadows by Tara Manuel, connected short stories about small town life.

I also posted a Q&A with Jason Blacker earlier today. He was one of the authors who took part in my 200 follower giveaway, the draw for which took place on Monday. Congrats to the winners and thanks to everyone who took part, as well as all the authors of course!

Over at Webbiegrrl's Writing's Sarah has beaten me to the punch posting first despite the time zones (was a bit tied up at a wonderful music therapy session with Monkey this morning) Take a look at her post for three free e-books she has selected.

This Follow Friday the question from Parajunkee.com is:

How have your reading habits changed since you were a teen? or If you are still a teen what new genres are you in love with currently?

I left my teens quite a while ago (and thank goodness, life gets better as you get older I think) so part 1 of the question for me. I used to be quite serious and a bit of a nerd when I was younger, so in my late teens it was all about the classics and "serious" books. As a young teen I read a ton of Mills and Boons and Clive Cussler books. Now I wouldn't touch a M&B with a bargepole, but I do still read some of Clive's work and fit in the odd classic, but I think my tastes now are much broader. I definitely read more since I got the kindle, and I would never have picked up indie authors pre-kindle, so I think my habits have changed a lot!

Finally it's blog hop time.

Let’s talk crazy book titles! Highlight one or two (or as many as you like!) titles in your personal collection that have the most interesting titles! If you can’t find any, feel free to find one on the internet!

Wombling out to my bookshelves I think the ones that best fit the question are The Devil's Feather by Minette Walters (from the author's website - Devil's feather - [derivation: Turkish] - a woman who stirs a man's interest without realising it; the unwitting cause of sexual arousal) and Past Mortem by Ben Elton which I like as a play on words.

I love this week's questions and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's answers.

Have a great weekend,
TC x

Hopping following freebie Friday!

Nearly the weekend again so that means meme time. As a bit of a recap, this week I have reviewed

Sci-fi thriller Season of the Harvest by Michael Hicks
Comic fantasy The Cornerstone by Nick Spalding
and We the Animals by Justin Torres, due for release on Sept 1st

I also read Helper12 by Jack Blaine, my review of that book will be posted later.

I'm now just 7 followers from the big 200, please help me make it to that total, and join in my giveaway (link on the top right of the page)

Now on with the fun!

At Webbiegrrl's Writings it's freebie Friday. To find some great free e-books and find out how to get your hands on them take a look at the blog. Some are available for one day only! This week's offerings include fantasy, comedy and literary fiction.

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jenn at crazy-for-books.com You can find this week's link here. She's asking:

Highlight one book you have received this week (for review, from the library, purchased at the store, etc.) that you can’t wait to dig into!”

This is a bit of a cheat, as I started it yesterday but I was really looking forward to picking up In the Blood by Steve Robinson. It's a murder mystery with a genealogical twist, and set in Cornwall. I developed an interest in genealogy or family history years ago, picking it up from my Nan so that's an interesting dimension for me. The setting is good for me too, having looked at the author's blog some of the locations are ones I have visited in the past and it's a county I love visiting. I'm approaching half way through an it's pretty good so far.


Over at parajunkee.com it's Follow Friday. The question for this week is:

Let's step away from books for a second and get personal. What T-Shirt slogan best describes you?

Oh boy, slogan t-shirts really aren't my thing. I've just done a quick google looking for inspiration and I'm drawing a complete blank. I remember holidays to Spain as a kid and even then avoiding them like the plague. Sorry!

Thanks for stopping on by, have a great weekend!

TC x

Friday meme time

Phew, that was a short week! And boy am I looking forward to my first weekend at home for  a month. I've had a busy week on the review front, posting the following:

Lessons of Evil by Linda Myers
The Final Winter by Iain Rob Wright
Haunted Ground: Ghost Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield by Hollister Ann Grant
The Accidental Father by Greg Williams,
and last but not least
The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu

I'm also very excited to have launched my first ever giveaway, to celebrate hitting the 200 follower milestone. Take a look and enter by completing the form if you haven't already done so!

Moving on to my fave memes, first of all Sarah's Freebie Friday. Due to time zone differences I'll add the link to the specific post later but in the meantime have a nose at her blog - http://webbiegrrl.blogspot.com/ EDIT - here's the link for the specific post http://networkedblogs.com/kIRaI Sarah has included more new freebies for your delectation.

At crazy-for-books.com Jenn is asking:

What’s the ONE GENRE that you wish you could get into, but just can’t?

There aren't many genres I won't read but I do sometimes wonder if I'm missing out on some of the YA fantasy books and series. Vampires and werewolves just aren't my thing but when I hear people raving about them I wonder if I'm wrong.

Last but not least it's Follow Friday over at Parajunkee.com The question is:

Name 3 authors that you would love to sit down and spend an hour or a meal with just talking about either their books or get advice on writing from?

A while back there was a question about which authors we'd like to meet on one of the memes, so  again my answer would include Clive Cussler, I think he'd be fascinating. I suppose JK Rowling is a bit predictable but she would be amazing to shoot the breeze with, and for the third author...This is hard! I'm going to say Ben Elton, I love his books and he is a comedy genius.

Friday - Hopping and freebies...

...and another weekend away for us. We're off a bit later to a huge airshow called RIAT, camping for a few nights so we can really enjoy all the comings and goings. It's our third weekend in a row away, I'll be kind of glad next week to be at home!

For those of us who like a freebie the wonderful Sarah Yoffa has made Freebie Friday a regular feature over on her blog, Webbiegrrls Writings. This weeks list will include Danny Gillan's Scratch, which I thought was a great fun read, Dan Holloway's literary novel Songs from the Other Side of the Wall and new listings including The Trouble with Green, a romance by Liv James. Make sure to take a look at the full list later.

Over at crazy-for-books.com it's blog hop time and Jennifer is asking

How/Where do you get your books? Do you buy them or go to the library? Is there a certain website you use like paperbackswap?

Ignoring all the review copies I get, most of them come from Amazon or Smashwords. I do also try and make use of our library, with so many closures taking place it's one of those community facilities you use or lose. I'd hate the monkey to grow up without a library nearby! I've never tried swap sites, but I do still get the odd paperback from my dad and grandad. I'd be interested to find out how book lending is going for the kindle. I've heard about sites pairing up lenders and borrowers and would love to hear more about how they work and if they're any good.

As it's another crazy weekend I'll leave the memes at that for now, have a great weekend everyone, and when I get back I'll have some exciting news on my 200 follower giveaway!

TC x

Half the year down...

Wow, I can't believe it's July already and I imagine I'm not the only one who is wondering where the first half of the year went! To everyone in the US and Canada, enjoy your holiday weekend, must be a good way to mark what to me always feels like the start of the summer. This month is shaping up to be a busy one for me, lots of trips away planned and I can't wait.

This past week on the blog I reviewed:

Fezariu's Epiphany by David M. Brown

Clutter-free Home Living: The How-to Guide by Eugenia Orr and

Cold Hillside by Martin Cooper

A bit of a mix, but that's reflective of my tastes!

Earlier today I took the monkey to the library for Stories and Songs, she loved it and I came away with a couple of books - The Accidental Father by Greg Williams, which is apparently in the Nick Hornby and Tony Parsons vein, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich which I've been meaning to read for years. I love supporting our local library, I'd hate for there not to be one when little 'un gets bigger, and I need to keep up with the Borrowed Book Challenge I signed up for over at Book'd Out.

I've finally had reason to put Amazon's customer services to the test. I've heard glowing reports about how great they are, so when the elasticated strap on my kindle cover came unstuck at one end (despite hubby telling me to just use an elastic band instead) I pinged them an email. It was pretty late so I was impressed to log on this morning to a reply saying usually they'd have already sent a replacement, but as the black cover was out of stock they were asking me to order a new one in another colour or order and wait for the black one, and they will refund the money in full. Result! I didn't tell my husband when he bought me the cover as a present that I really wanted the steel blue one, not the black, so I'm now getting a new cover and the one I was really after!

And finally before I move onto the Blog Hop and Follow Friday, author Sarah Yoffa has started a Friday feature on her blog, Freebie Fridays. She is providing a list of a select few free e-books for your delectation. They are available from Smashwords and some are free for one day only. Take a look at this week's list right here. 

Courtesy of Jennifer at crazy-for-books the question for the hop is:

“What keeps you reading beyond the first few pages of a book, and what makes you want to stop reading a book and put it back on the shelf?“

It's very rare I don't finish a book, so it doesn't take a lot to keep me reading beyond the first few pages. For me to put it down it would have to either be a case of mistaken identity, picking up a genre I don't normally touch, or absolutely full of spelling and grammar errors.

And over at parajunkee.com the question is:

ACK! Your favorite book/movie character (example Hermione Granger played by the Emma chick) just walked into the room! Who is it and what would be your first reaction? You get extra points if you include visual stimulation.

Oh, I'm rubbish at these fave character questions. If it was a character who has appeared in a film, like one of the HP gang I would probably be stood trying to look cool and trying to think of an original opening line to engage them in conversation. I'm not the type to get starstruck, but I'd hate to walk up and ask the same question or say the same thing they've heard a million times.

If you're read this essay thanks for persevering and thanks for stopping on by. As I'm edging ever closer to 200 followers look out for an announcement on a giveaway to celebrate! Have a great weekend all. x TC

TFI Friday!

Any regular visitors know what Friday means here at Booked Up - Blog Hope and Follow Friday time! I love these two memes, it's so interesting to hear other people's thoughts and recommendations. Before I get started though, later I'll be posting an author interview with Melinda Clayton, author of Appalachian Justice and recently released sequel Return to Crutcher Mountain (review on that coming later too) And, having passed the 150 follower mark last week I'm planning a 200 follower giveaway. I've got 5 authors on board already, with e-books from a range of genres to be won. Watch this space for more info as I get closer to that next milestone!

Over at Parajunkee.com the question is : In light of the Summer Solstice, also known as Midsummer...let's talk about fairies. What is your favorite fairy tale or story that revolves around the fae?

This is easy for me, I don't read many books including fairies, and it's been a long time since I read any fairy tales (still on nursery rhymes with Monkey) so it has to be Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon I wasn't sure it would be my thing but I thought it was great and gave it 5*

Now over at crazy-for-books.com a question I'm not sure of the answer to: When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life? I'm really not sure, I've always read a lot and can't imagine not having books to turn to when I have time. My mum tells me that as a small child if we were out and about and I was getting bored she could pick up any catalogue or flyer and give it to me and I'd be happy as larry. As a kid the family all called me Bookworm so I suppose I must have realised early on how important the company of a good book can be.

Book hop time

Phew, I survived working on a Friday, it was a bit of a shock for me, been a long time since I've done that and boy was it rubbish still there when everyone else was sloping off early. Glad to be home and relaxing now.

First up the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Jennifer at crazy-for-books.com. Today's question is How many books are currently in your TBR pile?

I'm not exactly sure but it's over 100, which should keep me going for a while! Fortunately most of those are e-books otherwise I'd be in trouble.

Over at parajunkee.com the it's genre wars! What's your favourite genre and which book in that genre made it your favourite?

I'm not sure I have a stand out favourite genre, I do love a good thriller but also I'm a big fan of historical fiction. I've been reading adult fiction since I was about 12, my parents would let me read anything I could lay my hands on, and I can't think of one particular book read back along that has led to me preferring either of those two. Silence of the Lambs is one that stands out for me though.

I'm looking forward to doing some hopping to see what other people's answers are, and would love to read your comments. Have a great weekend everyone! TC

Friday in the sun

Friday is here again, and what a beautiful day it is! First up the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Jennifer at crazy-for-books.com, and Follow Friday with parajunkee.com. Later I've got an author interview for you so please take a look.

Jennifer's question this week is: “Share your favorite post from the last month and tell us why it’s close to your heart!” I think that would have to be my post of May 5th, Finding Time. I don't post a lot on here that isn't a review or Q&A but that was posted during deaf awareness week and if anyone took the time to look at the links provided and have become a little more deaf aware I'll be very happy.

Over at Parajunkee's View the question is What are you doing to prepare for an upcoming zombie apocalypse and/or the return of Mel Gibson to the silver screen? (Both of which could be terrifying.) to which my answer would be absolutely nothing (on both counts) Sorry, not very exciting I know!
It's a beautiful day again here today, so I'm planning a nice weekend of fresh air and fun in the sun, hope everyone else has a great weekend. Thanks for hopping on by! TCx
 

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday

This week has felt like a long one, so I'm glad Friday is finally here. With 2 weeks off work, a camping trip with family and my scuba refresher course coming up it's shaping up to be a good fortnight! As usual I'm joining in with Jennifer and Parajunkee, to find great blogs and chat to others, so here are this week's questions:


At crazy-for-books.com Jennifer is asking "If you were given the chance to spend one day in a fictional world (from a book), which book would it be from and what would that place be?"

Oooh, this is hard! Plenty of places spring to mind but they are real places. I could go for the obvious and say Hogwarts but that is just too obvious. I'll have to think some more on this one.

At Parajunkee.com "It's circle time. Time for us to open up and share. Can you tell us FIVE quirky habits or things about you? We all have them..."

5? Right, let me think...I don't have a lot of quirky habits (at least I don't think so) so mainly things about me.

1) I talk to myself. A lot. All the time. It's great having a little person, you don't look quite so nuts as people assume you're talking to them. I was very pleased to read recently that talking to yourself is good for you, your mental health in particular. Apparently it helps reduce stress.

2) I'm a bit obssessive about checking whether I remembered to lock the car. I'll be 100m down the road and manage to convince myself I didn't lock it, then have to go back and check (sometimes more than once) Not sure why I'm so paranoid about it.

3) I really want another tattoo, one made up of 3 elements to represent hubby, Monkey and I, but I can't decide what to have done. I've been thinking about it since I got pregnant, but still no joy.

4) I'm learning British Sign Language. I absolutely love the logic behind a lot of the signs and one day I'd like to get the formal qualifications. My parents are also learning and they think it's great that they can communicate by sign through the window to one another.

5) I love Farmville on Facebook. I spend far too much time tending my farm and my husband thinks I'm bonkers, but I know I'm not alone

Thanks for dropping on by, have a great weekend everyone!

Good to be back!

Phew, it's good to have Blogger back, what was going on there then? Typically it goes down when I have 2 reviews to write and I'm looking forward to FF & the Blog Hop! Hey ho, just let's hope it's fully fixed now. I lost one post that was only partly saved in Drafts but hoiked it over from Goodreads and all is well again.

No word from Parajunkee or Jennifer yet so I'll add the memes later.
EDIT: It's later, so here's the blog hop:

Over at crazy-for-books.com the question is  

Are you going to Book Expo America (BEA) and/or the Book Blogger Convention (BBC) this year?

I'm assuming both are based in the States, I'm not aware of similar in the UK, so no I'm not going to either. To be quite honest while they sound interesting and a great way to meet people my holiday time is limited and I'd rather be somewhere sunny, diving.

And at parajunkee.com  - The Blogger Apocalypse made me a little emotional. What is the most emotional scene in a book that you have read lately?

I don't often cry reading books, so the only example I can think of is a scene towards the end of a book called Richard Wilde by Mary Fitzgerald. I loved the book, and I did have a bit of a blub!

I had a nice little trip to the library earlier and found myself dithering over which books to borrow and how many. I've got a few review copies that need attention first, so no point going overboard. In the end I plumped for Solar by Ian McEwan and Blue Shoes and Happiness from the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I haven't read any of the others and I know now that this is the 7th book, but it's only a little library and they only had 2 of them so it was a random pick. These will be the next books towards ShelleyRae's Borrowed Book Challenge over at Book'd Out (there's a link to the challenge on my sidebar for anyone who wants to find out more)

I'm off now to sort out those reviews, have a great weekend everyone!

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday

It's the beginning of the weekend, so it must be time for some book blog visiting!

First up, the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Jen at Crazy-for-Books.com. Her question this week is:

Which book blogger would you most like to meet in real life?

This is a hard question, there are some really nice people I've met on blogs but none I know well yet on a personal level. I think it would be great to meet up with anyone with similar tastes who is happy to talk books though. As a sensible adult of course if I was going to meet up with someone I'd met online I'd be meeting them in a public place to start with, and letting someone else know who I was meeting, where and when first, be safe people!

And moving on to Follow Friday, hosted at Parajunkee.com the question is

What character in a book would you most like to be, what character in a book would you most like to date?

Oooh, that's a goodie. I think I'd quite like to be a character in a Jane Austen book. The women of that period might not have had as much freedom as we do now, but for a woman of means life sounded pretty sweet. Alternatively I'd like to be a kick-arse character like Jaclyn Johnson in Sean Sweeney's Model Agent. I always thought Lara Croft was cool and she's probably the closest character I've found in fiction.

Who would I date? I've always had a soft spot for Dirk Pitt Jr, from Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt/NUMA novels. He's good looking, athletic and adventurous and has a good brain too. Almost sounds too good to be true, so a few dates might help find out whether the guy has anything wrong with him.

Thanks for visiting my blog, I love to read people's comments so please say Hi, and have a great weekend!

Book Blogger Hop

Wow, I've totally lost the plot as to what day it is today. It's almost bedtime and I've just realised it's Blog Hop day! This fun hop is a fab way to find other book bloggers and have a nosy at other people's answers to the question. This week it is:

 If you find a book you love, do you hunt down other books by the same author?

My answer is Yes, absolutely. If you were to look at my bookshelves you'd see loads of books by James Patterson, John Grisham, Val McDermid, Ian Banks, Ian Rankin, Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, Charles Dickens and probably others too. I think it is possible to go into overload though. My Dad and Grandad both read a lot of Jack Higgins, Clive Cussler and Colin Forbes so I used to borrow a lot of them but having read umpteen and one they get a bit formulaic so I'm taking a break from them.

Follow Friday & Book Blogger Hop

This week has been one of those good day/bad day mixes. The particularly good days were the ones I had off work, today which is my wedding anniversary and a family day out on Mon. The not so good days were yesterday, when I had a tooth out under sedation and today as I'm still feeling a bit woozy and definitely sore. Hopefully it'll soon be healing though.

On the book front I've read a few over the last week and a bit later I'll be bringing you a Q&A with the author of one of those book - Scratch - Danny Gillan. And I'll be really happy if I make it to 100+ followers today, am sitting at 98 right now and that would feel like a huge milestone for my little blog. For now, moving on to Follow Friday...

Over at Parajunkee's the question is:

Do you have anyone that you can discuss books with IRL? Tell us about him/her.

The only person I really discuss books with is my Dad. He loves to read too although his tastes aren't quite as wide as mine, so we only tend to talk about and share action, thriller and crime novels. I used to have a colleague who would chat about books, we'd suggest new authors to each other but she's retired now.

Usually I join in the Blog Hop, but not entirely sure what's going on with that, no Hop last weekend but then a midweek one and no indication of whether this weeks will be posted later or not. Will keep an eye and update later if it is posted.


Yeay, we now have a question or rather an activity!

Pick a character from a book you are currently reading or have just finished and tell us about him/her.

I have just finished the 4th book in Stephen Harper's King's X series (will review it later) I love the character Wendell Book. He's a vice cop, but hasn't been on the job long enough to be jaded. He's tough but cares about the people he meets on the job. During the series he has to deal with some massive, life changing revelations including what happened to his dad before he died. Yet at the same time he's looking out for teen runaway Molly. I'm just sad I've finished the first part of the series, the bright light being that Stephen has promised more King's X installments!

Have a great weekend everyone!