It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

The Its Monday! What Are You Reading meme is hosted at Book Journey.

Life…

It’s been a busy week and as the end of year draws near it is only going to get crazier for me. The youngest children are being formally invested into their scout troop, I have three separate end of year school presentations to attend, my oldest daughter has performances at Carols by Candlelight and Carols by Glowstick (which the whole family will attend), my youngest son’s birthday party is planned for next weekend and my husband’s birthday is just two weeks away. There are also Christmas parties, family get together’s and a few other random events to negotiate and I haven’t even started Christmas shopping yet! My children finish up school for the 6 weeks of Summer holidays on Dec 16th which means a lot less ‘me’ time until they go back to school in February. I’m feeling exhausted already!

What I Read Last Week

The Storyteller’s Daughter by Maria Goodin

Where Have You Been? by Wendy James

Sister Pact by Ali Ahearn and Ros Baxter

The Escape Diaries by Juliet Rossetti

Reviews Posted

(click the titles to read my reviews)

The Toe Tag Quintet by Matthew Condon ★★★1/2

Shadow’s Claim by Kresley Cole ★★★

Absolution Creek by Nicole Alexander ★★★★

The Storyteller’s Daughter by Maria Goodin ★★★★

Bedpan Blues by Sandy Thorne ★★1/2

The Escape Diaries by Juliet Rosetti ★★★

What I Am Reading Today

In the bookshops and cafes of present-day Paris, ex-psychologist Gabe Figaret is trying to put his shattered life back together. When another doctor, Reynard, asks him to help with a delusional female patient, Gabe is reluctant… until he meets her. At first Gabe thinks the woman, Angelina, is merely terrified of Reynard, but he quickly discovers she is not quite what she seems.  As his relationship with Angelina deepens, Gabe’s life in Paris becomes increasingly unstable. He senses a presence watching and following every move he makes, and yet he finds Angelina increasingly irresistible. When Angelina tells Gabe he must kill her and flee to a place she calls Morgravia, he is horrified. But then Angelina shows him that the cathedral he has dreamt about since childhood is real and exists in Morgravia. Soon, Gabe’s world will be turned upside down, and he will learn shocking truths about who he is . . . and who he can – or cannot – trust. A fantastic, action-packed adventure starting in Paris and returning to Morgravia – this wonderful epic adventure grabs the reader from the first paragraph and doesn’t let go.

What I Plan To Read This Week

(click the covers to view at Goodreads)

Have you ever felt the need to start again? Dumped by text message, Edie flees Sydney for the refuge of her childhood home, taking only a wilting bonsai as a reminder of her failure. But in this small coastal town, shy, awkward Edie has always lived in the shadow of her surf champion father. How can she move on from her ex — and from her past? Her best friend and life-coach, Sally, is full of dubious advice, but Edie finds there are many ways to mess things up all by herself. A new-found talent for erotic writing, a job drawing crab larvae, unrequited lust for a professor with hidden depths and a maddening musician with troubles of his own add to her swag of problems. And then things get complicated … A tender and witty tale about finding your voice, falling in love … and crab sex.

How far would you go to save someone you love? Two years ago, Desi Priest made a horrific mistake and destroyed her family.  Now, she is coming home to make amends: to her daughter Maya, who’s nurturing her own dangerous plan; to her brother Jackson, who blames himself; and to her close friend Pete, who has spent years shielding her from a devastating truth.  But as Desi returns to her beloved house by the ocean, there is a stranger waiting for her. Someone who needs her help. Someone whose arrival will reveal a chain of secrets hidden for over twenty years. And one by one the family will be forced to confront the possibility that they have somehow got things terribly, tragically wrong … Set across five continents, Shallow Breath is a compelling novel of dashed dreams and second chances. But most of all it is a story about love, and what it really means to be free.

Cora is ‘over’ being alone. She has no family, and all her friends are couples. Fed up with feeling sorry for herself, Cora hatches a plan to find a good, loving man she can call her own. Her deadline is Christmas – she doesn’t want to spend another holiday by herself. Just as she decides her strategy, she meets Matt, her downstairs neighbor. They become unlikely friends, with Matt an amused bystander as Cora tries various methods in search of a man. Then something strange happens. Matt, who spends his life avoiding commitment, begins to feel jealous of the men Cora is dating and his resolve to never fall in love begins to crumble. Cora finds herself increasingly attracted to Matt. But is he Good Husband material? She thinks not. A light-hearted, contemporary romance about a young woman who goes looking for love, only to find it right under her nose.

If last night was real, Ariel should be dead. She’s not, but her mother has disappeared, there are bruises on her neck and the hideous beast in the photo looks frighteningly familiar. You can’t send police into a tunnel that doesn’t exist after a villain they can’t see, so when shadow demons kidnap her mother, Ariel has to mount the rescue mission herself. Hot on the trail, she enters a hidden layer of reality only to find that the demons are hunting her, and they feed on fear. Ariel must defeat them before they kill her and enslave her mother. But how do you kill terrifying demons when your fear makes them stronger? A quirky old guide teaches her how to locate and unleash her inner power, and while battling hallucinogenic mist, treacherous terrain, murderous earth spirits and self-doubt, she falls in love with Nick, a Warrior whose power is more than either of them can handle.  Ariel’s journey challenges her perception, tests her awareness and takes her deep into her heart and mind to confront, and ultimately transcend, her fear and anger.

While you are here…

Are you up for the challenge? Join the Eclectic Reader Challenge for 2013!

Win 1 of 5 copies of The Storyteller’s Daughter by Maria Goodin (Aust only)

Check out the latest exclusive clues to solve the Dance of Shadows  mystery

View my answers to the  Best of 2012  Survey

Thanks for stopping by, I’ll be along to visit you shortly!