PURPLE QUEEN FAIRY READS

Synopsis : On the verge of resigning from the D.C. police force, Detective Alex Cross knows he can’t refuse this case. His partner John Sampson has a friend who has been framed for murder and is facing the gas chamber. His accusers? The United States Army. As a new woman in Cross’s life brings him hope in the face of a devastating loss at home, Cross and Sampson go up against codes of honour and silence and three ruthless killers. But a bigger threat lies in wait : their controller, a lethal genius who will introduce Cross to new depths of terror...the last of the FOUR BLIND MICE. It always gives me the quiver to share my opinion on books by such mega author. It gives me extra quivers if I don’t like the book. James Patterson has more books under his belt than most authors. He’s practically a brand rather than a person. Four Blind Mice is part of the Alex Cross series and it was first published 9 years ago. What can I say, it’s as expected as can be from an Alex Cross thrille...

The following review was done last year but got lost in the draft folder (the irony of it!). I’m posting it as I wrote it last year. The book belongs to an ex-colleague. I have since, returned the book to the owner. Thank you, dear friend for lending it to me. :) Sypnosis  In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked into Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burnt all the cash in his wallet and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a hunter…. With anticipation from such an intriguing synopsis, I ‘delved’ Into the Wild about 6 months ago. 6 months later, I am still In the wild and it looks like I might not make it out. The book is only 200 pages, so no, it wasn’t the thickness, the prints were small but it wasn’t un-readable. So, what hap...

Do you remember my wish in this post ? Well, talk about being at the right place at the right time :).  While in Singapore over the weekend, I made it a point to drop by Bookfest @ Singapore 2011 which is currently being held in Suntec Convention. It opens daily from 10 am onwards.  Admission is free. Entrance to the hall I reached there around 11 am on a Sunday.  It wasn't very packed.  The event felt more like a huge bookstore rather than book festival. It is very well sectioned and systematic with English language books on one side of the hall and Chinese books on the other end. The whole set up reminded me of Popular Warehouse Sales that I have attended but without the discounted books. There’s a huge range of books and stationeries available but unfortunately, the books were not very cheap and the most discount given was around 20% only. For example, I bought a Geromino Stilton book (for YA) at 20% discount but the same book is being retai...

Synopsis : It was the longest underground entrapment in history. For 10 weeks the faith and endurance of a group of Chilean miners, their families and rescue workers were severely tested as the miners reminded trapped 700 meters below the Atacama Desert. Many feared the rescue effort would be merely a body-recovery process. Yet instead of abandoning hope, the miners’ families chose to place themselves at the mercy of the elements and camp around the mind – in what later became known as Camp Hope – uniting in their prayers for a miracle. The Chilean Government and the rescue team, despite several major setbacks, never gave up. On the contrary, President Pinera reaffirmed his country’s commitment to saving the miners while at the same time acknowledging that only God could help them succeed in this impossible mission. For their part, the trapped miners clung to the belief that this was not to be their end, and with faith and hope fought against almost certain death. And God di...

Synopsis : Ride the rollercoaster of Shiloh Jacobs’s life as her dreams derail, sending her on a downward spiral from the heights of an AP job in Tokyo to penniless in rural Virginia. Trapped in a world so foreign to her sensibilities and surrounded by a quirky group of friends, will she break through her hardened prejudices before she loses those who want to help her? Can she find the key to what changed her estranged mother’s life so powerfully before her death that she became a different woman—and can it help Shiloh too? Shiloh Jacobs thought she's on top of the world with her dream job as an award winning journalist with Associated Press in Tokyo, Japan and a dream man in her Argentinean boyfriend, Carlos. Unfortunately, those dream turned into nightmare shortly after she arrives in the states to attend her estranged mother’s funeral. She lost her job (due to her own mistakes) and broke up with her cheating boyfriend and things are just not looking up for Shiloh and her ...

Synopsis In the kingdom of Geall, the scholarly Moira has taken up the sword of her people. Now, as queen, she must prepare her subjects for the greatest battle they will ever fight – against an enemy more vicious than any they have seen. For Lilith, the most powerful vampire in the world, has followed the circle of six through time to Gaell. Moira also has a personal score to settle. Vampires killed her mother – and now, she is ready to exact her revenge. But there is one vampire to whom she would trust her soul… Cain was changed by Lilith centuries ago. But now, he stands with the circle. Without hesitation, he will kill others of his kind – and has earned the respect of sorcerer witch, warrior and shape-shifter. But he wants more than respect from Miora – even though his desire for her makes him vulnerable. For how can a man with an eternity to live love a woman whose life is sure to end – if not by Lilith’s hand, then by the curse of time? Valley of Silence is the third and...

Synopsis : Blair Murphy has always worked alone. Destined to be a demon hunter in a world that doesn’t believe in such things, she lives for the kill. But now, she finds herself the warrior in a circle of six, chosen by the goddess Morrigan to defeat the vampire Lilith and her army. Learning to trust the others has been hard, for Blair has never allowed herself such luxury. But she finds herself drawn to Larkin, a man of many shapes. As a horse, he is proud and graceful, as a dragon, beautifully fierce, and as a man...well, Blair has seen her share of hunks, but none quite so ruggedly handsome and playfully charming as this nobleman from the past. In two months’ time, the circle of six will face Lilith and her army in Geall. To complete preparations and round up forces to fight, the circle travels through time to Larkin’s world, where Blair must choose between battling her overwhelming attraction to him – or risking everything for a love that can never be... Dance of the Gods ...

Synopsis : She wanted her husband to attend the town's society-driven church.  God answered her prayer in a radical way. After achieving what few believed possible, Mary Lynn Scoville felt empty, an emptiness that no shopping trips, European vacation or social calender can fill. Married to a handsome real estate developer and mother to three accomplished daughters, she is one Debutante Society invitation away from fruly having it all. When a surprise encounter leads her to newfound faith, Mary Lynn longs to share it with her husband but Jackson wrote God off long ago.  Mary Lynn prays for him on Christmas Eve and her husband undergoes a life-altering Damascus Road experience.  As Jackson begins to take the implications of the Gospel literally, Mary Lynn feels increasingly isolated from her husband and betrayed by God.  She wonders if there really is a more abundant life that Jackson has discovered, richer than any she's every dreamt of. Sunrise On The Battery...

Synopsis : In the last days of high summer, with lightning striking blue in a black sky, the sorcerer stood on a high cliff overlooking the raging sea... Belting out his grief into the storm, Hoyt Mac Cionaoith rails against the evil that has torn his twin brother from the family’s embrace. Her name is Lilith. Existing for over a thousand years, she has lured countless men to an immortal doom with her soul-stealing kiss. But now, this woman known as vampire will stop at nothing until she rules this world – and those beyond it... Hoyt is no match for the dark siren. But his powers come from the goddess Morrigan, and it is through her that he will get his chance at vengeance. At Morrigan’s charge, he must gather five others to form a ring of power strong enough to overcome Lilith. A circle of six : himself, the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms and the own he’s lost. And it is in this circle, hundreds of years in the future, where Hoyt will earn how strong his ...

The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts consists of  : Book 1 – Morrigan’s Cross , published in September 2006 Book 2 – Dance of the Gods , published in October 2006 Book 3 – Valley of Silence , published in November 2006 I find this a pretty clever move to publish the books almost at the same time. Readers are able to follow the trilogy rather quickly, one after another, a month after the previous book(s) rather than wait for a longer time frame like most series. Dance of the Gods and Valley of Silence have been in my collection these few years. However, I never have Morrigan’s Cross and for quite some times, I have been thinking if I should just read Dance of The Gods and Valley of Silence without Morrigan’s Cross . Because it wasn’t an urgent decision, I didn’t make any. However, the intention was always there and I always would be on a look out for  Morrigan's Cross whenever I did any book shopping or when I’m at the library. Such, it was a moment of joy w...

Logos Hope is finally in Kuching . It was a rather warm afternoon when we decided to visit the ship after a rather scrumptious lunch in Puzzle Cafe. Part of me was rather apprehensive as there might be a crowd and I’m not too fond of crowds. Anyway, someone announced that most of her friends have been onboard already so kiasu-ism kicked in and off we went to Pending Port. As you can see from the pictures, it was a wrong move as the crowd really built up and we have to queue for at least half an hour to get on board. crowd started at the parking area There were some people that tried to jump queue right in front of me as I was taking photos. Do you think I allow that to happen? Some of the crew members were interacting with the crowd as they help with crowd control so that was rather nice. Still a long way to go. Anyway, as we entered the ship, we have to sit through a 2 mins presentation on Logos Hope which I totally forgot the minute the presentation ended. Sorry, with the crow...