Looking back 2012

Time passes real fast and before I can reach out for another book, it's the end of the year.

Looking back, 2012 is pretty much a challenging year for me and much as I still enjoy reading, I certainly read much less this year and did less review compared to the previous years.    I also didn't commit much to scheduled reviews and such are more relax and selective in what I read.

PurpleQueenFairyReads will end the year with 75 posts for 2012 which is 23 posts less than year 2011 but all things considered, I'm cool with it.

What's happening next year? Better and bigger things prayfully.

Thank you so much for dropping by and reading my my thoughts.  Here's wishing you a wonderful new year and abundant blessings be with you and your family for 2013.

Happy New Year 2013!

Being the fan of the winning coach of The Voice 2 & 3, here's a song to end one year and to start a new one :)  God bless.

Deadly Houswives - edited by Christine Matthews

Synopsis :

In the expert hands of fourteen unsurpassed storytellers, being a takes on a whole new meaning.  Get ready for a lethal mix of meddling mothers-in-law, creepy neighbours, cheating husbands, fickle female friends, careers left behind, out-of-control kids, and much more in this thrilling collection  of never-before-published stories!  Go behind the lace curtains and PTA smiles to explore the often mind-numbing reality of being a housewife.

Join Nevada Barr, Barbara Collins, Carole Nelson Douglas, Eileen Dreyer, Vicki Hendricks, Suzann Ledbetter, Elizabeth Massie, Christine Matthews, Denise Mina and many more on a riotous ride through the dark but often hilarious corners of the housewife psyche.

It was an impulsive decision to borrow this book from the library and I can't say I regret it but at the same time I can't say I enjoyed it too. There are a total of thirteen short stories some of which are quite interesting but some are quite boring.

However, I can guarantee you that they are a rather deadly bunch of people as the title promises because there's a whole lot of killing taking place in the book. Some of these killings are for no particular reason at all other than the person being paranoid.  We have a rather psychotic bunch of housewives who burnt neighbour's houses just to be on TV, who murder their husbands, murder their daughters-in-law, murder their neighbours, murder repairmen, murder strangers and murder their mothers-in-law and a whole lot more with revenge being centre of it all.

I won't recommend this book to you.  It's just not edifying at all.

Blessed Christmas 2012

Image from the web

Here's wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas celebration.

God bless and have a happy new year!

Master of The Game by Sidney Sheldon

Synopsis :

WHO IS KATE BLACKWELL?

She is the symbol of success, the beautiful woman who parlayed her inheritance into an international conglomerate. Winner of a unique position among the wealthy and world-renowned. And she's a survivor, indomitable as her father, the man who returned from the edge of death to wrench a fortune in diamonds from the bleak South African earth. Now, celebrating her ninetieth birthday, Kate surveys the family she has manipulated, dominated, and loved: the fair and the grotesque, the mad and the mild, the good and the evil -- her winnings in life. Is she the...Master Of The Game?

It's a great feeling to re-read Master of The Game for the n-th time.  Yes, that's right.....I just can't remember how many times I read it since the time I bought this book (3rd June 1990 - it's inscribed in the inside cover).  It's one of the books that I kept at parents' house during my college years and whenever I visited them during holidays, I would get acquainted with the books whenever I can.

Although it's more than 20 years old, the story still never fails in it's thrill factor.  It's just so addictive and once you start you just can't stop until you read the whole book.

The story begins with Kate's father, Jamie McGregor, a Scotsman who traveled to South Africa to strike it rich in diamonds.  He actually did manage to stake a claim but was cheated out of it by Soloman Van der Merwe, a local businessman in Klipdrift.  Jamie vowed revenge and did just that.  The story continues with Kate and subsequently his son, Tony and then ended with Tony's twin daughters, Eve and Alex.

The story would have ended there and all would have been happy but the estate of Sidney Sheldon commissioned Tilly Bagshawe to write a sequel, aptly entitled Mistress of The Game. I read and review the book last year.  It wasn't as good as the original as Tilly certainly isn't yet a master but it was good for the saga to go on.

The Other Woman by Jane Green

Synopsis :

When Ellie Black meets Dan Cooper, she feels as though she's found her best friend and soul mate. After an idyllic courtship, Dan proposes and Ellie happily accepts. She loves everything about Dan, even his family: his sister, Emma, has become her good friend, and his mother, Linda, might end up being the mother Ellie never had when she was growing up. 

Ellie's own family was far from ideal--her alcoholic mother died when she was 13, and Ellie and her father withdrew from each other almost completely. She hopes Dan's family will become her own, that is, until she gets to know Linda and realizes how controlling and manipulative she can be. Ellie's resentment toward Linda grows after she gets pregnant and gives birth to Tom. When an accident puts Tom's life at risk, Ellie's bottled-up emotions spill over and threaten not just her relationship with her mother-in-law but her marriage itself. 

Green, best-selling author of Jemima J (2000) and To Have and to Hold[BKL Mr 1 04], is particularly adept at producing engaging women's fiction, and her latest is a prime example--warm, convincing, and eminently readable. Although at times Ellie's venomous anger toward her mother-in-law grates, overall, she is a sympathetic heroine

I took the synopsis from Goodreads as I didn't like the one at the back cover of the book.  This is a more accurate representation of what the story is about.

I have Airasia to thank for as I managed to finish this book in one day.  I was 'trapped' in the aircrafts for 6 hours during what was supposed to be a 2 hours flight.  With a full aircraft with annoyed adults and restless children who kept crying and one kid who kept kicking my seat from the back to my stiff leg from sitting too long, the only thing to do is to dive in the book.  I did just that.

This is not my first time reading this book.  I read it years ago but I think I appreciate the story better this time round.  I was a bit impatient with Ellie the first time but I quite understand her better this time round.   I also felt that Dan is rather a wimp and should have stood up for his wife but at the same time I do sympathize with him for being caught between two important women in his life.

Highly recommended to all wives. Highly recommended to all mother in laws. Highly recommended to all husbands too.

Three Girls and their Brother by Theresa Rebeck

Synopsis :

So you want to know how to become famous?

Step 1 : Get your photo taken for the New Yorker, along with your incredibly beautiful red-haired sisters.
Step 2 : Watch as your face is plastered all over Time Square and New York goes crazy over you (why? Don't ask me.)
Step 3 : Learn to fight off the paparazzi who are camped outside your school. Older brother, especially seemingly invisible ones are useful here.
Step 4 : Pretend to be interested in leetchy old film stars at glitzy parties and don't let them realise you would rather be doing your homework.

But take it from a tip from me, Amelia, so-called IT Girl, fame is NOT all it's cracked up to be.

all those glamorous parties are really just full of neurotic women studiously avoiding the canapes.  Being followed by hoards of men with cameras can seriously threaten your social life. And no one listens when you tell them you never wanted all this in the first place.

One bit of advice I would give you, and it's an important one so please listen : whatever you do don't do what I did and BITE the most famous film star in the world.  It won't look good, believe me and it'll get you into all kinds of trouble.

I bought this book from a sales last year.   The title is rather unimaginative in my opinion but the cover picture of the red headed girl against the aqua green background attracted my attention.  I don't know the author at all and just buy it because the price was marked down tremendously.

The story was told from the perspective of all the siblings, starting with Philip, the brother and then it moved on the Amelia, the youngest sister, Polly, the second siblings and ended with Daria, the eldest. It wasn't really interested from Philip's perspective and only got interesting when it came to the parts told from Amelia and Polly's perspectives.

The one person I can't stand in this book is their mother.  How can a mother not look out for her 14 year old daughter and be so disillusioned into thinking that it's for her future and that her siblings are jealous of her success when they tried to look out for her.  Neurotic!

Can't say I like it but can't say I don't either.  It's just neither bad nor good but because I paid so little for it, it's worth it.

To The Nines by Janet Evanovich

Synopsis :

Stephanie Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton, but she's pretty damn good at turning situations her way...and she always gets her man.

Her cousin Vinnie (who's also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, who mysteriously disappears just as his work visa is running out.  and Stephanie is on the case to ensure the elusive Mr Singh doesn't make his disappearance more permanent.  But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give a whole new meaning to the word hunter.  In a race against time that takes her from the Jersey Turnpike to the Vegas Strip, Stephanie Plum is on the chase of her life.

The last time I read a Stephanie Plum book was in May.  To the Nines is the 9th book in the series.  It's quite considerate of the author to title the series this way. Easy for readers to keep track of them. However, I really do not know how does the title To The Nines relates to the storyline.

Stephanie was tasked by Vinnie to look for Samuel Singh.  Naturally, Singh wasn't easy to find and Ranger was assigned to work with Stephanie in looking for Singh.  The search took Stephanie to Vegas and both Lola and Connie tagged alone.  Ranger also assigned his 'Merry Men' to keep an eye on Stephanie as she as become a prize in a killing game.  What else is new you might say? Nothing much actually but if you have read this series and enjoyed the other books, you will enjoy this one too.

Grandma Mazur wasn't really featured much in this book.  However, Stephanie kept getting reports of visions about her from Grandma Bella (Joe Morelli's grandmother) from her having babies to her dying.

And for once, Stephanie didn't blew up her car.  That, was new.