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Showing posts from July, 2014

Percy Jackson and The Titan's Curse (Book #3 of Percy Jackson Series)

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Synopsis: IT'S NOT EVERYDAY YOU FIND YOURSELF IN COMBAT WITH A HALF-LION, HALF-HUMAN. But when you're the son of a Greek god, it happens. And now my friend Annabeth is missing, a goddess is in chains and only five half-blood heroes can join the quest to defeat the doomsday monster. Oh, and guess what? The Oracle has predicted that not all of us will survive... I have now entered uncharted territory in my journey in the Percy Jackson Series as this title is not out as a movie and the book is my only guide journey forward.  Somehow I felt a bit of a discord between book #2 and book #3.  At the end of book #2, we met Thalia. At the start of book #3, a few months have gone by and both Thalia and Annabeth is attending a school together while Percy is somewhere else. There are some new characters n The Titan's Curse.  Not just Thalia, we have Bianca and Nico, a brother and sister who are children of Hades, trapped in the same hotel in Vegas that Percy and his friend

Prospect Street by Emilie Richards

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Synopsis : When Faith Bronson's marriage ends abruptly, she finds her privileged life shattered.  Only just beginning to face the lie she has lived, she finds sanctuary with her two children in the shabby Georgetown row house that's been in her mother's family for generations. This historic house harbors dark secrets of its own.  When Faith takes steps to rebuild her ancestral home, she meets Pavel Quinn.  Though he is connected to her past in stunning ways, his strong attraction to Faith is enough to convince him to keep silent, because the truth could drive her away forever. But now the secrets of the house on Prospect Street are about to be revealed.  For it is only when the truth is told that Faith, her family and the man she loves can make a new beginning. Having read Beautiful Lies recently and enjoyed it tremendously, I was happy to find another copy of title by Emilie Richards in my collection.  I honest do not know at times how many titles I have in my

Playing Cards in Cairo by Hugh Miles

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Synopsis : PLAYING CARDS IN CAIRO is a fly-on-the-wall account - of life (for western readers) in a strange and exotic environment. Hugh Miles lives in Cairo and is engaged to an Egyptian woman. Twice a week he plays cards with a small group of Arab, Muslim women and through this medium he explores their lives in modern Cairo, the greatest of Arab cities.  It is a secretive, romantic, often deprived but always soulful existence for the women as they struggle with abusive husbands and philandering boyfriends. The book is a window onto a city - and a way of life - which is at a crucial juncture in its history. Hugh Miles, who knows the Arab world intimately, is the perfect guide. I wasn't sure what to expect when I came across this book - I was just really intrigued by the cover.  I love the vibrant blue as well as the mysterious Egyptian woman behind the veil.  Because of my interest of lives of women in culture that's foreign from my own, I approached this b

Evening Class by Maeve Binchy

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Sypnosis : The Italian evening class at Mountainview School is like hundreds of others starting up all over the city.  But this one has its own special quality - as the focus for the varied hopes and dreams of teachers and students alike. And by the time the group sets off on the end-of-course trip to Italy, a surprising number of those hopes and dreams have come true - in some odd and unexpected ways. I have seen quite a few titles by this author when I was at a book sales end of last year.  However, I wasn't really brave enough to invest in her as I just wasn't sure if I would like what she write.  I did, however, pick up a couple of titles with Evening Class being one of them. My verdict - I should have picked up more. It would have been a good investment because I really enjoy reading Evening Class .  I thought it was wonderfully written with enough character development as well as plot development.  Well...come to think of it, there wasn't really a plot.  I

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

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Synopsis : One night, Matt Hunter innocently tried to break up a fight - and ended up a killer.  Now, nine years later, he's an ex-con who takes nothing for granted.  His wife, Olivia, is pregnant, and the two of them are closing on their dream house.  But all it will take is one shocking, inexplicable call from Olivia's phone to shatter Matt's life for a second time... An electrifying thrill ride of a novel that peeks behind the white picket fences of suburbia, The Innocent is at once a twisting, turning, emotionally charged story and a compelling tale of the choices we make and the repercussions that never leave. This is my first book by Harlan Coben.  For some reason that I am not sure of, I always thought that Harlan Coben is female. Sorry for the mistaken identity but he certainly is not. Far from it, from the author's photo at the back cover. The Innocent is quite a good read.  I read it while on a short holiday and it was a good company for the down t

Percy Jackson and The Sea of Monsters (Book #2 of Percy Jackson and The Olympian Series)

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Synopsis : The heroic son of Poseidon makes an action-packed comeback in the second must-read installment of Rick Riordan's amazing young readers series. Starring Percy Jackson, a "half blood" whose mother is human and whose father is the God of the Sea, Riordan's series combines cliffhanger adventure and Greek mythology lessons that results in true page-turners that get better with each installment. In The Sea of Monsters, Percy sets out to retrieve the Golden Fleece before his summer camp is destroyed, surpassing the first book's drama and setting the stage for more thrills to come. This is book #2 in the Percy Jackson Series and you can read my review on book #1 T he Lightning Thief  here . The Sea of Monsters is more straight forward as there’s less character introduction.  We also know Percy and Annabeth and Glover among others.  However, Percy found himself a brother, Tyson, who is half Cyclops (he has just one eye in lieu o