PURPLE QUEEN FAIRY READS

  A chandelier of pens taken in a Muji store 2 years ago How have your year been? I can't really use one word to summarise my experience for year 2021. On one hand, I didn't experience much but on the other hand, I felt a lot has happened. Purple Queen Fairy will end the year with 35 posts. Never before in the history of this blog that I only did 35 posts for the year. It's an all time low as I normally average around 50 to 55 posts for one year.  I guess it can't be help as I read much less this year too. Let's see, I only read about 24 books this year. Out of these 16 are physical books and 8 books were electronic books.  This gives it an average of 2 books a month.  Much less isn't it?  If it's not because I kinda motivated myself to read more towards the final quarter of the year, it would have been much less. I only bought 3 books this year. Here , here and here . Favorite book of the year?  I think it would be the three Camilia Lackberg titles. ...

  Synopsis : A breathtaking thriller which weaves history and religion with action, adventure and apocalypse… Luke Hayward is adrift. Blacklisted out of academia, he is in no position to refuse when a client asks for his expert help in recovering some lost Isaac Newton papers. But a chance discovery in a dusty attic plunges Luke into a race to uncover the truth behind some seemingly random scribblings - a race which pits Luke against a fundamentalist madman with dangerously powerful friends. Luke discovers connections between Oxford, London and the Old City of Jerusalem in a breathless chase to uncover a secret hidden in the eccentric ramblings of a mathematical genius; a secret that, in the wrong hands, could be used to spark the holy war to end all holy wars…   This is what I say : This would be the last book I read for this year.  Newton's Fire is a rather intriguing title.  It has hints of Dan Brown ala Davinci Code but then different with a Sam Bourne feel as ...

Photos taken by my friend who's in Middle East for work visit. Thanks JKM for the photo Wishing everyone near and far A Blessed Merry Christmas 2021 May Christ's blessing be with you and your family Stay safe always From the love of my life, my forever Princess 

 Synopsis : As the novel opens, a threat looms. Enemies are planning an attack of unprecedented scale on America. Uncertainty and fear grip Washington. There are whispers of cyber terror and espionage and a traitor in the cabinet. The President himself becomes a suspect, and then goes missing... Set in real time, over the course of three days,  The President Is Missing  is one of the most dramatic thrillers in decades. And it could all really happen. This is What I say :  Like most fans of thrillers, I knew of this titles since it was first released.  However, I didn't think highly of it so it wasn't really a priority to get hold of a copy.  It was by chance that I came across an electronic copy a while ago.  Even then, I did not read it immediately but kept it in my tbr (to be read) folder for quite a while (almost 1 year actually!) Anyway, it was recently, beginning of this month actually that I thought of giving this title a try and if I didn't like...

  Synopsis : then. When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives. now. That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt. forever. Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment--a moment of death or life, farewell or forever. This Is What I say : Forever is the final book in the story of T he Wolves of Mercy Falls .  I started reading this series towards end of November and it took me three weeks to complete all three books. Actually, there's not much story line in the series but I do like the way the characters interact with each other.  While Sam and Grace are the m...

  Synopsis : the longing. Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain. the loss. Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of being a human. the linger. For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life a constant struggle between two forces - wolf and human - with love baring its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?   This is What I say : Linger is the second book the The Wolves of Mercy Falls .  There wasn't much story line in Linger . But then there wasn't much story line in Shiver as well. This time round, the point of view of the story are from four person. Sam, G...

  Synopsis : For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever. This is What I Say : Shiver is the 1st title in The Wolves of Mercy Falls Series. At first, it was a trilogy but then it became a 4 books series.  Each title would be from a perspective a different character. In this first title, it was from the perspective of Grace and Sam. This title didn't get very good review from the general readers.  Still, I think it wasn't that bad but truth ...

  Synopsis : Jennifer Graham is struggling to make ends meet while running the Fairlawn Funeral Home, raising two children, and studying for her national board exam. After her assistant and mentor reveals that he has a serious illness, Jen decides to help him reconcile with his daughter. This is what I say : This is the final title in the Fairlawn Series of 3 titles. I like this book.  There's a couple of funny moments and a couple of sad moments too. Isn't that what life is all about?  The good and the bad. That's how life is. Learning point in She's in a Better Place ?  I would say is to appreciate the ones you love and care for before it's too late.   If on the other hand,  you feel unappreciated, you need to voice out to those whom  you care for and care for you for they might not know how you feel.  You don't have to go and fake a funeral just to find out like one of the characters in this book.   It's rather sad she has to r...

  I bought a book recently.  It's this book.   This title has a deep meaning for me this season and getting hold of this book opens up a floodgate of emotions for me. Will my first phone call from heaven be from him? T he is my third book purchase for the year.  My first purchase is here and second is here . I think it will be my last purchase for the year too.

  Synopsis : Jennifer Graham--mother, student, and embalmer's apprentice-- could use a friend. She finds one in McLane Larson, a newcomer to Mt. Dora, and is delighted to learn that the young woman is expecting a baby.  While McLane's soldier-husband serves overseas, Jen promises to support McLane and then learns that her tie to this woman goes far deeper than friendship.  When a difference of opinion threatens their relationship, Jennifer discovers weaknesses in her own character . . . and a faith far stronger than she had imagined. This is what I say : This is the second book in the story of Jennifer Graham and her funeral house business. She and her family live on the top floor of the house and the ground level is where her business is.  Readers might generally feel rather morbid about the whole arrangement but the author tries to normalise death and life and that everything is natural and there should not be anything morbid about the arrangement. Personally, I li...

  Synopsis : How do you cope when God asks you to bury a dream? In this new series by best-selling author Angela Hunt, readers will meet Jennifer Graham, the no-nonsense chief of staff for a Virginia senator who quits her job after a divorce and finds herself an unemployed single mom.  Forced to live with her mother until she can find work on Capitol Hill that does not involve her gregarious ex-husband, her efforts are stymied until she learns that she has inherited a funeral home in picturesque Mt. Dora.  Jennifer journeys to the small Florida town with her two sons and her mother, never dreaming that within a mortuary she will discover she has inherited a rewarding career that teaches her far more about life than death. This is what I say : It's been a while since my last post. Much has happen to the family as the dreaded covid paid a visit and caused some serious damage in the health of myself and a family member.  Am glad that we are all recovering although some ...

  Synopsis : For the Yada Yadas, gettin' caught up in troubles isn't the problem; it's how to get free. Only weeks ago, we Yadas toughened our prayer knees when one of our own was the victim of a vicious racial attack. Now it seems each household is being thrown into even bigger and badder circumstances. It especially worries me, Jodi Baxter, because I'm a fixer by nature, and the prayer list is getting out of control . . . Ruth and Ben are caught up in an unplanned pregnancy--in their fifties! Chanda is deluded by the glitter of her lottery dream come true. Florida wants to move her family, hoping to leave trouble behind, but it looks like it may catch up to her anyway. And I'm finding that even good things like prayer group can consume me in no time flat. If there is an upside, it's that all this trouble is revealing the subtle lies we Yadas believe about God, ourselves, each other, and life. Maybe our best hope is to catch on to what God's doing--and catc...

  Synopsis : When Sheriff John Gaines is called to the riverside, it is to supervise the recovery of the body of a teenage girl. The corpse is perfectly preserved, she could have died yesterday. But the locals of Whytesburg are in for a shock. For Nancy Denton, missing for two decades, has come back to them from the cold embrace of the riverbank. This is what I say : I wasn't really sure what I would be in for when I decided to start on this title.  Actually, I had meant to start on this title for quite a while but I kinda favor other titles over this until about a month ago that I decided to just go ahead with it. This is my first time reading R. J. Ellory.  I was pleasantly surprise as I quite like the way this author writes.  He is quite eloquent with his writing and thus with an interested premise of a body that was preserved naturally for twenty years by nature itself, I thought this title as great potential. Indeed, it was a good read.  Again, I really lik...

  Image from web To think that it's October already and in less than 3 months, we would say good bye to this year.  I have been wfh on and off too these few months since June and life rhythm has been pretty disrupted these few months and life was actually starting beating to a new tune and rhythm.   Couple of months ago also saw a shift to the current norm that we have been experiencing in the homefront and things will continue to change and shift again.  This is especially so over the last two months to say the least and honestly I have not really come to terms with the change.  Maybe as I slow down to think and muse, I can be in touch with myself. Maybe I am being dramatic here but whatever it is, I just want to keep note here as a note-to-self. I might be back to update this post and to correct my thoughts again. I also wasn't aware that October is the National Book Month.  So, ya happy national book month to all!  I really should catch up with...

  Synopsis : A MISSING CHILD… When a four-year-old girl disappears from in the woods just outside Fjällbacka, the community is horror-struck. Thirty years ago, a young girl went missing from the exact same spot, and was later discovered, murdered. A MURDER… Back then, two teenage girls were found guilty of the killing. Could it really be a coincidence that one of the girls – now a world-famous actress – has just returned to Fjällbacka? Detective Patrik Hedström starts investigating, with his fearless wife, Erica Falck, by his side. A TRUTH BURIED LONG AGO… But as Patrik and Erica dig deeper, the truth becomes ever murkier. For centuries ago, a woman burned at the stake for witchcraft cursed the Fjällbacka families who accused her, and now it seems the past may be coming back to haunt them… This is what I say : This is the tenth title in the universe of Erika and Patrik of Fjallbacka.  I am happy to share that I have read all ten titles and the crime thrillers by Camilla Lackbe...

  Synopsis : With unraveled embroidery and fraying hems, the Traveling Pants are back for one last, glorious summer. Lena: Immerses herself in her painting and an intoxicating summer fling, fearing that the moment she forgets about Kostos will be the moment she sees him again. Carmen: Falls under the spell of a sophisticated college friend for whom a theatrical role means everything and the heritage of the Pants means nothing. Bridget: Joins a dig for an ancient city on the coast of Turkey and discovers that her archaeology professor is available in every way except one. Tibby: Leaves behind someone she loves, wrongly believing he will stay where she has left him. Join Ann Brashares's beloved sisterhood once again in a dazzling, fearless novel. It's a summer that will forever change the lives of Lena, Carmen, Bee, and Tibby, here and now, past and future, together and apart. This is what I say : At one point in my reading habits, I felt like collecting all the titles in the Si...

  Synopsis : How can you know someone you’ve never met? Joyce Conway remembers things she shouldn't. She knows about tiny cobbled streets in Paris, which she has never visited. And every night she dreams about an unknown little girl with blonde hair. Justin Hitchcock is divorced, lonely and restless. He arrives in Dublin to give a lecture on art and meets an attractive doctor, who persuades him to donate blood. It's the first thing to come straight from his heart in a long time. When Joyce leaves hospital after a terrible accident, with her life and her marriage in pieces, she moves back in with her elderly father. All the while, a strong sense of déjà vu is overwhelming her and she can't figure out why …   This is what I say : Cecelia Ahern delivers when it comes to interesting and unexpected whimsical plot.  Thanks for the Memories is no difference.  There's something magical in what she wrote and I meant that literally and figuratively.  That's her magic form...

  Synopsis : SEE NO EVIL It’s January in the peaceful seaside resort of Fjällbacka. A semi-naked girl wanders through the woods in freezing cold weather. When she finally reaches the road, a car comes out of nowhere. It doesn’t manage to stop. HEAR NO EVIL The victim, a girl who went missing four months ago, has been subjected to unimaginably brutal treatment – and Detective Patrik Hedström suspects this is just the start. SPEAK NO EVIL The police soon discover that three other girls are missing from nearby towns, but there are no fresh leads. And when Patrik’s wife stumbles across a link to an old murder case, the detective is forced to see his investigation in a whole new light.   This is what I say : First of all, it wasn't really a young child that was described in sypnosis above and as shown in the cover image.  It was a girl, a teenage girl and the title The Ice Child ...I have a feeling it wasn't referring to her but to the child of years ago. That musing aside, I...

  Synopsis : Easter, 1974. A family vanishes without a trace from the island of Valö outside of Fjällbacka. The dinner table has been exquisitely set, but everyone except the one year-old daughter Ebba is gone. Are they victims of a crime or have they voluntarily disappeared? Years later Ebba returns to the island and the old summer camp where her father ruled a boarding school with an iron hand. She and her husband Marten have recently lost their three year-old son, and in an attempt to overcome their grief they have decided to renovate the house and open a B&B. They've barely settled in before they are subjected to an attempt of arson. And when they begin to remove the floor boards in the dining room, they find dried blood underneath ...   This is what I say : First of all, just to be clear, there's another title for this book which is The Angelmaker's Wife .  Also readers must be aware that the author is Swedish and this title was originally written in Swedish and ...

  Synopsis : Aelin Galathynius has vowed to save her people ― but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. The knowledge that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, but her resolve is unraveling with each passing day… With Aelin captured, friends and allies are scattered to different fates. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever. As destinies weave together at last, all must fight if Erilea is to have any hope of salvation. This is what I say : Finally I reached the last book/title in the series.  A reading journey that took me almost 3 years starting with the first title  Throne of Glass in November 2018 and ends with Kingdom of Ash in July 2021. I didn't know what I was in for when I starting this series but I must say it's been an interesting reading journey, one which I really like. Aelin started off a...

Synopsis : Jasmine know two things: one, she loves her vulnerable sister unconditionally, and will fight to the death to protect her from anyone who upsets her. Two, she's only ever been good at one thing – her job helping business start-ups. So when she’s sacked and put on gardening leave, Jasmine realises that she has nothing else to fill her life. Insomnia keeps her staring out of her bedroom window, and she finds herself watching the antics of her neighbour, shock jock Matt, with more than a casual eye. Matt is also taking a forced leave of absence from work, after one of his controversial chat shows went too far… Jasmine has every reason to dislike Matt, and the feeling appears to be mutual. But not everything is as it seems, and soon Jasmine and Matt are forced to think again…   This is what I say : Hello. I am back. Finally with a title that  took me 1 month to read this.  I could have read in within a week but it took me 1 month as I wasn't as committed to readin...

  With the world under lock down and with my area under MCO (Movement Control Order) for the past 14 days in attempts to fight the virus and with very high possibility of an extension and with the vaccine still not within my sight (still waiting for my turn), I have not been motivated to read. With that, the blog seems to be taking a break too. Hopefully, things (including reading for me) will be back to norm soon. Take care all and stay safe. God bless us all.

  Synopsis : 'Myself and Hugh . . . We're taking a break.' 'A city-with-fancy-food sort of break?' If only. Amy's husband Hugh says he isn't leaving her. He still loves her, he's just taking a break - from their marriage, their children and, most of all, from their life together. Six months to lose himself in south-east Asia. And there is nothing Amy can say or do about it. Yes, it's a mid-life crisis, but let's be clear: a break isn't a break up - yet . . . However, for Amy it's enough to send her - along with her extended family of gossips, misfits and troublemakers - teetering over the edge. For a lot can happen in six-months. When Hugh returns  if  he returns, will he be the same man she married? And will Amy be the same woman? Because if Hugh is on a break from their marriage, then isn't she? The Break  isn't a story about falling in love but about  staying  in love. The is what I say : I am still having the Marian Keyes feel...

  Synopsis : Harry Potter's life is miserable. His parents are dead and he's stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry. Though Harry's first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it's his responsibility to prevent it f...

Image taken from organiser's FB page  Second Time Around Books will be making its round in my city once again after the unfortunate break caused by the pandemic last year.  If I am not mistaken, the last time they made an appearance was in year 2019 and early 2020 and they were not able to do so for their annual end 2020 sales due to C19. Well, starting yesterday and for about 6 weeks, they will attempt to tempt you with many titles of novels, paperbacks, hardcovers, children's book, non fictions like self help book, cookery books and many more genre and titles. There will be folks making their way there and pick up titles that interest them or titles that they want to just try reading or even titles that just attracts their attention but of which they will never read. I used to look forward to this yearly sales that had been making their rounds in the city yearly for the past 10 years or so.  However, in recent years, my interest in going to the book sales waned and I do...

  Synopsis : Jojo Harvey is a dead ringer for Jessica Rabbit and the most ferocious literary agent in town. A former NYPD cop, she now lives in London making million-dollar book deals while trying to make partner at her firm . . . all the while sleeping with the boss man. Lily Wright is an author who believes in karma, and is waiting for the sky to fall after stealing her former best friend's man. Though her first book failed to sell, her life turns upside down when her most recent book becomes a huge bestseller. Gemma Hogan is an event designer extraordinaire, but her personal life is nonexistent after losing the love of her life and her best friend in one fell swoop. To make matters worse, her father has just left her mother. While taking care of her mother, she e-mails a close colleague about her frustrations, who in turn forwards the hilarious e-mails to a famous literary agent named Jojo Harvey, who just happens to represent her former friend, now enemy, Lily Wright. . . . Thi...

  Sypnosis : Helen Walsh doesn’t believe in fear – it’s just a thing invented by men to get all the money and good job – and yet she’s sinking. Her work as a Private Investigator has dried up, her flat has been repossessed and now some old demons have resurfaced. Not least in the form of her charming but dodgy ex-boyfriend Jay Parker, who shows up with a missing persons case. Money is tight – so tight Helen’s had to move back in with her elderly parents – and Jay is awash with cash. The missing person is Wayne Diffney, the ‘Wacky One’ from boyband Laddz. He’s vanished from his house in Mercy Close and it’s vital that he’s found – Laddz have a sell-out comeback gig in five days’ time. Things ended messily with Jay. And she’s never going back there. Besides she has a new boyfriend now, the very sexy detective Artie Devlin and it’s all going well, even though his ex-wife isn’t quite ‘ex’ enough and his teenage son hates her. But the reappearance of Jay is stirring up all kinds of stuf...

  Synopsis : Chaol Westfall and Nesryn Faliq have arrived in the shining city of Antica to forge an alliance with the Khagan of the Southern Continent, whose vast armies are Erilea's last hope. But they have also come to Antica for another purpose: to seek healing at the famed Torre Cesme for the wounds Chaol received in Rifthold. After enduring unspeakable horrors as a child, Yrene Towers has no desire to help the young lord from Adarlan, let alone heal him. Yet she has sworn an oath to assist those in need—and will honor it. But Lord Westfall carries shadows from his own past, and Yrene soon comes to realize they could engulf them both. In this sweeping parallel novel to the New York Times bestselling Empire of Storms, Chaol, Nesryn, and Yrene will have to draw on every scrap of their resilience if they wish to save their friends. But while they become entangled in the political webs of the khaganate, deep in the shadows of mighty mountains where warriors soar on l...