The Promise Blog Tour: Book Review

Title: The Promise
Author: Kim Carmichael
Release Date: 24th February 2013
Publisher: Hot Ink Press
Source: Received from Nevermore PR for an honest review

Demon Dolan Ciar exists on three simple words: desire, denial, and destruction. Every four years, he is allowed one night of earthly passion to punish a deserving female. By the time he is finished, his victims are left as willing receptacles for demons yet to come.

 
Since she was four, a demon has been the only constant in Leora Desmond's life. He taught her how to seize control, to never give up, and to take whatever she wanted. At twenty-four, her self-centered existence is focused on one thing. She wants Dolan, and she won't be dissuaded.

A mistake brought Dolan to Leora. A promise bound him to her. Returning once again to ask for his freedom, he is faced with Leora demanding to be his next conquest. The ultimate retribution would be to take from her the ultimate symbol of her selfishness.

Now, Dolan must decide if he can doom her to life in living hell or face his own set of unearthly consequences, while Leora must choose between her pleasure and her heart.

The Promise blurs the line between good and evil, desire and love, and promises and commitment.


My Thoughts

Set over the space of twenty years, The Promise follows the interactions between Dolan, a demon, and Leora, a sad and tragic child starved of love and affection.
 
Over the course of their four yearly meetings Dolan teaches Leora how to fend for herself and take what she wants from life, but in doing so has he created a monster, or a strong independent woman.

Excerpt:
He tilted his head. "You look older." 
She forced herself to blink and to remember her goal. "Then I assume I am at last old enough to be a fit for a demon." She stepped forward, stopping less than a foot away from him. The back of her throat dried out, and she swallowed.
He put his hand to his chin, his gaze taking her in. "This old song and dance. When will you use the brains you have and leave it alone?"
His words hit her, but rather than retreating, she moved closer. The energy, the tingle, the wafts of spice encompassed her and lured her toward him. "Never."
"You were smart last time. Why don't you release me so I can do what I came here for." He glanced down at her and then shifted his focus beyond her. "I have needs as well."
"Tonight I am the one you came here for." The mention of his last visit stung, but she willed herself to keep going. She ran her fingers up the buttons of his shirt. "You always told me to take control."
He shook his head. "A lesson you learned well."
She reached up and clenched his collar in her fist. "I let you go last time, but tonight I am the one you need."
He grabbed her wrist. "I spared you before. Never forget that." 
She stared right into his eyes. No weakness was allowed tonight. "It's me, Dolan. Me, or you can be celibate until the decade I do you the favor of dying. I don't care about your pain." She tensed, preparing herself for his retaliation.
"I thought I taught you better than to make demands of a demon." He pressed his palm to the side of her face.
Heat radiated through her body, sending a warning to every one of her nerve endings. "A demon who comforts a child is a failure of a demon in my book." His jaw tightened. "That was a mistake. An oversight."

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this short story, but I was very pleasantly surprised by how much detail and feeling the author was able to bleed in to her characters; I definitely felt their pain, confusion and frustration. Dolan and Leora are both looking for something that is missing from their lives and they inadvertently find it in each other, but whether or not that's enough to satisfy their needs - well, you'll have to read The Promise to find out!

I found The Promise to be an easy and rather satisfying read, and I'd love to read more from this author, 4 stars ;]


Author Bio

Kim Carmichael began writing eight years ago when her love of happy endings inspired her to create her own. She has a weakness for bad boys and techno geeks, and married her own computer whiz after he proved he could keep her all her gadgets running. When not writing, she can usually be found slathered in sunscreen trolling Los Angeles and helping top doctors build their practices.

LINKS
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Twitter: @kimcarmichael4
Goodreads
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Purchase Link: Amazon US

Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Colonist's Wife by Kylie Scott

Title: Colonist's Wife
Author: Kylie Scott
Release Date: March 15th 2013
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Source: Received from the author for an honest review

It’s 2088, and having testified in a gangland murder trial, nowhere on Earth is safe for Louise. Witness Protection has organized a new identity and a marriage contract for her on the mining colony of Esther, one of the moons circling Jupiter. The man who meets her there is not the groom she expected.

Adam Elliot is neither sweet nor sincere, and he looks like he was hosed off a barroom floor. But soon a memorial service reveals Adam’s soft underbelly. Throw some stellar sex into the mix and the two decide that maybe marriage to each other might not be so bad after all.

But an assassin is already at work. A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues on the planet’s frozen surface. Louise is determined to live long enough to draw the maniac away from the husband she might just have fallen for.

A Romantica® futuristic erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave


My Thoughts

What can I say - Kylie Scott definitely knows how to suck a reader in, because right from the start Colonist's Wife had me with it's vivid imagery and great characters.

I was intrigued by 'Louise' and her witness protection arranged marriage contract to a snarly, smelly brute on the mining colony of Esther; and Adam is not the man Louise was expecting, she's ready to run even before the first overpowering whiff of him reaches her nose.

Kylie really does have a talent for writing clever conversation and smouldering sexual attraction; I can attest to snorting with laughter as these two snipe and lust after each other, and did I mention it's hot?
Oh yeah, it's HOT!!

A reasonably short read at just 90 pages but Louise and Adam's story is sweet, funny, sexy and sensual; and it has a great thriller/mystery element too which brings some interesting secondary characters into play.
Adams friends Bon and Nathan really stood out as strong and loyal friends and I'm hoping they get their own stories sometime in the future, I definitely want to read more about them!

Colonist's Wife is an entertaining, deliciously sexy and fast paced read.
5 Stars ~<;]

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The author has kindly offered up a copy of Colonist's Wife to giveaway to one lucky follower!!

It's super easy to enter, just use the rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post and show Kylie some love!!

Author and Purchase Links

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Book Review: Allegiance Sworn by Kylie Griffin

Title: Allegiance Sworn (The Light Blade #3)
Author: Kylie Griffin
Release Date: April 2nd 2013
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Received from the author for an honest review

There is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not purebred is virtually powerless. Until a demon leader seeks to unify the races…

With the alliance of the humans and the half-blood Na’Chi forged, the demon Na’Reish prepare for war by seizing human blood-slaves. Captured during a rescue mission-gone-wrong, Light Blade warrior Arek Barial finds himself claimed by a Na’Reishi female who offers him an unexpected choice.

Raised in the elite ranks of a society she abhors, Imhara Kaal lives a dangerous double life as a Na’Reish Clan-leader and an advocate for a caste-free life that honors the Old Ways. Openly rebelling against the Na’Reish would mean her death, unless she can find an emissary willing to present her petition to the human Blade council.

But Arek isn’t about to blindly follow a demon—despite the intense attraction growing between them. And while hatred for the Na’Reish is all he has ever known, Arek must learn to trust Imhara, or risk the destruction of all three races…


My Thoughts

I thought I knew what was going to happen in this, the third instalment of The Light Blade series. I thought I knew where this story was going, where the twists and turns would take me - oh how wrong was I!

Forget all you think you know when reading Allegiance Sworn, because Kylie Griffin has changed it up; her characters take a direction that I didn't see coming and it's an adventurous ride indeed! From start to finish, I experienced the gamut of emotions, my preconceived ideas of this book obliterated with every turn of the page.

I didn't take any notes while reading Allegiance Sworn but I did write a rather fangirly email to the author once I was finished! So to give you an idea of how I was feeling, here's a small snippet of that gleeful email...

"You have kept me up late into the night, (I'm currently inhaling coffee to stay awake lol!!) you have dashed my hopes of stealing Arek away from Imhara!! and you have left me wanting more!!!"

"I can not believe I have to wait until who-knows-when to find out what comes next!! You, Miss Kylie are a gigantic tease LOL!!!"

Embarrassingly, you can see I was and still am, very emotionally invested in these characters and I have been blown away with the sheer honesty and believability that Kylie is able to bring to them, most especially in Allegiance Sworn. Kylie's writing is smooth, enveloping and addictive, leaving me in a state of book withdrawal that has yet to be slated.

A fantastic continuation of a story that has well and truly captured my heart.
5 stars ~<;]


PURCHASE LINKS for Allegiance Sworn

The Book Depository
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AUTHOR LINKS

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Sunday Night Ramblings...

It's been a funny week, and not the funny haha kind...

It started with my Dad having a back operation to remove pieces of broken and dislodged disc from his spinal cord. He's always had problems with his back but in the last year or so, he's progressively lost feeling in one leg due to the pressure these broken pieces of disc have been causing to nerves in his spine. Thankfully the specialists are hopeful that this will alleviate his pain and return some feeling to the leg.

My 36 year old brother-in-law started chemo this week for an inoperable brain tumour. To say that this is especially hard on his wife and four children is an understatement, but it absolutely breaks my heart to see how it has affected my mother and father-in-law in particular. My husband is being especially stoic but there have been moments that I've caught him unguarded... anyway, Cancer is an ass and I absolutely hate what it does to families.

My Miss 6 has continued to be bullied at school and after what I thought was a good meeting with the principal, turned into (long story short) a bit of a blame it on the victim/my Miss 6 is attention seeking scenario which has left me feeling more than a little sick, disgruntled and thoroughly pissed off. I'm going to continue to monitor the situation but I've lost some faith in the schools discipline policy that's for sure.

On a happier note, a book that I won on the Romance Bandits website arrived and I read it in bed on Saturday morning; and what a great story it was, I might get around to putting the review up in a week or two.

Later that morning we packed up the car, took a picnic lunch and set off for a day at the beach. After some initial car sickness (from me!) we had a wonderful day out. The kids had a blast playing in the rock pools, splashing in the shallows and running around like mad things - it was a really great day, although I did come home to a kitchen full of dirty dishes and mattresses all over the lounge room floor!
My Miss 15 who is too cool to spend a day out with the family, had a friend come over and they spent their day watching Supernatural episodes and cooking up copious amounts of food, hence the filthy kitchen!!

Anyway I promised myself that today (Sunday) would be all about catching up on laundry and writing reviews... yeah, nah, didn't happen!!
By lunch time I was still in my PJ's, lounging in my recliner eating chocolate and catching up on this weeks episodes of Cult, Beauty and the Beast, Spartacus and Grimm! So most of the laundry ended up going in the dryer while I took myself off for a wee nap when a migraine decided to pay me a visit - must of been all that chocolate!!

Anyway, now I'm here rambling on while the house is completely quiet - well, apart from the snoring of my DH!!
This week I really need to get my A into G!!
I've got to catch up on my reviews, I've got interview questions to email off to an exciting author who's paying a visit to the blog soon, I've got lots of interesting things to organise and schedule, I've got kids to ferry about, family commitments to keep up with, and I am really hoping that this coming week has a lot more going for it than this week did!!

The Fallen Stars Trailer Reveal Blog Tour and Giveaway

Hello everyone! I am very excited about hosting the Trailer Reveal today for author, Stephanie Keyes' second book, The Fallen Stars.

Read on for more information about the trailer and the book!

The Trailer

The Fallen Stars from Stephanie Keyes on Vimeo.

The Book

The Fallen Stars by Stephanie Keyes

Release Date: April 12th, 2013 |

Pre-order Your Copy | Add to Goodreads

When all is lost, he will have to make the ultimate decision.

Kellen St. James was just your average seventeen-year-old prodigy, until he eighty-sixed the Lord of Faerie and proposed to the Celtic Goddess, Calienta. But then everything in Kellen’s life gets turned upside-down when he and Cali end up on the run from a seriously irritated group of faeries. The worst part? They have zero idea why they’re being hunted. Suddenly, Kellen is stuck in the middle of another prophecy that foresees him turning away from Calienta and embracing the dark. He’ll be forced to take sides in a struggle to claim his birthright, while discovering secrets about his father’s past. Meanwhile, his passion for Cali grows stronger, even as the prophecy threatens to tear them apart. In the end, will Kellen and Cali survive the fates? When the ultimate power is within reach, which side will he choose?

Giveaway

There is a great giveaway happening for this event! Check out what you can win.

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Get Hooked on The Star Child

Interested in The Fallen Stars? Why not check out the first book in the series, The Star Child?

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository

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The world is about to be cloaked in darkness. Only one can stop the night.

Kellen St. James has spent his entire life being overlooked as an unwanted, ordinary, slightly geeky kid. That is until a beautiful girl, one who has haunted his dreams for the past eleven years of his life, shows up spinning tales of a prophecy. Not just any old prophecy either, but one in which Kellen plays a key role. Suddenly, Kellen finds himself on the run through a Celtic underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of hellhounds, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?

About Stephanie Keyes

 
Stephanie Keyes has been addicted to Fantasy since she discovered T.H. White as a child and started drumming up incredible journeys in her head. Today, she's still doing the same thing, except now she gets to share those ideas with readers! When she's not writing, Stephanie is also a graphic designer, international speaker, teacher, musician, avid reader, and Mom to two little boys who constantly keep her on her toes. In addition, she's best friend to her incredible husband of eleven years. Mrs. Keyes holds an undergraduate degree in Business and Management Information Systems from Robert Morris University and a M.Ed. from Duquesne University. She is a member of the Society For Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), as well as a featured author in the global group of writers, Love a Happy Ending.com. Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, which currently includes The Star Child (September 2012) and The Fallen Stars (April 2013), both released by Inkspell Publishing. She is currently hard at work on the third book in the trilogy, The Star Catcher.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Love A Happy Ending

Betwixt by Melissa Pearl Is On Sale!!

BETWIXT IS ON SALE!!

Only $1.99 until March 31st.

"Gripping and evocative. A dark tale that strikes close to your heart, rekindling hope and faith." 

T. G. Ayer - Author of The Valkyrie Novels.

* * * * * * * * * * 

For every copy of Betwixt sold, a portion will be donated to a charity organisation - Love146.

These guys are working to prevent child exploitation and trafficking. They also help with rehabilitation and gifting the freed children a chance at a life filled with hope and promise.

Betwixt is a story about being rescued and redeemed. Love146 does an amazing job at restoring those who have been broken.

* * * * * * * * * * 

Beautiful, wild-chid Nicole Tepper is hit by a car and left for dead. But when she wakes the next morning, Nicole finds herself in bed without a scratch. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual, as her mother is giving her the silent treatment and her friends are ignoring her as well. 

Things take a turn for the weird when Nicole soon discovers she is actually hovering between life and death. Her body is lying in the forest while her spirit is searching for anyone who can hear her. Unfortunately the only person who can is Dale Finnigan, the guy she publicly humiliated with a sharp-tongued insult that has left him branded.

Desperate, Nicole has no choice but to haunt Dale and convince the freaked-out senior to help her. Will he find her body before it's too late? Or will the guy who tried to kill her with his car, beat him there and finish her off before anyone finds out?

Check out Amazon stores to purchase a copy.

Amazon USA
Amazon UK

I absolutely LOVED this book, you can check out my review here

Book Review: Nameless by Lili St Crow

Title: Nameless (Tales of Beauty & Madness #1)
Author: Lili St Crow
Release Date: April 4th 2013
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia - Razorbill
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley

When Camille was six years old, she was discovered alone in the snow by Enrico Vultusino, godfather of the Seven—the powerful Families that rule magic-ridden New Haven. Papa Vultusino adopted the mute, scarred child, naming her after his dead wife and raising her in luxury on Haven Hill alongside his own son, Nico.

Now Cami is turning sixteen. She’s no longer mute, though she keeps her faded scars hidden under her school uniform, and though she opens up only to her two best friends, Ruby and Ellie, and to Nico, who has become more than a brother to her. But even though Cami is a pampered Vultusino heiress, she knows that she is not really Family. Unlike them, she is a mortal with a past that lies buried in trauma. And it’s not until she meets the mysterious Tor, who reveals scars of his own, that Cami begins to uncover the secrets of her birth…to find out where she comes from and why her past is threatening her now.

My Thoughts

I must admit, I found this a hard book to get into. The unique but slightly confusing use of language and sentence structuring initially threw me off, but I quickly found my reading stride and I was pleasantly surprised.

This intense and unique re-working of the Snow White tale was an intricately woven thing of beauty - and I found myself reveling in its deliciously sweet and dark flavors.

There are lots of revelations and interesting story arcs that blend together to create this powerful and un-put-downable book; but there's not a lot more I can say without spoilers, and I hate spoilers!

Full of really great, fully fleshed out characters that I fell in love with easily and a story that is painful, sweet, satisfying, and an absolute joy to read.
An awesome 4.5 star read :]

Spotlight On... Kia Garriques

Kia Garriques is fast becoming known as the best kept secret of fiction writing. The young eccentric talented fiction writer from London was born in the year of the millennium with her pen poised to create intricate worlds that only she could dream of at an early age.

Having studied writing and English literature at Middlesex university, Kia began writing short stories like most graduates but with a unique influence of manifesting dreams. These dreams in which sometimes became nightmares were to become the authorial signature to the inspiration and reasoning behind her work.
 
From an early age Kia would keep a diary of the visions, and animated scenery that her eyes witnessed and every night, write down the events and character images she had seen. Over the years this diary became known as her ‘Dream Diary in which day by day Kia would refer to.

Her first story “The Invisible Alien Watcher” was published by Micro Horror in 2009 and reprinted by Pill Hill Press in 2011, this short story was just an insight to the creativeness Kia was capable of.

As a child Kia feared from storms, just the sound or mention of them would create unpleasant shivers down her spine. Being her worst fear and being a word in which its adjectives described her personality best. Kia began writing under the name Kia Storm. Over the years Kia had short stories such as Locked Up, The Watcher and Fly Away Butterfly published in paperbacks and online.

Whilst writing short stories Kia was also working on a book in which her dream diary was highly consulted, with page after page of sketched drawings of scenery, characters, words and colors, Kia had begun creating and painting a world that would invite and entice fiction lovers worldwide.

Innovera Yakov: The Journey of a Thousand Eyes – is her first novel in the ‘Worlds’ series.

Innovera Yakov: The Journey of A Thousand Eyes takes you into a world of excitement and danger where thoughts and feelings are overheard and minds can travel to other worlds. Be prepared to immerse yourself in a world where falling in love could cost you your life and nothing is as it seems. Innovera Yakov: The Journey of A Thousand Eyes is the first book in an action-packed fantasy drama series where characters with powers of healing and destruction live, love, compete and disappear without a trace while they are being prepared for ‘The Journey’.

Summary:

Innovera Yakov is a beautiful world of crystals that turns under five moons and two brilliant suns that never set. Flitters take care of domestic chores while Starbirds and Starflies soar through the never-ending sunlight of this crystalline world. The Circle of Knowing decides their fate; the forbidden forests of the Dimmer Zone swallow trespassers. And at the very edges of Innovera Yakov there is the terrifying watery darkness of Verheer.

We meet Ayana, the healer and lonely outcast with her scarred face; Vinton, her protector (or is he her imaginary friend?); Gamma and Blu Tara, the beautiful, fiery twins who can kill with one look. These twins are important characters in the book. They could hardly be more different from each other. Krave, beloved by Gamma, hated by Blu Tara, ‘tall and upright as a polished spear with a beautiful crop of golden hair that cascaded down his back in waves’; his ‘brother’ Skylar, pure trouble with ‘muscles on his arms and legs that stood out in lumps’; Ryder with his crystal spear, forever seeking Ayana’s approval although she, refusing to believe she's worth it, can only wonder, ‘What does he see in me?’ And Ice, mysterious, dangerous, murderous with eyes like bright furnaces who feeds on Innoverans. These young Innoverans are often haunted by a forgotten past recalled only in strange dreams. They form friendships, make enemies and face constant physical and emotional challenges that test them to their limits. They have amazing powers; they can fly, they can communicate through 'thought-words', their minds can travel to other worlds. They harbour secrets.

But life is not easy on Innovera Yakov and the young Beings must live in constant fear of Blu Tara; ‘What I want, I have. What I can’t have, I destroy.’ They find that the great powers they are gifted with are nothing compared to the dangers they face. They must shelter from Solar-storms. To fall in love is dangerous. Lovers long to combine to become stronger, better Beings but it can go terribly wrong and when that happens they perish. Their survival is further threatened by Ice, who consumes Innoverans and holds both Blu Tara and Ayana in his control.

Everyone seeks a partner with whom they can ‘merge.’ This desire to ease the passage through life by joining forces with a true companion is one of the main themes of the story. Love for Blu Tara, is a terrible thing. She tells her sister, ‘It is a curse. You will scoop out your core and abandon it just to have the Being that you love... You will steal another person’s life force if it makes it easier to get it. You will kill or die for it. And you’ll hate yourself for the weakness that it brings on you.'

They are told that they must embark on 'The Journey', this journey will be more terrifying than any of them could imagine and a strong leader must be elected from their midst. They are shocked to discover who that leader is, none more so than the chosen one herself. Many of them will perish as they make their way through the watery darkness of Verheer while battling the army of underworld warriors bent on destroying and consuming them.

Finally, diminished in strength and numbers, they reach their journey’s end only to learn the final brutal truth.

Read the first chapter here

LINKS

Twitter - https://twitter.com/innoverayakov

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5623131-kia-garriques

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kiagarriquesfanpage
Tumblr - http://kiagarriquesauthor.tumblr.com/
Wattpad - http://www.wattpad.com/user/kiagarriques
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/kgarriques/
Website: http://www.kiagarriques.com/

Audio sample

Dead Radiance by T.G. Ayer is on Sale!!

If you haven't read Dead Radiance yet,
it's now 99c on Amazon....



Bryn Halbrook had always seen the glow. But it is only when her best friend dies that she discovers the meaning of those beautiful golden auras--Death. Alone, lost in the foster system, she struggles to understand who she is and why she was cursed with the ability to see the soon-to-be-dead.

The new foster kid, Aidan, isn't helping any. Mr. Perfect seems to fit in no matter what, making her feel even more pathetic. But when his affections turn to her, Bryn finds him hard to resist. Impossible, actually. A mystery himself, Aidan disappears, leaving behind a broken heart and a mysterious book that suggests Bryn might not be entirely human.

Bryn stands at the threshold of a journey of discovery. Will destiny help her find herself, find her purpose and her place in a world in which she'd never belonged?

You can check out my review here

Pre-Loved Books, Thrift Shops, and NZ Book Month

I'm a bit of a book whore - there's no shame in admitting it!! - and one of my favourite things to do, is poke about in second hand shops and recycled book stores looking for treasures.

On a recent trip to my local thrift shop, while sifting through a rather large and dusty pile of neglected books it occurred to me that it's currently New Zealand Book Month, so why not try and hunt out some NZ classics; and I actually found a few.

I grew up watching 80's & 90's morning TV shows like 'Playschool' and 'What Now'. Many Saturday and Sunday mornings were spent watching with amazement as zany characters like Danny Watson and Frank Flash got up to all kinds of crazy antics; but I especially loved the creative segments presented by Eddie and Fifi.

Many years later my own children watch 'What Now' but its current format just doesn't seem to keep them as entertained - I guess its a different world now. Who wants to collect empty egg cartons and popsicle sticks to glue and cut and create amazing fantastical things anymore, it's all about the computer!

TV favorites

But I found these two great books filled with creative ideas to make and do, and I'm lucky enough that my two youngest girls still love to make stuff and get their hands dirty, their imaginations stirring.

Margaret Mahy is known worldwide for her absolutely gorgeous stories, and I was delighted to find one of my all time favorites, A Lion In The Meadow. I can remember reading this is primary school over and over, a true classic indeed! Although I don't know The Dragon's Telephone quite so well, I decided to grab it and 'Kiwi Kids' Collection too.

Probably one of New Zealand's better known writers in recent times is Elizabeth Knox. Her novel The Vintner's Luck was adapted into a movie by Niki Caro and released in 2009. I haven't seen the movie and I read the book so long ago I struggle to remember the details. But I happened upon the sequel The Angel's Cut. I'll have to re-read the first book in order to get up to speed but I'm happy to add them both to my to-be-read pile.


And I just couldn't leave these gorgeous book finds behind. A Legend of Kiwi, one of the most beautifully illustrated books I think I've ever seen and Kahu the Cautious Kiwi, the tale of Kahu who is chased by dogs, caught in a trap and attacked by a cat before being saved and nursed back to health - were just too cute to pass up.

Like I said, I'm a bit of a book fanatic and I just couldn't help myself from buying these little gems. I kind of feel like I'm saving them from a-second-hand-book-black-hole where unwanted books go to die!

They'll get a new lease of life at my place though as the youngest has already snapped up the craft books and earmarked a few 'projects' and my middle daughter (and amateur artist) is fascinated with the beautifully detailed illustrations in A Legend of Kiwi. Happy readers all round!!

Oh! And last but not least, a girl needs a little bling, and nothing is better than vintage... check out this awesome glitzy ring I picked up too!!