Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014 Finished

A-Z Locations - 2014 hosted by Crazy Challenge Connection on Goodreads.

I finished the last book the 17th of this month. I started out really fast but then got stuck on the usual letters but after looking through other peoples books I finally found my X location.

A–Z LOCATIONS 2014
Timeframe: 11/1/14 to 10/31/15

Once again we’re challenging you to read at least one book set in a location that begins with each letter of the alphabet.

You can use the name of a place in the book – Hogwarts, for example -- the name of the city or the name of the country in which most of the book is set, or even a generic place like a farm or zoo. For those fantasy and sci-fi books, you can use the name of the planet or world – for example, if you read Star Wars: A New Hope, you can use Tatooine for T.

If you have trouble finding locations beginning with Q, U, X, Y and Z, you may use a location in which the letter appears – for example: Punxsutawney for X. However, we’re asking that you NOT use this option until the last two months of the challenge, or until you have completed all but these letters. Please TRY to find a location beginning with the appropriate letter! You may only use each book once!

CHALLENGE RULES:

❖ If you want to participate in a challenge, sign up by posting at least a partial list of the challenge requirements. This gives us a post to link you to, which you can use to update your books as the challenge progresses.

❖ Books must be at least 150 pages long (unless otherwise noted) and may only be used for one task in this challenge

❖ For each book you read, please post the location first, in addition to a link to the title and mention the author and the date you finished reading it. If you don’t, you won’t get credit for completing that task.

❖ When you complete the challenge, please post your entire list as a new message to make it easier for everyone to see what you’ve read.

❖ Rereads are allowed, as long as you read the entire book and not just skim the best portions! 

List of books:

✔ A: Alcatraz ► The Enchantress by Michael Scott
✔ B: Bayport ► Enchanted Secrets by Kristen Middleton
✔ C: Chicago ► Mother Nature's Man by Mary Jo Burke
✔ D: Denmark ► Udvalgte historier fra Jul i Hjemmet by Morten Korch
✔ E: Edgewood ► Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong
✔ F: France ► The Liquidator by John Gardner
✔ G: Great Britain ► The Circus Is Coming by Noel Streatfeild
✔ H: Herefordshire ► Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
✔ I: Iowa ► Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella
✔ J: Japan ►The Diving Pool: Three Novellas by Yoko Ogawa
✔ K: Kilmihil ► Born in Fire by Nora Roberts
✔ L: London ► Victoria Line, Central Line by Maeve Binchy
✔ M: Manhattan ► Toby Streams the Universe by Maya Lassiter
✔ N: Neverwhere ► Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
✔ O: Oklahoma ► The Brands Who Came For Christmas by Maggie Shayne
✔ P: Planet Pern ► Dragon's Fire by Anne McCaffrey and Todd J. McCaffrey
✔ Q: Quebec ► Iced Under by Nadine Doolittle
✔ R: Riverton ► The House At Riverton by Kate Morton
✔ S: San Fransisco ► The Warlock by Michael Scott
✔ T: Texas ► My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
✔ U: Utah ► Rasmus - Tales of a Utah Cowboy by Jay Anderson and Beth M. Stephenson
✔ V:Virginia ►The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
✔ W: Winstanton ► The Christmas Spirit by Susan Buchanan
✔ X: Xanadu ► The Menagerie by Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland
✔ Y: Yorkshire ► All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
✔ Z: Zambia ► Don't Waste a Minute - A Story of Africa by Marilyn Randall

The Menagerie by Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland

Logan Wilde is accidentally drawn into the mysterious, dangerous world of the Menagerie when he discovers a griffin hiding under his bed . . . and it leads him straight to the weirdest girl in seventh grade, Zoe Kahn.
Zoe is panicking. Her family has been guarding the Menagerie for centuries. If they don't get the cubs back fast, the whole place will be shut down. To save the griffins' lives, she's willing to break all the rules, even if it means letting an outsider like Logan help. But the real mystery remains: Is someone trying to sabotage the Menagerie? From Goodreads.

This was a fun book full of mythical beings. I think it was a good book for the age group it has been written for. I borrowed it from the library but as of this time it doesn't seem like the library has the next book in the series but I will keep an eye on it.

This book qualifies for: (the 3 last are linked as there is not room in the tag line)
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Dewey's Read-a-Thon October 2015
I love Library books 2015
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Word Search 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Mini Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XVI
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: House Games
Rawk-A-Tiers: Travel Around the World
Rawk-A-Tiers: Reading by the Numbers
A Million More Pages: Breast Cancer
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection: Pick a Theme 2015-2016
Wacky Reading Challenges: Character Names, A-Z
Wacky Reading Challenges: Locations A-Z
Setting Alphabet Reading Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges: 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly
Wacky Reading Challenges: Vampires, Witches & Ghosts, O My

Don't Waste a Minute - A Story of Africa by Marilyn Randall

Meet Lyn, a girl from the Welsh valleys who sets out for adventure in 1970's Zambia with her very young daughter and husband. What will happen on the way and when she gets there exceeds all her imaginings. All the content of this book is true with the exception of a few names and small insignificant details. Enjoy xxx. From Goodreads.

This was okay but no more. Lyn was one minute scared of everything around her, the next she would stand up to official people in a very stupid way. Also when she becomes involved with the animal shelter she takes weird chances. During the whole book she seems to be handling herself in this erratic manner. The reason to be in Zambia was her husband's work and what she did was all as a volunteer. He did not seem supportive of her and every time he wanted to do something it seemed that's what they did.
The only reason this book is 3 Polar Bears is that the stupid things Lyn was doing actually were humorous in between.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
FrightFall RaT 2015
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Word Search 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Mini Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XVI
Rawk-A-Tiers: Getting Acquainted
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: Companion Challenge 2015
Rawk-A-Tiers: House Games
Rawk-A-Tiers: Travel Around the World
Rawk-A-Tiers: Reading by the Numbers
A Million More Pages: Breast Cancer
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Autumn Fun
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Wacky Reading Challenges: Locations A-Z
Setting Alphabet Reading Challenge 

Iced Under by Nadine Doolittle

Stunned by the abrupt end to her marriage, Sara Wolesley abandons her comfortable life in Toronto and with her two daughters, takes possession of a rundown cottage in Quebec. A frozen lake stretches outside their door like green-black cellophane, ice as clear as rain. They can look down to air bubbles frozen in perfect milky orbs and reeds blowing beneath their feet.
But this new secluded life and the cottage do not offer Sara the relief she was seeking. Unable to find a job or keep the plumbing from freezing, she is broke and close to a breakdown when she falls while crossing the ice. In despair, Sara decides to let the cold take her when she sees something moving in the water below.
They got lucky, the police said later. One of them, the older one, said the ice hadn't been that clear in twenty years. He knew Hennessy Lake pretty well but they got lucky. If there'd been snow they might never have found her body.
But they did find her even after Sara lost her bearings and couldn't remember exactly where she saw the little girl floating beneath her feet. They found her caught in a reed bed, her blonde hair drifting about her head, her eyes open and her mouth parted as if to say something. Her name was Oralee Pelletier and she had been missing for five months. From Goodreads.

This was okay but no more. The main character is just too naive and I just didn't connect with her. The most interesting character was Gil Hennessy, a recluse who is rumoured to have killed his entire family decades ago.
The answer to the mystery of the missing girl is basically given 50% into the book and all there is left to uncover is the details. 

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 201
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Wacky Reading Challenges: Word Search 2015
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: I Spy
Rawk-A-Tiers: Troupe Theme Challenges
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
A Million More Pages: Reading Under The Stars
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Wacky Reading Challenges: Animal House
Wacky Reading Challenges: Character Names, A-Z

The Diving Pool: Three Novellas by Yoko Ogawa

The first major English translation of one of contemporary Japan's bestselling and most celebrated authors. 
From Akutagawa Award-winning author Yoko Ogawa comes a haunting trio of novellas about love, fertility, obsession, and how even the most innocent gestures may contain a hairline crack of cruel intent.

A lonely teenage girl falls in love with her foster brother as she watches him leap from a high diving board into a pool--a peculiar infatuation that sends unexpected ripples through her life.
A young woman records the daily moods of her pregnant sister in a diary, taking meticulous note of a pregnancy that may or may not be a hallucination--but whose hallucination is it, hers or her sister's?
A woman nostalgically visits her old college dormitory on the outskirts of Tokyo, a boarding house run by a mysterious triple amputee with one leg.
Hauntingly spare, beautiful, and twisted, The Diving Pool is a disquieting and at times darkly humorous collection of novellas about normal people who suddenly discover their own dark possibilities. From Goodreads

 

Unfortunately I found these three novellas boring and uninteresting. I only finished them because they were so short. They stories are twisted but neither beautiful nor darkly humorous as described in the blurb. 

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Wacky Reading Challenges: Word Search 2015
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Rhyme Time
Rawk-A-Tiers: I Spy
Rawk-A-Tiers: Troupe Theme Challenges
Rawk-A-Tiers: Getting Acquainted
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: House Games
A Million More Pages: Summer Games
Wacky Reading Challenges: Favorite Album - Away From the Sun
Wacky Reading Challenges: Book Tag Challenge #7
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Wacky Reading Challenges: Animal House
Crazy Challenge Connection: Read your age

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore. From Goodreads.

This was okay and I enjoyed it. I like the magic in it and Blue's special skill of being able to enhance her mother and aunt's powers. I like that I am not completely sure whether the ley line magic is good or evil or if it is a good idea to wake it. I will continue this series and have already ordered the next book from the library.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Troupe Theme Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Pick One For Me

The Liquidator by John Gardner

Paris, 1944.
As the city is liberated, Sergeant Boysie Oaks kills two Germans attempting to assassinate an Intelligence Corps officer named Mostyn.
Two decades later, the suave, sadistic Mostyn has become the Second-in-Command of British Special Security.
He recruits the man he believes is a master assassin -- Boysie Oakes -- to quietly murder potential security risks.
He is 'The Liquidator'.
But is Boysie the right man for the job?
He is preparing to take Mostyn's secretary to the Cote D'Azur for a weekend of romance.
Yet what starts as a few days of seduction in the Mediterranean sun turns into a nightmare for Boysie as he becomes more and more embroiled in Operation Coronet.
Captured, the tables are turned, and the assassin becomes the target.
Boysie Oakes will need all his wits to stay alive.  From Goodreads.

This was better than I expected. Spy fiction is not a genre I read very often. But this was a lot about Boysie Oakes, the Liquidator, as well. I will not reveal his secret here but it was quite a funny twist. Not bad for a spy novel and it was clear most of the book who were the enemy spies and who were the friendly and it was also humorous.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
The Challenge Factory - R6: Team Challenge SSS
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: March Challenges (2/7)
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Spring Fling
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Zodiac
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Hugh Jackman
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Harry Potter Bingo
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: MARCHing Through Time
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Who is ... The Death Eater? 

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong

In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.
Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.
Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever. From Goodreads.






Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors and though this is not her Women of the Otherworld series, it is a brilliant fantasy book. It has it all, a dark story, commitment, loyalty, betrayal and creatures that should not exist. I am looking forward to the next instalment, hopefully in April. 

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: February Challenges (2/5)
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Spring Fling
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Butterbeer Recipe
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Zodiac
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Who is ... The Death Eater?
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly

Born in Fire by Nora Roberts

Maggie and Brianna Concannon are very different. The calm and gentle Brie seems able to weather any storm, even the constant criticism that rains down on them both from their mother, but Maggie is a passionate and fiery artist whose temper is as bold as her art. Their mother's bitterness is a mystery to the sisters. until secrets from the past challenge everything they've come to believe.
It's Maggie's skill as a glass blower that brings Rogan Sweeney, the international gallery owner, to her small cottage in County Clare. 
His interest in her is purely professional, until their personalities clash and sparks begin to fly... As her career takes off, how will Maggie cope with the heat of the spotlight and feelings for Rogan that she would rather ignore? From the back of the book.




This was very good, not just a quick romance. There is a lot about family and what makes Maggie who she is and why she has decided never to marry. The relationships with her father, mother and sister are all very interesting. Rogan is a successful businessman and thinks he can keep business and private life separate but of course that is impossible. I will try to get the next in the series from the library. 

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: December-January Mini Challenge
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: January Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Hogwarts Face Off
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Spring Fling
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: 2015 Reading Challenge!
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Clue round 4
Setting Alphabet Reading Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Read your age
A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon 2015

The Brands Who Came For Christmas by Maggie Shayne

Caleb didn’t know that one night of bliss last spring with small town beauty Maya Brand had resulted in a pregnancy, until the blackmail attempt arrived on his desk in an unmarked envelope, complete with photos of Maya with a belly out to there.
When he learns the truth, Caleb rushes back to Big Falls, determined to make it right despite what the scandal will do to his high profile career–the family legacy he had never truly wanted.
All he wants is Maya, and their child.
But can a girl whose father abandoned and betrayed her, ever truly believe in the goodness of a man who left town the morning after their one night stand? How can he convince her that he hasn’t stopped thinking about her since then, much less, do so with the whole world watching? He has to prove himself to a woman he’s not even sure he’s worthy of. But he has no idea how.  From Goodreads.



This was okay. I like it when books have strong women and Maya, her mother and her sisters are exactly that. It is a romance and it ends happily. It could be fun to read some of the other books in this series as I guess they are about Maya's sisters.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III
A Million More Pages Hogwarts Challenge
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: December-January Mini Challenge
A Million More Pages - Scavenger Hunt > December
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2014

Enchanted Secrets by Kristen Middleton

A modern day tale of romance, mystery, and witches.
When shy, eighteen-year-old Kendra meets the new guy at school, Tyler, she can't help but be drawn to his irresistible charms. Later, she agrees to visit his family's new shop, Secrets, and is drawn into a world that takes her breath away. Unfortunately, where magic reigns, so does danger, and she is forced into an adventure that leaves her racing against the clock to stop an evil curse.  From Goodreads.

This was a book with humour and mystery. Being an identical twin myself with a mother who is also an identical twin makes it fun to read as that is what the main character is. Though I haven't discovered my own magical abilities yet. I also like that there is a twist that I hadn't seen coming.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R5: Team Challenge SSS
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III

Toby Streams the Universe by Maya Lassiter

Toby Hay is a psychic living in New York City, supporting his screwed-up family using his visions to play the stock market. He also helps his private investigator best-friend with the occasional case--all while trying not to read the future of every person he meets. Such as Toby's new neighbor, a beautiful painter hiding from her violent Ex. Or Toby's psychic, sex-pot, sister, scared of her own future. Or his quirky virtual-assistant, struggling to care for her sick child. Toby wants to help them all, but his super-psychic father trained him not to interfere, lest he lose his own sanity in the process. Toby's father knew everything--he must have had good reasons for his rules. Of course, he vanished nearly a year ago...
Then a voice speaks in Toby's mind, offering a path away from the dark future predicted by the Family Histories--if only Toby will challenge what his father taught him and learn to use his visions, rather than merely control them. Now Toby must find his father, uncover the identity of the voice, and save his friends from their futures, all while figuring out how to live inside his own, increasingly strange mind. From Goodreads.

This was better than I expected. This is Toby's journey to find a way to escape insanity. I like the way he tries to help people change their sad futures even if they think him a stalker in the process. I will definitely read more by Maya Lassiter at some point.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III
A Million More Pages Hogwarts Challenge

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

In the fifth of his bestselling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London - to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London you can't take the London out of the copper.
Travelling west with Beverley Brook Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods. And what's more all the shops are closed by 4pm... From Goodreads.

This is one of the best books I have read this year. I really like Peter and it is brilliant that Beverley is such a big part of this story. My only gripe is that I would like the Lesley story to finish, it is part of this book but not much. It is however setting the scene for future books.

This book qualifies for:
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III
Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2014

Dragon's Fire by Anne McCaffrey and Todd J. McCaffrey

When Masterharper Zist takes over as Harper for Natalon's coal-mining camp, he takes with him his apprentice, the orphaned, mute Pellar, and Pellar's fire-lizard Chitter. Pellar has become a gifted tracker and Zist gives him his own mission - to find out if the recent thefts of coal are the work of the Shunned, criminals condemned to a life of wandering and hardship. Halla is one of the children of the Shunned. Though innocent of their parents' crimes, these children have inherited their cruel punishment. With no shelter when the lethal Thread falls again they will have no protection against it. Life is even tougher for Halla, all her family are dead and she must fend for herself. Yet Halla is kind and gentle, devoted to helping those more helpless than she, unlike Tenim, a fellow child of the Shunned. Tenim is in league with Tarik, a crooked miner from Camp Natalon, who helps him steal coal in exchange for a cut of the profit. But Tenim soon realizes there is a lot more to be made from firestone, the volatile mineral that enables the dragons of Pern to burn Thread out of the sky. Tenim doesn't care what he has to do, or whom he has to kill, in order to corner the market. Cristov is Tarik's son. Dishonored by his father's greed and treachery, he decides he must make amends somehow... even if it means risking his life by mining the volatile firestone, which blows up at contact with the slightest drop of moisture. From Goodreads.

I still enjoy the Pern stories. In this one I like Pella, the mute harper. I also like that Kindan from a previous book has a short appearance. What is not as great is that it is like 3 stories in one. There is a plague, there is the shunned and then there is the whole thing about the firestones. I am unsure which is the main story. I will continue the series and I have the next book waiting for me at the library.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III
Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2014

Udvalgte historier fra Jul i Hjemmet by Morten Korch

Hvad er en rigtig julehistorie? Spørger forfatteren Vagn Lundbye i Information 15 december 1997 i en anmeldelse af Morten Korch; Rigtige julehistorier: Må jeg bede om MORTEN KORCH. En rigtig julehistorie skal være enkel og ligetil og den fred den beretter om, skal være god og opbyggelig.
Vi drømmer om julen i gamle dage, men hvordan var den egentligt? Det fortæller Morten Korch i udvalgte historier fra JUL I HJEMMET. For ingen har vel som denne forfatter formået at bringe julens budskab til gamle og unge. Her er samlet en række typiske historier, hvor Morten Korch udfolder hele sin livfulde og sprudlende fortællerevne med rig variation i emnevalg og miljø, men stemningen er overalt lys og smuk, vanskeligheder overvindes, hårde hjerter smelter, kærligheden sejrer, mennesker forsones, så julens budskab kan stråle i sin fulde glans. From Goodreads.




This is a book of short stories about Christmas.These are cosy, they always start sad but end well on Christmas Eve. They are of course set in Denmark.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III
Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2014
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2014

The Circus Is Coming by Noel Streatfeild

Threatened with life in separate orphanages when their aunt dies, two children run away to search for their uncle who works for a circus and find that they can become a part of the hard work and colorful performances of the tenting season. From Goodreads.

Peter and Santa are orphans and have been brought up by their aunt who didn't give them a very good schooling but taught them that they were better than everyone else. When they run away to avoid separate orphanages and come to the circus they find out how little they know. Peter has a very tough time of it and is very annoying till he find his love of horses.
It is a book of growing up, finding out what you want in life and the hard work to get there. This is a children's story and of course has a happy ending.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R5: Team Challenge SSS
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Under the streets of London there's a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen between the cracks.
Richard Mayhew, a young businessman, is going to find out more than enough about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his workday existence and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and utterly bizarre. And a strange destiny awaits him down here, beneath his native city: neverwhere. From Goodreads.

This was really good and as weird as Neil Gaiman's books often are. All the different factions in Neverwhere trying to get along or not and it seems some people have lived for centuries. Richard being an unlikely hero and Door looking for the killer of her family. Travelling through Neverwhere is interesting and I wouldn't mind reading more books set in this world.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Bookshelf Battle Team Challenge #4
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R5: Team Challenge SSS
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III

The Enchantress by Michael Scott

The two that are one must become the one that is all. One to save the world, one to destroy it.
San Francisco:
Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel have one day left to live, and one job left to do. They must defend San Francisco. The monsters gathered on Alcatraz Island have been released and are heading toward the city. If they are not stopped, they will destroy everyone and everything in their path.
But even with the help of two of the greatest warriors from history and myth, will the Sorceress and the legendary Alchemyst be able to defend the city? Or is it the beginning of the end of the human race?
Danu Talis:
Sophie and Josh Newman traveled ten thousand years into the past to Danu Talis when they followed Dr. John Dee and Virginia Dare. And it’s on this legendary island that the battle for the world begins and ends.
Scathach, Prometheus, Palamedes, Shakespeare, Saint-Germain, and Joan of Arc are also on the island. And no one is sure what—or who—the twins will be fighting for.
Today the battle for Danu Talis will be won or lost.
But will the twins of legend stand together?
Or will they stand apart—one to save the world and one to destroy it? From Goodreads.

This book starts exactly where book five stopped and it is full of surprises. This book is a bit confusing at times as some of the characters are both in present time in San Francisco and back in time in Danu Talis 10.000 years earlier.
This book was really good as it was full of twists and turns that I did not expect. Also some of the bad guys might not be as bad as they seem and some redeem themselves.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Oktoberfest
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Novel Books & Reading Challenges - Baby Got Book
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (O-owl)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III 

The Warlock by Michael Scott

In the fifth installment of this bestselling series, the twins of prophesy have been divided, and the end is finally beginning.
With Scatty, Joan of Arc, Saint Germain, Palamedes, and Shakespeare all in Danu Talis, Sophie is on her own with the ever-weakening Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. She must depend on Niten to help her find an immortal to teach her Earth Magic. The surprise is that she will find her teacher in the most ordinary of places. From Goodreads.

The twins has been split up and are fighting alongside two opposing groups. We keep meeting different mythological beings fighting to help save the human population both in present day and 10.000 years ago in Danu Talis. And there are some surprises in this book.
This book ended on a cliffhanger and I went straight on to the 6th and final book.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Bookshelf Battle Team Challenge #4
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III 

The Christmas Spirit by Susan Buchanan

Christmas is coming, but not everyone is looking forward to it.
Rebecca has just been dumped and the prospect of spending the holiday period with her parents is less than appealing.
Eighty- two year old Stanley lost his beloved wife, Edie, to cancer. How will he cope with his first Christmas without her?
Jacob’s university degree hasn’t helped him get a job, and it looks like he’ll still be signing on come New Year.
Workaholic Meredith would rather spend December 25th at home alone with a ready meal and a DVD box set. Can anything make her embrace the spirit of the season?
The enigmatic Natalie Hope takes over the reins at the Sugar and Spice bakery and café in an attempt to spread some festive cheer and restore Christmas spirit, but will she succeed? From Goodreads.




This was very enjoyable and of course full of Christmas spirit. The things that happen to the four characters don't seem too far-fetched although Natalie Hope is a different  thing all together. I didn't realise that the book was set just outside Glasgow in a fictive town with view over Loch Lomond. I do like it when books mention places I know of. I have lived in Glasgow and canoed on Loch Lomond many times, it is a really beautiful area.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection A-Z Locations - 2014
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Tower Teams III 
Ho-Ho-Ho Holiday Read-A-Thon