Lost & Found in India by Braja Sorensen

Despite how entertaining or exotic one may find other books on India to be, they share the trait of being written by foreigners on a brief journey, an adventure, and consequently they all deliver an often incorrect view of a country that is impossible to understand from the surface.
Sorensen moved in, set up house, became a resident in a village on the banks of the Ganges River, and eventually called India home. Her writing swings from the depths of ancient culture, spirituality, and philosophy, through to drunk bathroom repair men and India's wedding season, and ties it all together with direction, grounding, and an easily-digested reality.
Its funny, outrageous, controversial, deep, witty, spiritual, philosophical, and damned entertaining: in other words, it’s India. From Goodreads.




I unfortunately didn't find this book funny, entertaining or interesting at all. The most interesting thing about the book is that I am Danish and she married a Dane and he is hardly mentioned. But I did finish it as I needed it for a challenge.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Word Search 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XVI
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: Travel Around the World
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly

Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb

From an extraordinary new voice in fantasy comes the stunning conclusion to the Farseer trilogy, as FitzChivalry confronts his destiny as the catalyst who holds the fate of the kingdom of the Six Duchies...and the world itself.
King Shrewd is dead at the hands of his son Regal. As is Fitz--or so his enemies and friends believe. But with the help of his allies and his beast magic, he emerges from the grave, deeply scarred in body and soul. The kingdom also teeters toward ruin: Regal has plundered and abandoned the capital, while the rightful heir, Prince Verity, is lost to his mad quest--perhaps to death. Only Verity's return--or the heir his princess carries--can save the Six Duchies.
But Fitz will not wait. Driven by loss and bitter memories, he undertakes a quest: to kill Regal. The journey casts him into deep waters, as he discovers wild currents of magic within him--currents that will either drown him or make him something more than he was.... From Goodreads.


A great end to this trilogy. Fitz really has to go through a lot at great cost. There is magic, dragons and a mad Prince. And one of the very interesting characters is the Fool, I'm sure he is one of the good guys but he is weird.
If I wanted to read The Realm of the Elderlings in order the next books should be the Liveship Traders Trilogy but as I have read these already I will continue with the Tawny Man Trilogy.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Word Search 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XVI
Rawk-A-Tiers: Big Books Bonus Club
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: Companion Challenge 2015
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015 
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

Young Fitz, the illegitimate son of the noble Prince Chivalry, is ignored by all royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has had him tutored him in the dark arts of the assassin. He has barely survived his first, soul-shattering mission, and returns to the court where he is thrown headfirst into the tumult of royal life. With the King near death, and Fitz's only ally off on a seemingly hopeless quest, the throne itself is threatened. Meanwhile, the treacherous Red Ship Raiders have renewed their attacks on the Six Duchies, slaughtering the inhabitants of entire seaside towns. In this time of great peril, it soon becomes clear that the fate of the kingdom may rest in Fitz's hands--and his role in its salvation may require the ultimate sacrifice. From Goodreads.

I am completely caught up in this story. I'm not too fond of spy and political books but the difference here is that this is also fantasy and that makes it likeable. I like Fitz, he has no choice in how his life turns out. He has sworn loyalty to the king and has to do everything in his power to help him.
I will continue straight away with the last book in this trilogy.


This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
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: Big Books Bonus Club
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: Companion Challenge 2015
Rawk-A-Tiers: Reading by the Numbers
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015 
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly

Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint

Isabelle Copley, as the young student of the cruel, brilliant artist Vincent Rushkin, discovered that she could paint images so vividly real they brought her wildest fantasies to life. But when the forces she unleashed brought tragedy to those she loved, she turned her back on her talent and her dreams.
Now, twenty years later, Isabelle must come to terms with the shattering memories she has long denied and unlock the slumbering power of her brush. And, in a dark reckoning with her old master, she must find the courage to live out her dreams and bring the magic back to life.
This is a tale of love, courage, and the transforming power of imagination.
"The [Newford] books have all been written in such a way that you should be able to pick up any one and get a full and complete story. However, characters do reoccur, off center stage as it were, and their stories do follow a sequence." From Goodreads.

After having read a few Charles de Lint books I decided that I wanted to read the Newford books in order. Not that they can't be read on their own but there are characters that turn up in books more than once.
I listened to this on audio which was a problem for me, the narrator did well but it just took me too long to get through. If I had read this I would most likely have finished it in one or two sittings.
I really enjoy Charles de Lint's urban fantasies.They have quite a bit of magic just under the surface of normal life. Isabelle was a very complex person and she kept surprising me. I enjoyed going forward and backward in time.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Audiobook challenge
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: Haunted House
Rawk-A-Tiers: Reading by the Numbers
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015 
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
The Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon 2015 
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Hogwarts Scavenger Hunt
Wacky Reading Challenges: Character Names, A-Z
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly
Wacky Reading Challenges: Vampires, Witches & Ghosts, O My

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose. From Goodreads.

I enjoyed this very much and wished it was part of a series so I could return to this world. This was pure fantasy nearly without romance and it was quite refreshing. Nothing is like Agnieszka expects after she, surprisingly, has been chosen to serve The Dragon - the wizard, who protects her people.
I've had the first book in the Temeraire Series for years but not gotten around to reading it, I will definitely push it up my TBR list after reading this book by Naomi Novik.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge
I love Library books 2015
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: Reading by the Numbers
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection: Pick a Theme 2015-2016
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection: Scrabble, anyone?
Wacky Reading Challenges: Vampires, Witches & Ghosts, O My

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once the imposing home of the March family--fascinating, manipulative Isabelle, Charlie her brutal and dangerous brother, and the wild, untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But Angelfield House conceals a chilling secret whose impact still resonates...
Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield's past--and the mystery of the March family starts to unravel. What has Angelfield been hiding? What is its connection with the enigmatic author Vida Winter? And what is it in Margaret's own troubled past that causes her to fall so powerfully under Angelfilds spell? From Goodreads.

This was really interesting, more than I thought it would be. There were a few twists and turns that I just didn't see coming and that I love in a book. Well worth a read.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
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: Haunted House
Rawk-A-Tiers: Reading by the Numbers
Rawk-A-Tiers: Twelve Days of Christmas
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection: Scrabble, anyone?

I Need a Hero by Emma Bennet

A feel-good book about how searching for the perfect man can blind you to the good guy next door! “If you read one romance novel this summer, choose “I Need a Hero,” it’s witty, fun, and completely addictive.” Ann Abrams
A lovely summer romance read that you won’t want to put down
Romance writer Bronte Huntington has vowed she will never settle for anything less than ‘the one.’ When pleasant red-haired dentist Ryan moves in next door he just doesn't fit the bill. They have plenty in common but Bronte wants nothing more than friendship with him.
Then it looks like Bronte’s dreams have finally come true when dashing Sebastian Fairfax rescues her on his horse after she has an accident in the countryside around her idyllic little cottage. Sebastian is tall, dark, handsome, and heir to a massive country estate!
But is Sebastian the one? Or will Bronte’s romantic dreams of the perfect hero turn out to be as fictional as her novels? And will Bronte's temperamental cat ever stop getting in the way?!  From Goodreads.

This was okay but I like Ryan a lot more than Bronte. A cosy afternoon's read.

This book qualifies for:

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015

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: Reading by the Numbers

A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015

Wacky Reading Challenges: Autumn Fun

A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Pick One For Me

A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery

A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe

Wacky Reading Challenges: Animal House

Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly

Crazy Challenge Connection: Scrabble, anyone?

204 Rosewood Lane by Debbie Macomber

Olivia Lockhart
Cedar Cove, Washington
Dear Reader, 
If you've been to Cedar Cove before, you've probably met my friend Grace Sherman. You can usually find her at home she lives at 204 Rosewood Lane or at the public library, where she works. Like me, she grew up in this town and she's raised two daughters here. But did you hear that about six months ago, her husband disappeared? Just …disappeared. Where's Dan? Why did he go? Who's he with? Will Grace ever find out?

I hope that all of us, her family and friends, are bringing her comfort during this difficult time. Comfort and a sense of shelter. I'm continually reminded that life can and does go on. For instance, everyone's been discussing weddings and babies lately. Justine, my daughter, rather impulsively got married a little while ago. Grace's daughter Kelly recently had a baby. Unfortunately, she refuses to accept that Dan might not return to see his first grandchild. Grace's older daughter, Maryellen, is more realistic. Grace thinks she's seeing a new man but for some reason won't say who it is.
Then there's Jack Griffin, our local newspaper editor, the man I've been seeing. And… well, I have lots to tell you. Come on over and we'll talk!
Olivia. From Goodreads.

I have now read this second book in the Cedar Cove series and I really enjoyed it. There is a lot of different people to keep tabs on but I like that. This book is very much about Grace and her life which is quite sad. I am definitely going to continue this series.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Dewey's Read-a-Thon October 2015
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: Reading by the Numbers
A Million More Pages: Scavenger 2015
Wacky Reading Challenges: Autumn Fun
Wacky Reading Challenges: Locations A-Z
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly

Poisoned by Elaine Macko

With Halloween fast approaching, Alex Harris, owner of the Always Prepared temporary agency, has her hands full keeping her assistant from turning the office into a house of horrors. But that’s nothing compared to finding the body of one of Indian Cove’s high society poisoned.
All eyes turn to septuagenarian Robert Brissart. But Alex doesn't believe it for a minute fearing that the old woman was the intended victim all along and that another attempt will be made to finish her off. Alex needs to find out which member of the town’s elite is the killer before they strike again.
There’s something sinister going on in Indian Cove and it’s not just Halloween hi-jinks. The mystery comes to a frightening finale amid the jack-o-lanterns and ghosts on Halloween night when Alex discovers that there are more than just witches and goblins trick-or-treating in her normally peaceful New England village. From Goodreads.


This was an okay cosy mystery. Alex is nosy and starts questioning everybody in the family and is of course the main reason the case gets solved. I do like that it also shows that she has completely misunderstood some of the information she has gotten hold of as that makes it slightly more believable.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
FrightFall RaT 2015
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
Wacky Reading Challenges: Autumn Fun
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Wacky Reading Challenges: Character Names, A-Z
Wacky Reading Challenges: Locations A-Z
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly

The Wild by Christopher Golden

The world knows Jack London as a writer who lived his own thrilling, real-life adventures. But there are parts of his life that have remained hidden for many years, things so horrifying even he couldn’t set them down in writing. These are the Secret Journeys of Jack London.
We meet Jack at age seventeen, following thousands of men and women into the Yukon Territory in search of gold. For Jack, the journey holds the promise of another kind of fortune: challenge and adventure. But what he finds in the wild north is something far more sinister than he could ever have imagined: kidnapping and slavery, the murderous nature of desperate men, and, amidst it all, supernatural beasts of the wilderness that prey upon the weakness in men’s hearts. From Goodreads.

I like fantasy but it was not what I expected of this book and that is the reason it doesn't get a higher rating. I wanted more of the adventure and hardship in the cold climate around the Yukon river which was what the first part of the book was like. It became too mythical with the Wendigo and Lady of the forest. Just the thought of Yukon though makes me look forward to next summer when I am going back there to paddle the Yukon River.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
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: Getting Acquainted
Rawk-A-Tiers: House Games
A Million More Pages: Reading Under The Stars
A Million More Pages: Summer cAMMP BINGO
Wacky Reading Challenges: Autumn Fun
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection: Pick a Theme 2015-2016
Wacky Reading Challenges: Character Names, A-Z
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection: Scrabble, anyone?

The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb returns to the sea with Mad Ship, the second book in a projected trilogy set in the same world as her famed Farseer series. Many unresolved questions from Ship of Magic are answered in this tale of sea serpents and dragons; living ships made of wizardwood; the Bingtown Trader families who sail the ships; and their disfigured cousins, the Rain Wild Traders, who build them.
The Vestritt family's liveship, Vivacia, has been taken by Kennit, an ambitious pirate. Captain Haven is a prisoner; his son Wintrow, who bears the Vestritt blood, finds himself competing with Kennit for Vivacia's love as she becomes a pirate ship. Althea Vestritt, in training to become Vivacia's captain, arrives home to discover her beloved ship lost. Brashen Trell, her old friend and shipmate, proposes that they sail to Vivacia's rescue in the liveship Paragon, who has lost two previous crews and is believed mad. Malta, Althea's niece, seeks help from her suitor, the Rain Wild Trader Reyn, whose family is the Vestritt's major creditor. Meanwhile, the sea serpents who follow sailing ships struggle to remember their history and return to their place of transformation. From Goodreads.

I read the first book in this series over 2 years ago but it was fairly easy to get back into and I remembered most of the characters without a problem even though there are quite a few. The book being called the Mad Ship I would maybe have liked there to be a bit more about it but there was a lot of different story lines we had to follow so I guess there was no room for more.
One of the things I really like is the change in Malta in the end of this book, I am looking forward to see what that leads to in the next one.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Pack Your Picnic Basket
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Troupe Theme Challenges
Rawk-A-Tiers: Getting Acquainted
Rawk-A-Tiers: Big Books Bonus Club
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
A Million More Pages: Campfire Cookout
A Million More Pages: Reading Under The Stars
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

Tricked into releasing the evil spirit Ruin while attempting to close the Well of Ascension, new emperor Elend Venture and his wife, the assassin Vin, are now hard-pressed to save the world.
This adventure brings the Mistborn epic fantasy trilogy to a dramatic and surprising climax as Sanderson's saga offers complex characters and a compelling plot, asking hard questions about loyalty, faith and responsibility. From Goodreads.

Another book it took me a few chapters to get back into, as it is so long since I read the second book. It was a brilliant end to the Mistborn trilogy. Vin and Eland are the main characters but so are the rest of the group as they nearly all have major parts to play.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Rhyme Time
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: Getting Acquainted
Rawk-A-Tiers: Big Books Bonus Club
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Hogwarts Scavenger Hunt
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly

Witch Me Luck by Amanda M. Lee

Hemlock Cove is celebrating a magical birthday, and familiar faces from different places are descending on the town to participate in the party.
Everyone is looking forward to the festivities except Bay Winchester, who would rather be hiding from her high school nemesis than chatting her up in the town square.
Lila Stevens hasn’t changed since graduation, and Bay remains her favorite target. Bay would like to ignore her, but Lila isn’t making it easy – especially when she sets her sights on FBI Agent Landon Michaels.
Unfortunately for Bay, she can’t focus on that predicament when the Hemlock Cove Savings & Loan is held up and a local teller is shot. When suspicion falls upon Sam Cornell, the Winchesters have to gather together to prove his innocence (or guilt).
Clove is despondent, Thistle is on a revenge mission and Aunt Tillie is … well … Aunt Tillie. As usual, the Winchester witches are in an uproar.
As the clues start to fit together, Bay realizes she has to wade through a pack of lies to find the truth. With Landon by her side, and Lila nipping at her heels, Bay is going to have to find a way to survive and keep her family together. From Goodreads.

This was fun. These books have a lot of cheeky sexual innuendo. Bay, Thistle and Clove fight constantly but always support each other against outsiders. But not against Aunt Tillie, who is my favourite character. Against her it is just a question about staying off her list to avoid being cursed.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, an aristocratic family, a love denied, and a mystery. The Forgotten Garden is a captivating, atmospheric and compulsively readable story of the past, secrets, family and memory from the international best-selling author Kate Morton.
Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident ten years ago, feels like she has lost everything dear to her. But an unexpected and mysterious bequest from Nell turns Cassandra's life upside down and ends up challenging everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.
Inheriting a book of dark and intriguing fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace - the Victorian authoress who disappeared mysteriously in the early twentieth century - Cassandra takes her courage in both hands to follow in the footsteps of Nell on a quest to find out the truth about their history, their family and their past; little knowing that in the process, she will also discover a new life for herself. From Goodreads.

A bit confusing in the start with all the jumping back and forth in time but really intriguing. I kept thinking I knew how it all happened but I kept being wrong! I like that kind of book.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Great American Road Trip
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Getting Acquainted
Rawk-A-Tiers: Big Books Bonus Club
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: House Games
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Pick Your Fate Adventure Challenge
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly 

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

Hordes of bloodthirsty wolves are slaughtering the arctic caribou, and the government's Wildlife Service assigns naturalist Farley Mowat to investigate. Mowat is dropped alone onto the frozen tundra, where he begins his mission to live among the howling wolf packs and study their ways. Contact with his quarry comes quickly, and Mowat discovers not a den of marauding killers but a courageous family of skillful providers and devoted protectors of their young. As Mowat comes closer to the wolf world, he comes to fear with them the onslaught of bounty hunters and government exterminators out to erase the noble wolf community from the Arctic. Never Cry World is one of the brilliant narratives on the myth and magic of wild wolves and man's true place among the creatures of nature. From Goodreads.






I enjoyed this story about Mowat's first meeting with wolves. It is a fun story and at the same time highlighting humans fear of this brilliant animal. It says it is a true story but a lot of other reviews are questioning this. To me it is not that important whether it is a true story or loosely based on Mowat's experiences and mostly fiction. Whichever it is, it is a fascinating story about wolves.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: June Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Harry Potter: The Ultimate Series Tour
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: the 50 States Amazing Book Hunt
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Amazing Book Race
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly

Returning Pride by Jill Sanders

Everything seems to be going Iian’s way, he has a successful restaurant, a beautiful home, family, and friends. He’s even overcome the loss of his hearing, but why does he still feel like something is missing?
Allison has worked hard to make a name for herself in the art world; now all she wants is peace and quiet to work on her passion. But, with her mother overtaken by illness, she has less time than ever. When everything is stripped away in one tragic blow, and she’s being stalked by a mad-man,
she’ll need the help of her hometown and an old flame, to turn everything around and find what she’s been looking for.  From Goodreads.

A nice love story. Lian and Allison have known each other always, but sad family events kept them apart. Now Allison is back and they start seeing each other. There are no surprises in this book, even the bad things that happen we know from the beginning who it is and why he is doing it.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Pass The Parcel
The Challenge Factory - R6: Team Challenge SSS
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Harry Potter: The Ultimate Series Tour
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly

Seven Viking Romances by Hermann Pálsson

Combining traditional myth, oral history and re-worked European legend to depict an ancient realm of heroism and wonder, the seven tales collected here are among the most fantastical of all the Norse romances. Powerfully inspired works of Icelandic imagination, they relate intriguing, often comical tales of famous kings, difficult gods and women of great beauty, goodness or cunning.
The tales plunder a wide range of earlier literature from Homer to the French romances - as in the tale of the wandering hero Arrow-Odd, which combines several older legends, or Egil and Asmund, where the story of Odysseus and the Cyclops is skilfully adapted into a traditional Norse legend.
These are among the most outrageous, delightful and exhilarating tales in all Icelandic literature. From Goodreads.





This was extremely boring. I like stories about Vikings and Norse mythology but not this book. I think my biggest problem was the names, not the understanding of the names, but the huge number of names. Every time a new character was named we also got the names of all his present family and his forefathers.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge
I love Library books 2015
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Holding out a Hero
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Guess Who?
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it.…
The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.
A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants—from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys—except for Claire’s rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before.
When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire’s quiet life is turned upside down—along with the protective boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy—if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom—or with each other.
Enchanting and heartfelt, this captivating novel is sure to cast a spell with a style all its own…. From Goodreads.

I really liked this. All the Waverleys have different gifts but they are subtle. Claire and her sister Sydney are so different but when they finally talk about their childhood they understand each other and what has made them act the way they did. Bay, Sydney's daughter is cute, but my favourite side character is Evanelle. This elderly lady who just has to give people things even though she doesn't know why, that is her gift. If you get something from Evanelle keep it with you as you are sure to need it at some point in the future. She is really sweet.
I have ordered the next book from the library.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge
I love Library books 2015
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Pensieve
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: School's Out, Well...Almost
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly

Getaway by Rosemarie Naramore

After Portland Police Officer, Shelley Newland, is involved in a shooting while on the job, she decides to head to the Oregon Coast to clear her head. Rather than stay in a hotel, she opts to take her parents’ old Terry trailer. She’s sentimental about it, despite the fact that it’s falling down around her.
At the RV park, she meets handsome Portland Police Detective, Jake Castle, who has some things to work out in his own life. She’s also befriended by a group of senior citizens who are determined to help both her and Jake work through their problems.
When the two begin to have feelings for one another, can Jake convince Shelley his love for her is the real deal? Or will circumstances in Shelley’s life cause her to push him away? From Goodreads.






This was a sweet romance with a bit of suspense. Both Shelley and Jake need to make some decisions about their future. I liked the group of senior citizens at the camp site.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory - R6: Team Challenge SSS
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Finding Ginny
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Harry Potter: The Ultimate Series Tour
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

'You're not Mia Thermopolis any more, honey,' Dad said. I raised my head. 'I'm not?' I said, blinking. 'Then who am I?' He went, kind of sadly, 'You're Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo, Princess of Genovia.'
A PRINCESS??
ME???
Yeah, right.
One minute Mia's totally normal. Next minute she's heir to the throne of Genovia.
Well, her dad can lecture her until he's royal-blue in the face, but no way is Mia going to behave like some posh princess. And they think she's moving to Genovia? Er, hello? From Goodreads.






I read a lot of YA. This is more a children's book than YA in my opinion. It is sweet enough, quite cute and has some funny parts in it. It is too sweet for me and her daydreaming about being a superstar at the same time as she doesn't want to be a princess is a bit too stupid. I don't think I will read more in this series.