Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron

Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron by Jonathan Strahan (Editor)

Hardback, 432 pages

Published 4th October 2013 by Hot Key Books

Shelves: arc-or-review, books-i-own, death, fairy-tales, fantasy, ghosts, let-down, magic, magical-realism, not-for-me, read, read-in-2013, shapeshifters, short-stories, supernatural

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

A stellar cast of acclaimed fantasy writers weave spellbinding tales that bring the world of witches to life. Boasting over 70 awards between them, including a Newbery Medal, five Hugo Awards and a Carnegie Medal, authors including Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix and Holly Black delve into the realms of magic to explore all things witchy... From familiars that talk, to covens that offer dark secrets to explore, these are tales to tickle the hair on the back of your neck and send shivers down your spine.

I love a good seasonal read and Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron was my choice of read for Halloween this year. The book is a collection of short stories by several well known and talented authors, with all of the stories relating in some way, to the iconic witch hat, witchery or in general, magic. 

I don't often read short stories, but with a choice of eighteen tales, I thought this would be a fun choice and I was guaranteed to enjoy at least a few of the stories! I haven't reviewed many short stories, but I thought it'd be easier to give you an idea of each of the tales, and what I thought of them. After an introduction by the editor, I started to take some short notes.

The first tale was 'Stray Magic' by Diana Peterfreund. Our protagonist, Malou, is working in a dog shelter when a magical dog called arrives. The dog has lost its owner/master. Malou is only one who can see the magic behind the dog and can  communicate with it. Malou and the dog attempt to find the owner as the dog becomes ill without him. Though the short story is resolved, this could have definitely lead to longer story. I thought that it was a well written piece, but personally I didn't find it interesting enough to hold my attention well.

The second tale was 'Payment Due' by Frances Hardinge. Immediately, this story felt modern, the contemporary writing style was very enjoyable.The story starts with our main character's gran having some of her goods reposessed by bailiffs. Our main character then seeks revenge as she trades her body with a cat, invades the bailiffs home and tricking him. The story did leave me a little confused by the end, but it was a fun read.

'A Handful of Ashes' by Garth Nix gave us a new  firm setting and a more complex story with a lot of structure. It's clear that we're only getting a sneak peek of a much bigger surrounding and story. The story consists of old magic bylaws, magic class systems and laws. It was quite dense in information and detail for a short story and I think that this will really appeal to people who like having a firmly established setting and history in their stories.

I really enjoyed the next story, 'Little Gods' by Holly Black. It had a contemporary and almost coming of age style to it. We follow a girl, Ellery, who is going on a trip to participate in a ritual with her coven. The ritual is one of passion and is actually very similar to many high school parties! The story appears to be about ghosts, witchery and magic, but really it focuses on friends, lessons and life. It focuses on the little things, and that's what I loved about this one. 

'Barrio Girls' by Charles de Lint turns the book in a little more creepy directions as we are introduced to two teenage girls who are on a walk, followed by their friend, Pepé, who usually watches over them. The friends find a Witch as they're walking in the wash and she kills Pepé. The girls look for revenge, finding out how to kill the Witch, and find out that the way is to kill her with kindness. There is a message about being yourself weaved within this story, which I appreciate, but once again, I wasn't all that interested in this story - there was no real excitement for me.

In 'Felidis' by Tanith Lee, there was a romance with a which who is a cross between a human woman and a feline. At first, I found it slightly confusing and the story was certainly peculiar. I can see the intrigue of the feline character, but this one was just too 'out there' for me.

'Witch Work' by Neil Gaiman is the shortest contribution to this book, in the form of a poem. The work was short but effective, with the very vivid scenes that you'd hope for from Gaiman. This piece may have had a small word count, but it still had one of the biggest impacts. 

'The Education of a Witch' by Ellen Klages came next, and this was one of my favourite stories in the book. It follows Lizzy, a young child who goes to see Sleeping Beauty but rather than love the 'good' princess as expected, she loves the 'evil' witch character and as her baby sister is is born, Lizzy begins to become even closer to her favourite character. This was a really fantastic story which felt quite like a psychological thriller. I loved the writing style, the slight tension and the good pace. I would have loved to have read more.

'The Threefold World' by Ellen Kushner is next and it is a story of knowledge, faith, legend and magic. It has a lot of substance and it works well. I imagine that it will appeal to many people who enjoy fantasy, journeys and folklore. I am not quite sure why, but I personally couldn't get into this story, it bored me.

Next was another slightly stranger tale, 'The Witch in the Wood' by Delia Sherman. This tale tells of a witch who finds true love -- in the shape of a stag that she shoots! The deer is a shapeshifter, and though I've never particularly enjoyed reading about shapeshifters, I thought that this was a really captivating story. I quite enjoyed the twist of the ending and I would like to know what happened in the end.

My favourite story in this book had to be 'The Carved Forest' by Tim Pratt. This is another story that read like a psychological thriller. The story told is of a witch who has a forest of trees carved into the shape of everyone in her town, and two special carvings of her late husband and daughter. When the main character, Carlos, starts worrying about his sister forming a friendship with the witch, he intervenes. This is a haunting and very intriguing read which really stood out and I loved it.

'Burning Castles' by M. Rickert had a sense of ambiguity about it - we don't know exactly what is going on between the witch and who appears to be her child. The realism with hints of a haunted spirit world was effective. The story was drark and powerful despite being so short and it was good in the way that you could use your own imagination to fill ing the blanks.

Isobelle Carmody's 'The Stone Witch' was next, following a woman on an airplane flight, disappointed to be sat next to a child. The plane starts to crash and the woman starts to dream. The child and a witch both appear in her dream, the witch threatening their lives. The woman and child both go on a quest in hope of saving their lives. Both characters have flashbacks which were effective and which added another good, strong dimension to this story. I did enjoy this story though to be honest, I think I would have preferred it without the magical/fantasy aspect!

The next tale, 'Andersen's Witch' by Jane Yolen was a very brave move by the author! This is a tale of both Hans Christian Andersen and an ice witch. I think and hope that fans of Andersen will enjoy the fairytale like quality of this story.

'B is for Bigfoot' by Jim Butcher was next. This story starts with a professional wizard being called upon by a bigfoot who needs help as his scion (half human, half supernatural) son, Irwin, is getting bullied at school. The wizard gets into the school and attempts to help the problem but ends up getting caught up in it whilst Irwin and the other kids manage to sort the problem out themselves. 

The penultimate tale in the book was 'Great Grandmother in the Cellar' by Peter Beagle. It is a story of family, present and past, and focuses on relationships, with a very spooky skeletal great grandmother at the centre of it all! Unfortunately this was another story that just didn't do anything for me, and I had to stop myself skimming through the pages.

The last tale, 'Crow and Caper, Caper and Crow' by Margo Lanagan was about a character meeting her magical grandchild. The story was a nice ending to the book as this story had very high quality writing and I wanted to read more of this tale.

Overall, this book had both high and lows, and I can't deny that at points, I really struggled keeping with it as I did feel bored or I just wanted to get onto something more exciting. However, there were also some stories that really stood out in a positive way, namely The Education of a Witch and The Carved Forest, and I appreciate the book for allowing me to sample some fantastic authors. Though this wasn't one of my favourite books, it is something that I would recommend to anybody who likes young adult fiction, especially of the fantasy genre, as there should be something for everyone in this book.

Every Day

Every Day by David Levithan

Paperback, 372 pages

Expected publication: 2nd September 2013 by Electric Monkey

Shelves: better-than-expected, contemporary, favourites, if-i-were-a-boy, lasting-impression, lgbt-characters, magical-realism, mental-health, read, read-in-2013, realistic-fiction, really-good, supernatural, title-appeal, young-adult

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Each morning, A wakes up in a different body. There's never any warning about who it will be, but A is used to that. Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere. And that's fine - until A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply.

Anybody interested in YA literature should be aware that, after the success of Will Grayson, Will Grayson, a lot of people decided to start reading more books by John Green and David Levithan, the two authors who worked together to write such a fantastic book. I was one of those people and have since read books by both Green and Levithan as individuals. Whilst Green is the author with a huge fan following, I  personally prefer Levithan's writing. I think and hope that with the release of Every Day (and the UK re-releases of his previous novels) we will see a  bigger following for him. I was so excited to be given this book to review and for a very good reason. Every Day really shows what Levithan can do as an author.

Every Day tells the story of A, a character who has no permanent body and awakes inside a different person each day. A has no constants in their life - I will refer to A is a male, but A actually has no gender, no permanent ethnicity or sexuality, no stable home or relationships. One day, A finds himself inhabiting the body of a boy called Justin, boyfriend to Rhiannon, a girl that A immediately connects with and feels something for. From this day onwards, A decides that he will do something that he's never done before and try to reach out to Rhiannon, revealing the soul, the personality behind the bodies that he inhabits. At points I did wonder what exactly had attracted A to Rhiannon, why he was risking himself by trying to reach out, but as they did start to communicate, I didn't have to wonder and saw how well they bonded together.

This story is told in days, each new day means that A is inside a new shell. I absolutely loved this idea, but I was a little worried that the story would feel a little 'jumpy'. In some ways, it was sort of like Levithan was writing lots of short stories with the bodies he used but, thankfully, no depth was lost at all as we were still given A within this body, a constant personality. I really enjoyed reading about the different bodies each day and getting an insight into the drastic changes between the lifestyles of people. Levithan covered a huge amount of ground with the people he portrayed - from drug addicts to suicidal girls to the struggle with obesity. A tries his best not to interfere with the bodies lives, but I was glad when he tried to push them towards positivity and help, if they needed it. Though some days only covered a few pages, no details or depth were lacking. As expected from Levithan, there were also a few LGBT issues raised, from both the lifestyles of the bodies that A inhabited and the issue of A being a genderless person. I have never read a book like this before and I think Levithan makes a clear point with it -  it should be the personality of someone, not their gender or aesthetics, that you fall in love with - something that I definitely agree with.

The main story is A forming this special relationship with Rhiannon and trying to get past the boundaries of not having a permanent body. I thought that this was well executed, I actually loved the points of awkwardness, the uncertainty between A and Rhiannon - the imperfections made the book work even better than expected. I don't think that this book is predictable, I actually didn't even feel as though the characters truly knew what they were thinking at points - which sounds a little bad, but definitely isn't. It felt real. I don't want to give anything  key away, but the end of the book was absolutely heart-shattering. I cried, then I raved about the amazing-ness of this book for days afterwards. 

There is a sub-plot in this book which features a boy called Nathan, a boy who A has inhabited, who realises he has lost a day of his life. It's not clear to him, but he suspects that the devil had taken over his body, goes public with his story and seeks help from a priest. Unfortunately, for me, it was also one of the weakest parts of the book - I just didn't find it interesting, the characters didn't react as I thought they should and by the end, my interest between the two waned. Though I didn't particularly like this part of the book, it wasn't something that deterred me from the book, I was still compelled to read it!

A book that can make me feel that way that this one does is something that really deserves to be shared. It was a book that kept me wondering, it was unputdownable, a real page turner, but at the same time I didn't want to finish the book - it was so good! Every Day is sitting firmly on my list of favourite books and I hope that it will be the same for a lot of other readers. Pick this book up and you won't regret it. For one reason or another, I think that the majority of people will at least enjoy one aspect of this book, if not all. Highly recommended!

Ink (Paper Gods #1)

Ink (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

Paperback, 468 pages

Published 5th July 2013 by Mira Ink

Shelves: arc-or-review, books-i-own, cover-appeal, cultural, magical-realism, read-in-2013, series-or-companions, supernatural, to-read, young-adult

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

A MAGIC MIGHTIER THAN ANY SWORD

A DESTINY THAT CAN’T BE DENIED

Katie Greene is lost in the wake of her mum's death. Sent to Japan, she meets gorgeous but aloof artist Tomohiro, whose tough attitude intrigues and scares her. Then things get really strange. When they're near each other, Tomohiro's drawings start to come to life…

Soon the wrong people begin to ask questions, and Katie and Tomohiro must risk everything to protect the truth.

As soon as I saw Ink, I wanted to pick it up, you can't deny that it has a beautiful cover. When I read the description of the book, I knew it was definitely something that I had to read, I absolutely loved the premise and with lovely artwork spread throughout, reading Ink was a real treat.

This is a book that's set in Japan and as I am quite interested in some aspects of Japanese culture, I thought that this would be a fantastic new reading experience which would possibly also teach me a few things along the way! I have to say that when I first started the book, the actual usage of Japanese language did seem daunting and I was flicking back and forth to the glossary - however, after a couple of times I decided against using the glossary which, for me, was a much better decision. I really felt as though I was with our main character, Katie, as she learnt about the country and grasped the basics of the language. Sun has done a great job of really allowing the reader to connect to the book through the protagonist. As Katie was introduced to new things, so were we, and as she became both nervous and excited, so did I.

The characters that we were introduced to in this book were all clear individuals. I really enjoyed meeting everyone and seeing all of the different aspects to their personalities and learning about their different hobbies. There is quite a mysterious background behind some of the characters, those who are part of the Kami (Paper Gods - those who are able to bring ink drawings to life) and the introduction to this group of people is really intriguing. This book really is only an introduction to these people though and it's definitely left me wanting to know more about the Kami and the history of them. 

Something that came through very strongly in this book was the sheer vividness of the descriptions. The setting, in particular, was so fantastically described - I yearned to be there with the characters, walking through blossom filled streets and soaking up the true atmosphere and culture of this Japanese town. Reading about the ink creations coming to life was also a magical experience - a real sense of power emitted through the pages and I think that these scenes would definitely appeal to those who enjoy action in their books.

Overall, this was a book that I really enjoyed. This is something different from your usual offerings on the young adult market and it is something special. If you're looking for a change and to even learn something about a new culture, this is definitely something to try. I am certainly looking forward to the next books in this series and learning more about the Paper Gods.

Night School (Night School #1)

Night School by C.J. Daugherty

Paperback, 454 pages

Published 1st January 2012 by Atom

Shelves: books-i-own, young-adult, supernatural, series-or-companions, read-in-2013, magical-realism 

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Allie's world is falling apart...

She hates her school. Her brother has run away. And she's just been arrested. 

Again. 

Now her parents are sending her away to a boarding school where she doesn't know a soul.

But instead of hating her new school, Allie finds she's happy there. She's making friends. And then there's Sylvain, a suave French student who openly flirts with her. And Carter, the brooding loner who seems to have her back.

Soon, though, Allie discovers Cimmeria Academy is no ordinary school. Nothing there is as it seems. And her new friends are hiding dangerous secrets.

Night School is a book that is hugely popular amongst a lot of young adults at the moment and I am sure that it'll continue to be a big hit. Night School has a very interesting idea behind it which could literally lead us anywhere - there is so much potential for this series and I truly think that it will just improve as it goes on.

I will start by saying that I didn't initially love this book. It took me quite a while to get into Night School, but towards the end I was definitely left wanting to know more! Though I've only given this book two stars, I'd say that it definitely deserves more towards the end. I always find it difficult to review first books in series, as they're sometimes just stepping stones for the following books, setting the scene and introducing us to people. I'd say that Night school was one of these books. As I've said, towards the end, it did definitely get more intriguing as we started to find out about Night School, a secret elite club. There is no doubt that Night School is an interesting group and I'd imagine that most people would be intrigued by it. 

The setting of Night School is a secluded boarding school in England, Cimmeria Academy. Boarding schools are a very popular setting for young adult books at the moment and it's obvious why -  the buildings can be full of history and so are the perfect place for creating a mysterious atmosphere. I am a person who loves reading about schools, so this was perfect for me. Daugherty definitely made the right choice by creating the Academy - she did a great job of creating a somewhat spooky feeling to the place and made very clear that there was a great amount of history to the school, which I hope she will expand on as the series progresses!

The history of the school is also embedded in the story's characters. The cast of primarily teenage characters will certainly appeal to the targeted reading group. In Night School we are introduced to Allie, a troubled girl who is having a hard time after her brother ran away from home. Allie is sent to Cimmeria Academy in the hopes that it will change her behaviour. She is pessimistic about the move at first, but after a while she realises that she's actually quite happy there with her new friends. There is a fair amount of different characters that we're introduced to - enough to allow good diversity but not too many to become confusing. I enjoyed seeing Allie interact with her new friends and I found it quite difficult to judge the characters - I wasn't quite sure who to trust and I didn't quite know where the story was going, which was good as it meant it wasn't predictable!

As you can see, I did enjoy some aspects of this book, but for me the thing as a whole didn't completely work. As aforementioned, I feel as though this is a book to pave a way for the rest of the series, rather than to be a fantastic standalone book. This book is reasonably thick, at 400+ pages and for me, the issue was that not much actually happened. C.J. did a good job of introducing us to characters and making us a little suspicious of them, which was probably what she was aiming for in this book, so she did well. Unfortunately I was a little unsure about where the book was going (I thought it was paranormal, which it doesn't seem to be) and this vagueness didn't allow me to get completely absorbed. I didn't need to know any specific information, so it was difficult to get hooked - I had no idea what I was waiting to find out.

Whilst I didn't love the whole of Night School, I did manage to find enough potential and intrigue inside it in order to want to read the second book in the school, Legacy. After reading a few reviews of Legacy, I think I am right in thinking that this story can only get stronger. I know that a lot of you will love Night School itself, and I am really looking forward to seeing where the story goes.

Dance of Shadows

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

Paperback, 389 pages

Published 12th February 2013 by Bloomsbury

My shelves: books-i-own, arc-or-review, supernatural, series-or-companions, read-in-2013, magical-realism, magic, better-than-expected, cover-appeal

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Vanessa doesn’t believe that her sister is a runaway. She wouldn’t leave her family behind without saying a word. The only way Vanessa can discover the truth behind her mysterious disappearance is to follow in Margaret’s footsteps, but to do so she risks her sanity and maybe even her life . . .

Vanessa Adler is one of the talented few to get a place at the acclaimed New York Ballet Academy. Between backbreaking rehearsals for the school’s production of The Firebird she desperately tries to find out what happened to her sister before she vanished. There are rumors that the pressure of performing the lead role, the same role Vanessa is now rehearsing for, drove her mad. Other girls have gone missing too. Can the role be cursed? Vanessa’s new relationship with leading-man Zep only seems to complicate things further. What is he hiding from her and can she really trust him?

Black Swan meets Gossip Girl in this thrilling first book in a new series. Sexy, sinister and full of secrets, readers will be hooked on Dance of Shadows from the first page. Look out for the sequel in 2014.

Dance of Shadows is one of the most highly anticipated books of 2013 and I was one of those who has been waiting eagerly for its release. I can't deny that I mainly wanted to pick the book up just because of the beautiful cover, but yes, the  plot did sound quite exciting too! 

At first, I wasn't completely sold when I read about this book - the story revolves around Vanessa, a student at the  New York Ballet Academy. I'm not opposed to dancing, but it's not something that interests me, it's not something I'd particularly want to read about. However, there was one aspect of this book that really did grab my attention - Vanessa's sister, along with several other members of the Ballet Academy have mysteriously gone missing throughout the years. I do like a bit of mystery and after reading some online material about Margaret, I just had to find out what happened to her. 

I was surprised how much I liked this book when I first started to read it - I thought it may take some getting used to, especially as I'm not into dancing. There, of course, is a lot of dancing and quite a few dance references in this book, but it never became overwhelming, which I was glad of. The dancing is very much the stepping stone for the paranormal aspect of this book and for the search for Margaret - the focus lies on what happens when Vanessa dances, which is something very unusual, something supernatural. I thought that discovering more about the unexplained disappearances was the most interesting part of the book, as I expected it to be - I couldn't predict what had happened to the missing girls. I was, however, pretty disappointed when we did find out what had happened - the revelation all seemed to come too fast and it seemed rushed, especially considering that there will be more books that this could've been more smoothly revealed and explored.

There were a good amount of characters in this book and whilst it was good for establishing the environment and atmosphere at the ballet academy, I thought that they all could have had some more depth. Most of the characters were likeable, but I don't feel that I know enough about them to really relate to them. I did like Vanessa's group of friends as they did seem like a genuinely good group of people. I thought the character of Josef could have been magnificent, he was intriguing and clearly had a past that would have made for fantastic reading. I will say that I was so disappointed about what happens to Josef in the end - simply because I think there was a lot of wasted potential. The romantic relationships in this book were okay - they held my attention but I could sort of predict what would happen in the end between Vanessa, Zep and Justin. I should hope that some sort of more complex relationship between the characters will appear in the future - there is room for development.

Overall, Dance of Shadows was an entertaining book which held my attention.  I think that it certainly has the potential to become a very popular series. The plot was interesting and I am still interested in the missing girls and in Vanessa's search for them. Unfortunately, for me, the book did slightly decrease in quality as it progressed, it seemed too rushed for me to enjoy it, as though the author was cramming things in just before the end of the book and this reflected in the quality of the writing. I will most probably read the next book in this series, and hope that both the plot and the characters deepen. 

Dead Romantic

Dead Romantic by C.J. Skuse

Paperback, 328 pages

Expected Publication: 4th February 2013 by Chicken House

My shelves: arc-or-review, books-i-own, cover-appeal, magical-realism, read, read-in-2013, supernatural, zombies

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Camille wants to find the perfect boy, with an athlete's body and a poet's brain. But when she's mocked at a college party, she kows there isn't a boy alive who'll ever measure up. Enter Zoe, her brilliant but strange best friend, who takes biology homework to a whole new level. She can create Camille's dream boy, Frankenstein-stylee. But can she make him love her?

There seems to be a lot of hype around Dead Romantic and there is undoubtedly a lot of praise given to author CJ Skuse. On receiving this book for review, I knew I had to pick it up soon and give it a try. CJ Skuse is a very different, fun writer and it's easy to see why she has so many fans.

Dead Romantic is a book that will appeal to almost any young adult. Camille, our main character, wants a boyfriend and when she becomes friends with Zoe, the strange goth girl from school, Zoe promises to use science in order to create Camille's perfect boyfriend. Instantly, the the premise intrigued me - how were the girls going to make this boy? Would everything go to plan? Apart from the classic Frankenstein (which I really enjoyed), I hadn't read anything like this before, but it was definitely something I'd like to read about again! 

When you're creating a Frankenstein-like person, there has to be some sort of supernatural element to the book, and there is, but thankfully it isn't completely dominating - for those who aren't that keen or bothered about fantasy, I would imagine that this would still be enjoyable. There is a really good balance throughout this book. I personally really enjoyed the creepier scenes (yes, I'm a bit morbid), they certainly grabbed my attention and made the book into a real page turner.

Whilst the book does center around the formation of the new boy, there is also a lot of focus on Camille's relationships with different characters in the book. My favourite character had to be Zoe - she was strange in the best possible way, she really interested me and despite her somewhat moody persona, she is definitely the kind of person I'd want to be friends with. I loved learning about her family and for me, this was the highlight of the book. Despite the building of her 'dream boyfriend', Camille does have another love interest in this book and it's nice to read about. I will admit that I wasn't taken by most of the boys in this book (especially Damien!) but like Camille, I did grow to like Louis in particular. 

There was only one thing that slightly irritated me in this book and it was the ending - I felt that for a standalone book, it was left too widely open. After all of the suspense building up around the Frankenstein-style guy, I wanted to know more about him - what happened to him, where did he go, what was he like? I understand that in the long run, it wasn't really necessary to know these things as most of the issues in the book resolved themselves before the boy was brought to life, but I would still have liked to learn more about what became of him. Saying that, maybe that is just me being greedy and wanting to read more of Skuse's work! 

The writing in Dead Romantic was certainly unique. Skuse definitely uses language to connect with a younger audience and it really works. There are countless books that are let down by their 'teen speak', but Skuse has got it right - it felt as though she was talking to me as a friend and it felt completely natural. I did really enjoy the writing style and it will certainly encourage me to pick up more books by this author. 

Overall, a very enjoyable read, but a slightly unsatisfying ending. I can't wait to see what Skuse writes next as I will undoubtedly pick it up. Highly recommended for any teenagers or young adults who want to read something well balanced with a touch of of the supernatural.

Angels at Christmas

Angels at Christmas by Debbie Macomber

Paperback, 400 pages

Published 21st October 2011 by Mira Books

My shelves: adult-fiction, angels-demons, christmas-books, cover-appeal, magical-realism, mum-has, read, read-in-2012, realistic-fiction, series-or-companions, supernatural, chick-lit

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

If you had one wish this Christmas... 

THOSE CHRISTMAS ANGELS: Anne Fletcher sends a heartfelt plea in the hope that someone is looking down on her this Christmas. One wish for her son to be happy. She doesn t expect to have her prayer answered by three mischievous angels! They re about to do a little matchmaking on Anne s behalf and make her Christmas wish come true. 

WHERE ANGELS GO: The angels are on hand again for lovely Beth Fischer who, since her divorce, is looking for romance once more. At eighty six, Harry has prayed for peace of mind, and little Carter Jackson has just one Christmas wish. Angels Shirley, Goodness and Mercy will make miracles happen this Christmas... Make time for friends. Make time for Debbie Macomber.

Despite the absolutely gorgeous cover adorning Angels at Christmas, it didn't make my 2011 Christmas list - however, I'm glad that I finally managed to pick it up over this past Christmas!  

Previously, I'd only read one other book by Debbie Macomber  but when I picked this one up, but it seemed exactly what I expected - comforting and easy to read. There are other books about the Angels, but it doesn't seem necessary to read them in any sort of order.

I will most likely be tempted to pick up any book with a Christmas theme, and that's why I picked this one up, though I was initially a little unsure of the plot. The story features three Angels, Shirley, Goodness and Mercy who are prayer ambassadors waiting for permission from Angel Gabriel to go to Earth and help prayers to be answered. To be honest, though I knew it would be a main theme, I was worried it'd be a bit too strange! The story is not like a supernatural/fantasy book, so it will appeal to Debbie's regular readers. One thing that it does hint at is religion, but thankfully (for me), although there is a Christian theme, it's not overpowering or forceful. The angels certainly added a different element to the book, but if I am being honest, the sections focusing on them were my least favourite and felt a little childish. 

This book actually contains two stories, Those Christmas Angels and Where Angels Go. Whilst both were enjoyable, I favoured the second story. The Angels feature in both stories, though the two stories are not directly linked and so could easily be read separately if you would like a short story.

In Those Christmas Angels, the angels respond to a prayer made by Anne Fletcher who wishes her son, a somewhat cynical business man Roy, happiness - this comes in the unexpected form of Julie, a rather independent and sassy woman who I really liked. The chemistry between Roy and Julie was good and I also liked the sub-plot, based around Anne, that was included. Though her writing is quite predictable, it's also full of experience - it's pleasant to read and both her world and character building are good. Even though this is a short story, this one still felt as though I was reading a longer novel due to the good writing.

In Where Angels Go, the angels respond to several different people over the Christmas period and I think that's why this one grabbed my attention a little more. We are introduced to Harry, who knows he is going to die soon and has a wife to care for, Beth who is divorced, lonely and World of Warcraft addict, and nine year old Carter who only wants one thing for Christmas - a dog. 

As there are several things happening, even if you're not too fond of one part of the story, you have the excitement of wondering what will happen in a different section. However, I found each character and storyline as enjoyable as the rest. Again, due to the strength of the writing, each story had great depth despite the length of it. I truly enjoyed getting to know everyone and this story was also a little less predictable, so it was good to see what happened to everyone and how things panned out.

Overall, this was a nice book to read over the Christmas period - There isn't a better time to kick back with a book that is full of promise and eventual happiness. If you're already a fan of Debbie Macomber, then I'm sure this will be another book for you to love. I will (and already have!) pick up another book by this author, simply for the feeling of comfort that her writing emits.

Angels at the Table

Angels at the Table by Debbie Macomber

Paperback, 288 pages

Published 8 November 2012 by Arrow Books

My shelves: adult-fiction, arc-or-review, better-than-expected, books-i-own, chick-lit, christmas-books, magical-realism, read-in-2012, realistic-fiction, series-or-companions, supernatural, to-read

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Lucia Farrara and Aren Fairchild meet after bumping into each other - seemingly by accident - in Times Square on New Year's Eve. They immediately hit it off and find they have a lot in common: Lucie is a chef and Aren is a respected food critic. But just as quickly as they're brought together, another twist of fate tears them apart.

It's going to take a miracle to bring these two together again. But everyone knows that Chirstmas is a time for love and miracles...

This is the second Christmas themed book I've read by Debbie Macomber, again featuring the Shirley, Goodness  and Mercy, three Christmas angels who are also prayer ambassadors, aiming to help those on earth who take the moment to make a prayer, or need a miracle. This time, the angels have a young apprentice angel to guide...

Once again, this is a book that is typical of Macomber. It's typical comfort reading material - the type of book that you could snuggle up with and read contentedly all night. It is marketed as a Christmas themed book, but it is more than suitable to read at other times of the year - it doesn't really feel like a seasonal book. The book starts with Gabriel making his first blunder, making two strangers bump into each other on New Year's Eve. The angels watch as things unfold between the two strangers, adding even more trouble into the mix throughout. The angels added some humour and a fun to the book, but I still found the angels to be a bit childish and so a bit of a disappointment to read.

Lucie and Aren are the two people who meet on New Year's Eve and, initially, everything seems great - this chance meeting could be perfect. However, it turns out that Aren is an anonymous food critic and Lucie is a chef at one of the restaurants that he critiques. As their meeting wasn't to God's plan, of course their friendship couldn't run smoothly... thanks to the angels who once again do something mistakenly, things only get worse. We follow both Lucie and Aren through their ups and downs which are very well written. I like how Macomber really tries to get into the mind and emotions of her characters. Both characters are likeable and realistic in their thoughts and feelings. Honestly, the pace of the book was a little too quick for me - some things seemed a little glossed over and I think that the book could have benefited from some more length.

As this book is written by Macomber, it is predictable and you should expect a happy ending for everyone, however that isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is another book from Macomber that won't disappoint her fans. If you're looking for a relaxing, romance book then this would be a good quick read, whether it's Christmas or not!