Sugar Queen

by Sarah Addison Allen

When Josey finds Della Lee, a local waitress with a reputation for trouble, hiding in her closet where she secretly keeps sugary food and romance novels, her sheltered life is turned upside-down. Encouraged by Della Lee, Josey begins to changed from a guilt ridden child into a well rounded woman. She soon finds making friends isn’t as hard as she though and depends less and less on her romance novels and food.

Chloe Finley has a secret, ever since she can remember books have appeared whenever she needed them, and whenever they think she needs them. She also has a problem, her boyfriend, Jake, with whom she was planning to spend the rest of her life with has admitted to cheating.

Secrets run rife through the town, and as Josey comes to know Della Lee Chloe, Jake and Adam it becomes obvious that a secret shared is a burden halved if only their friendship is strong enough.

Filled with lively believable characters, this is a delightful tale of friendship, love and subtle magic.

Part of my 100 + reading challenge.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Having read the Twilight series, the Historian and being an avid fan of Buffy, I decided it was about time I went to the source of the vampire trend and read Dracula.

Now, I may be one of the few people in the world who really had no idea what the book was about besides the obvious – a vampire by the name of Dracula. (I didn’t even realize Van Helsing was a character!) So, I had no preconceptions of this dark 19th century novel.

I found the story intriguingly complex if not as horrifying as I imagine the first readers found it to be. Written in diary form, the book is composed of the letters and diaries of a small group brought together by the evils of Dracula. The Count is deliciously mysterious and amoral, and our band of heroes are intrepid and fearful by turn and so very prim and proper.

Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to see a client who is buying a house in London with the intent of moving there. On arriving in the town he meets the local peasantry who try to warn him away from the count, his client, but sure it is just local superstition, Jonathan journeys on the terrifying ruined structure where Count Dracula makes his home.

Lucy, recently engaged to be married and a dear friend of Jonathan’s fiancé, Mina, suddenly falls sick after sleep walking in the graveyard at night in Whitby. When Lucy does not seem to get any better, her friend and doctor, John Stuart sends for his mentor from Amsterdam, Dr Van Helsing and it is he who reveals the terrible truth of her sickness. But even he is unable to save her.

Van Helsing and his determined group must use all their wits, courage and strength in a long battle to defeat the sinister Count before it is too late.

Part of my 100+ reading challenge.

Magic Strikes

by Ilona Andrews

Kate Daniels leads a complicated life. A mercenary for years in an Atlanta that constantly shifts between technology and magic in waves and friends with were-beasts, she has seen her fair share of challenging paranormal.

But when Derek, her werewolf friend asks her to deliver a message, Kate has no idea what she is getting herself into, and when that message all but gets Derek killed, Kate begins her own investigation only to find it is all tied up with the gladiators of the Midnight games, a most deadly fighting tournament, and the supernatural prize being offered to the winners.

Packed with action, humour, strange magic and beasts, fans of Patricia Briggs will find this fasted paced, energetic novel a welcome addition to their shelves.

Part of my 100+ reading challenge

Lavinia

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Little is known about Lavinia, Aeneas of Troy’s second wife, with whom he founds his empire. Now Ursula K. Le Guin turns her incredible talent to give voice to Vergil’s silent character from the Aenead.

Growing up in peaceful Latium, a beloved daughter of King Latinus, Lavinia knows more freedom than many princesses. She roams the hills and forests of her homeland and visits the sacred springs. It is at one of these sacred places she first meets the poet who tells Lavina she is destined to marry a great man from Troy and with whom she will have just a few short years. But her mother and most of the kingdom favour Turnus, the king of neighboring Rutuli and Lavinia’s cousin as her match. And so, when the oracle tells King Latinus to marry his daughter to the Trojan outsider a bitter civil war breaks out, a war that breeds resentment for years to come and shapes the kingdom that will become Rome.

Le Guin, drawing on Vergil’s original tale, creates a realistic mythological account of a shy girl who becomes a strong partner to a great hero and passionate heroine in her own right.

Part of my 100+ reading challenge