Early Review: Ripper

Ripper

-          Amy Carol Reeves

Publisher: Flux Books

E-Arc Courtesy of netgalley and Flux Books

In 1888, following her mother's sudden death, 17-year-old Arabella Sharp goes to live with her grandmother in a posh London neighborhood. At her grandmother's request, Abbie volunteers at Whitechapel Hospital, where she discovers a passion for helping the unfortunate women and children there. But within days, female patients begin turning up brutally murdered at the hands of Jack the Ripper

Set in Victorian times Ripper follows Arabella as she moves to London to live her the grandmother she never met after her mother’s death. Arabella becomes involved in the strange killings in forgotten Whitechapel, by a man with medical knowledge who the papers call Jack the Ripper...

I’m a big fan of Jack the Ripper stories so I went into this book with a lot of enthusiasm and expectation. It was an easy read that I got through in a couple of days, the pages flying by. I liked that the main character was so headstrong and determined to make her own way in the world – especially at a time when women were defined by their families and husbands. The characters throughout the story are well drawn and different – I liked both the love interests and even Arabella’s grandmother was an interesting personality.

However, I couldn’t help but feel some of the story didn’t hand together just right for me. For a strict guardian, Arabella’s grandmother was surprisingly relaxed about her working in a hospital and spending time alone with young men. In that era young girls were supposed to be chaperoned at all times. I also didn’t feel the magical elements were really needed – it would have worked without them. One element that really annoyed me happened in the first few pages – Arabella chases a pickpocket from Kensington to Whitechapel - running the whole way. That is a very long way! Not something easily done walking, even today, let along to worry about chasing anyone! It really frustrated as I immediately felt like Amy Carol Reeves didn’t know London and how big the city and the parks actually are. It niggled me for a long time.

In summary, it is an exciting story with a great strong leading lady and some interesting romantic leads. I just think my own high expectations disappointed me - my fault rather than the book!

Recommended for fans of Amanda Ashby and Mary Hooper.  6 out of 10

HOPPY EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA GIVEAWAY HOP

The Lunar Love Giveaway Hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer &  Once Upon A Twilight - thank you both!

Easter is just a few days aways and I am looking forward to the long weekend here in the UK - four days to relax, catch up on my cleaning, meet up with friends and maybe a few hours reading. Hopefully the weather will be as nice as it was in March as well! But hearing about my weekend plans isn't the reason you stopped by - you want a giveaway!

So what can you win here at Mel's Random Reviews?

Prize: Book of your choice from The Book Despository (up to £10 or $10) as such this is open internationally!

Rules: (without which there will be chaos!)

- Fill in the form below

- That's it! No complicated extra entries, no bribes, no favourites :-)

- Closes at Midnight 12th April 2012

- If you win, you'll have 72 hours to reply my email, otherwise I'll pick another winner
- You don't have to be a follower, but I won't object if you are! :)

Good Luck - and don't forget to check out some of the other stops on the hop! :)

Throwback Thursday/What Shall I Read This Month? + GIVEAWAY

I realised the other day that I've been doing these Throwback Thursday posts inspired by Melissa at My World...in words and pictures  for nearly year now - I have posted about 46 books I own but haven't read yet - and how many of these books have picked up since posting about them? 3 Books. Out of 46. That is completely rubbish! So I'm doing a slight revamp of this to make it more interesting for me - and for you...

On the first Thursday of each month I will post a poll highlighting all the Throwback Thursday books I've highlighted in the last month plus one of the older Throwbacks and ask you to pick which book I should read. The most popular book after 5 days or so, will be picked up by me and actually read and  (hopefully!) reviewed by the end of the month. However, in thanks I will also offer a copy of the winning book to someone who voted - even if they didn't pick the winning book. This way older books get a lot of love from both of us!

So to summarise -
- Pick a book you want me to read from my Throwback Thursday's posts and be in with a chance to win the book for yourself (or if you've already read it, you can choose any book from my TBR pile for your own - check my TBR Shelf at the top for some other books that I need to get round to reading!)
- I'll ship it out to from the Book Depository so it will be open internationally.
- Leave a comment for an extra entry telling my why I should read your choice!
- Open to followers only (Sorry, but I want to reward those who stop by regularly!)
- Poll closes midnight on Tuesday 10th April - I will try to announce the winning book and lucky follower, by next Thursday.

So this month the books I need to give some serious love to are:

The Season of Passage - Christopher Pike


Hard Bitten - Chloe Neill


Blood Rights - Kristin Painter


Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Suzanne Clarke

Which book should I read this month? Fill in the form below!

<<Poll Closed for April>>

Early Review: The Intern

The Intern

-          Dillion Khan

Publisher: UK – Puffin - Released 4th April 2012 

Review Copy from Puffin

When Jay Merchant lands an internship for the best job in music television, he is given a backstage pass to the biggest gig of his life. The velvet rope to the biggest VIP parties and hottest celebrities has been lifted and now he's got to capture it on camera. But with only six months to turn his intern dream into a real job, does he have what it takes? It's time to face the music...

If I had to sum up The Intern in three words – fast, fun and frantic! Set in 2000, Jay joins the London office of The Beat – the hippest music channel (think MTV) as an intern for six months, hoping desperate that he will be given the elusive full time position at the end. And so he gets swept up in a whirlwind lifestyle of music videos, celebrity parties and late nights, while the rest of his life starts to fall apart.

I have to admit I loved the peak into the behind the scenes life of music celebrities and parties (I like a good headline as much as the next person!) and it did feel very realistic. It was easy to see that Dillion Khan was pulling on his years of experience at MTV. It was an eye opening experience! The writing was immersive and gave a strong portrayal of the politics and hard work behind the music. However by the end I was finding the partying a little repetitive but Jay was an appealing character that I wanted to see how it ended. I could certainly sympathise with him not wanting to return to unemployment

Each chapter is named after a song and I’m almost ashamed to admit that I didn’t recognise enough of them! Overall, this is a fun light read that gives an intriguing peak into the back room of early 21^st century music industry.

Recommended for fans of Danny Wallace and Dave Gorman. 7 out of 10

And if that hasn't convinced you - check out this book trailer!

 

Author Interview: Suzanne Johnson

Today I have the great pleasure of welcoming Suzanne Johnson, author Royal Street to the blog and grilling her on a few questions...

Thanks for stopping by!

First tell us a little about yourself...

I’m an Alabama native who spent many years in New Orleans before moving back to Alabama about three years ago. So I consider New Orleans my hometown, even though I’ve lived in five different states. In my daytime career, I work in magazines for universities. I’m currently associate editor of a magazine produced for the alumni of Auburn University. So during the day, I write. And then I go home…and write!

Royal Street is your debut novel – how long was the development of the story & the actual writing?

I started the book in late 2008 with the rough idea, and it took about eight months to get it fleshed out enough to start querying agents. Now, I can turn one around in three or four months, but with this first one I was really just feeling my way through it.

How would you describe Royal Street to potential readers?

I think of Royal Street as operating on two levels. On one level, it’s a fun story of wizards and pirates and voodoo—and a couple of sexy Mississippi boys—set in New Orleans just after Hurricane Katrina hits. On a deeper level, it’s about what a young woman learns to rely on after she’s lost all the things she pinned her identity on—her mentor, her job as she knew it, and even her city. That sounds really serious and dull—LOL—but it does have a lot of humor in it.

I loved the atmosphere you created in immediate post-Katrina New Orleans, it is obvious you have a strong feeling for the city – what’s your favourite part of the city?

New Orleans French Quarter

I do love New Orleans—it’s one of those places people either hate or fall in love with. Of course I love the culture and the architecture and the food, but the thing I love most about New Orleans is its spirit and its people. There’s a definite New Orleans sense of humor—kind of fatalistic and self-deprecating—but New Orleanians love their city fiercely and they live large. And now I’m homesick!

The Historical Dead play an important role in Royal Street – is there any famous dead person you would like to meet?

Well, I’ve become infatuated with the pirate Jean Lafitte, so I will say him…although I suspect if I met the real Jean Lafitte he’d scare the crap out of me! He’s a really fascinating character, though. Smart, smart man.

New Orleans has a strong supernatural heritage and is the setting for many supernatural stories - have you ever had a supernatural experience yourself?

Actually, I have had a couple. When I was a teenager and staying at a friend’s house, this strange ball of light came in the window and hovered in the room. Scared us to death—later, we decided it was some kind of phenomenon involving lightning since we were in the attic and there was an electrical storm. And I saw a semi-transparent figure in my bedroom in my house in New Orleans one night—a teenage boy, about 15 years old. Totally creeped me out, but I never saw him again and I’ve convinced myself I was dreaming…sort of.

What have you got coming up next?

The second book in the New Orleans series, River Road, comes out on November 13. It moves the story up a couple of years, and involves DJ working to solve a mystery involving a couple of twin mermen and the poisoning of the water in the Mississippi River. It’s a lighter story in a lot of ways than Royal Street because the immediate horror of Hurricane Katrina has passed. Book three, Elysian Fields, comes out next spring, and it really shakes things up!

Finally a 60 second, quick question quiz

 Favourite Book you’ve read?

Stephen King’s The Stand.

 Favourite holiday?

Thanksgiving, because it’s the only time my far-flung family manages to all be in one place.

 Favourite food?

I love Middle Eastern food. Labneh, hummus, falafel, couscous…and on and on.

 Favourite film?

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Awesome.

 Favourite music?

I like singer/songwriters that fall in the folk/country spectrum. Huge fan of Zachary Richard, a brilliant Louisiana artist. Also Chris Knight, Slaid Cleaves, Gurf Morlix.

 Favourite authors?

Stephen King—I’ve been reading his books since I was a kid. In urban fantasy and paranormal romance, I love Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, and JR Ward. Black Dagger Brotherhood. Sigh.

 Any pets?

Shane O’Mac, an Irish terrier, and Tanker Abbott, a 90-pound Rottweiler-chow mix. They’re both rescue dogs from New Orleans, both are named after professional wrestlers (don’t ask—really), and they’re spoiled rotten but they had rough lives before I got them so I figure they deserve to be spoiled.

 Favourite saying/quote?

“That dog don’t hunt.” It’s a Southern thing that roughly translates as “that’s B.S.” I’m also fond of: “You can put lipstick on a pig, but at the end of the day, it’s still a pig.”

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions!

Thanks for having me!

Early Review: Royal Streets

Royal Streets (Sentinels of New Orleans 1)

-          Suzanne Johnson

Publisher: Tor- Published on 10^th April 2012

E-Arc Courtesy of netgalley and Tor

As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ's boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond. Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now, the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering the soldiers sent to help the city recover. To make it worse, Gerry has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and for the serial killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter gumbo.

I have a new favourite author! For a debut book, Royal Street is remarkably accomplished, managing to effortless build a fantastical setting set very much in the real world. New Orleans has long been a favourite setting for novels with a touch of magic, but this is the first time I’ve read anything set there during Hurricane Katrina and its devastating aftermath. This firmly places the whole setting in our world and the details of how New Orleans struggled to recover are heartbreaking on their own. All those deserted homes, the gradual creep of damp and yet a newspaper manages to survive the flood and is found in the front yard. The empty ruins make from a truly creepy and atmospheric novel.

In addition to this beautifully haunting background, there is a unique magical system with wizards strengths based on the type of magic they have – ritual, physical, mental. The sentinels patrol the barriers between our world and the neighbouring grey – like magical border control.  DJ was only an assistant sentinel until the man who raised her goes missing in the aftermath of Katrina and the barriers between worlds start to wobble. DJ is mostly reliant on ritual magic so she can struggle to hold her own on a physical fight, but her determination, stubbornness and ingenuity more than makes up for her physical short comings. Searching for her mentor, DJ finds herself crossing paths with a variety of different friends and foes, from gun toting enforcer, the elder council, historical pirate Jean Lafitte, a young Louis Armstrong and a voodoo god. There is so much going on, but the story never feels over complicated.

The writing has a fresh and invigorating air to it and I found myself swept up with DJ’s voice and her adventure. By the end I was really sorry to say goodbye – for now (there will be at least two more books!) and I felt like I had made a new friend. For a fun and exciting read, you can’t get much better than this!

Recommended for fans of Jaye Wells and Patricia Briggs. 8.5 out of 10

Check back tomorrow when I have the author herself, Suzanne Johnson will be dropping by!

My Book Haul/In My Mailbox

The Story Siren hosts a weekly meme where bloggers can share what goodies they've purchased/received this week. If you get a chance head over to The Story Siren and check out what everyone is up to!

Apocalypse Cow - Michael Logan

Publisher: UK - Doubleday

It began with a cow that just wouldn’t die. It would become an epidemic that transformed Britain’s livestock into sneezing, slavering, flesh-craving four-legged zombies.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, the fate of the nation seems to rest on the shoulders of three unlikely heroes: an abattoir worker whose love life is non-existent thanks to the stench of death that clings to him, a teenage vegan with eczema and a weird crush on his maths teacher, and an inept journalist who wouldn’t recognise a scoop if she tripped over one.
As the nation descends into chaos, can they pool their resources, unlock a cure, and save the world?
Three losers. Overwhelming odds. One outcome . . .
Yup, we’re screwed.

I got this for review as I thought it sounded like a really interesting story and I any book that has Terry Prachett's seal of approval is one I want to read!

The Immortal Rules - Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequinn Teen (April 2012)

In the dark days since the insidious Red Lung virus decimated the human population, vampires have risen to rule the crumbling cities and suburbs. Uncontested Princes hold sway over diminished ranks of humans: their "pets." In exchange for their labor, loyalty and of course, their blood, these pets are registered, given food and shelter, permitted to survive. Unregistered humans cling to fringes, scavenging for survival. Allison Sekemoto and her fellow Unregistereds are hunted, not only by vampires, but by rabids, the unholy result of Red Lung-infected vampires feeding on unwary humans. One night, Allie is attacked by a pack of rabids, saved by an unlikely hero...and turned vampire.
Uncomfortable in her undead skin, Allie falls in with a ragtag crew of humans seeking a cure, or cures: for Rabidism and for Vampirism. She's passing for human...for now. But the hunger is growing and will not be denied. Not for friendship—not even for love.

I was so excited when I saw this was available on netgalley - it's a book that I can't wait to start to reading!

The Power of Six - Pittacus Lore

Publisher - Puffin

I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us.
Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.
I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.
And I'm ready to fight

I read I Am Number Four last year and was a little indifferent to it, but I got this through for review so I may try picking it up soon in the hope that easy reading is still there and the adventure is stronger!

Sword of Light - Katherine Roberts

Publisher - Templar

It is the darkest hour of the darkest Age. King Arthur is dead, killed by his wicked nephew, Mordred. Saxon invaders rampage across the land and forces of evil are gathering. The path to the throne lies open to Arthur's only remaining flesh and blood - Mordred. But there is one with a better claim than Mordred - Arthur's secret child. Brought by Merlin to enchanted Avalon as a baby and raised there for protection, the king's heir must take up a vital quest: to search for the four magical Lights with the power to restore Arthur's soul to his body. Introducing Rhianna Pendragon: unlikely princess and Camelot's last hope.

I won this from the wonderful Sarah at Feeling Fictional and the guys at Templar fiction. I am very curious about a book based on Arthur's daughter!

Back From The Undead (Bloodhound Files 5)- DD Barant

Publisher: St Martins Paperback

Her job description is the “tracking and apprehension of mentally-fractured killers.” What this really means in FBI profiler Jace Valchek’s brave new world—one in which only one percent of the population is human—is that a woman’s work is never done. And real is getting stranger every day…
Jace has been ripped from her reality by David Cassius, the vampire head of the NSA. He knows that she’s the best there in the business, and David needs her help in solving a series of gruesome murders of vampires and werewolves. David’s world—one that also includes lycanthropes and golems—is one with little knowledge of mental illness. An insane serial killer is a threat the NSA has no experience with. But Jace does. Stranded in a reality where Bela Lugosi is a bigger box office draw than Bruce Willis and every full moon is Mardi Gras, Jace must now hunt down a fellow human before he brings the entire planet to the brink of madness. Or she may never see her own world again...

I really like The Bloodhound files - it's a highly underrated series. Unfortunately its one of those series I've fallen a little behind with - I still have the fourth book on my TBR pile! Still now I don't have a long wait to get my next fill! :-)

Nightlife - Caitlin Kittredge

Publisher: UK - Gollancz

Welcome to Nocturne City, where werewolves, black magicians, and witches prowl the streets at night… Among them is Luna Wilder, a tough-as-nails police officer whose job is to keep the peace. As an Insoli werewolf, Luna travels without a pack and must rely on instinct alone. And she’s just been assigned to find the ruthless killer behind a string of ritualistic murders—a killer with ties to an escaped demon found only in legend…until now.

But when she investigates prime suspect Dmitri Sandovsky, she can’t resist his wolfish charms. Pack leader of a dangerous clan of Redbacks, Dimitri sends her animal instincts into overdrive and threatens her fiercely-guarded independence. But Luna and Dimiri will need to rely on each other as they’re plunged into an ancient demon underworld and pitted against an expert black magician with the power to enslave them for eternity...

I got this in a swap. It's the first book in a UF series I've not read or heard a lot about but I liked the sound of it. Has anyone else read it? What did you think?

What have you picked up this week?