literature

The third of the Millenium trilogy. Lives up to the first two. As advertised,difficult to put down. No wonder there is such universal acclaim.

Brilliant

Would highly recommend, even better than the first book (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Cannot wait to read the next installment.

Warning - Hard to put down once you begin

One of the better crime thrillers I have read in a long time. Some books should come with a health warning that they will become addictive and you have to keep reading. It keeps you guessing till the very end and with all the knowledge that readers have these days that is very hard to do. The characters are very well drawn and yet even though it is set in Sweden they are universal and I found myself wanting more so purchased the other two novels to follow. <br />Highly recommend, great read but be warned I took it on holiday and ended up so hooked one day that everyone went off for the day and I sat in (well it was raining) and read it straight through as couldnt put it down as was so engrossed in the events that were unfolding. Not many books can make you not want to sleep and keep going to the end and this is one of those rare novels that is one to recommend. One warning for those of a santisive nature there are some graphic violent scenes, they fit into the story and work for what is happening but its not to everyone's enjoyment!

The best book in the Twilight-Saga

The best of the Twilight-sags. Can't wait till the movie comes out on November 2011 - hopefully :o)

not a word can be skipped

The best book I've read all summer. The characters are so real, so complete and utterly gorgeous that I didn't want to let them go at the end of the book. <br />A great story from beginning to end and an education about our not so distant past.<br />I couldn't put it down, a must read to all.

Truthfuk

Superb book. Best fiction I ve read in years. Brutally truthful about modern life, relationships and displays incredible insight into the workings of the mind of both sexes. But also funny and light at times. Enjoy it

Courtesy of A Trillian Books

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The White Queen and so I was really looking forward to this one. The Red Queen isn't so much a sequel to the first book as it mostly covers the same time period, although starts a little before and finishes a little after. Fortunately, this is done without repeating all of the same things. There's a few mentions of the same events but this time we see them from the opposite point of view, that of Margaret Beaufort. Margaret is the heiress to the House of Lancaster, deeply religious and never gives up believing that the Lancaster's are the true rulers of England. She is a hard to like character but throughout the book it becomes more and more clear why she is like she is - a poor relationship with her mother, sent into a loveless marriage at a young age, having her only son taken from her to be raised by his uncle ...<br /><br />Margaret is a great comparison to Elizabeth Woodville in The White Queen. Both are strong, ambitious women - particularly for their time period. While Elizabeth had a sense of charisma, probably using her charm and beauty to forward her plans, Margaret is cold and cunning. She was a great character to read but I couldn't warm to her, even when I felt sorry for her on occasion.<br /><br />The writing, as always in a Philippa Gregory book, is excellent. I always love how she combines history with fiction to make an awesome story with great characters. I've read numerous opinions on the historical accuracy of these books but personally I wouldn't be able to comment as I don't know a whole lot about the time period. From that point of view however, I felt it was authentic enough. I think in any book of this kind, if you have a lot of previous knowledge of the subject, there's bound to be parts that don't quite fit.<br /><br />Overall, it's an excellent book, only beaten slightly by The White Queen due to the likeability of the main characters. I'm really excited about the next in the series!

Not great...

I am really disappointed with Dan Brown's latest book. I was looking forward to reading it as I have enjoyed all his previous books, but I just didn't manage to get into the story.<br /><br />The issues I had with the book were that I didn't feel any connection with the new characters, felt that the plot didn't flow as it was broken up by too many 'facts' and I couldn't personally understand the links that the characters were making to move the plot forward. For this reason, I found myself scanning certain pages and wishing I could hurry up and finish it. <br /><br />I hoped that the ending would be explosive and make up for the lack of coherence in the story, but apart from the one twist near the end (which I have to admit I DIDN'T see coming), the end of the book was a total let down. The book made out that it was going to reveal something that would change the reader's life, but no, I feel exactly the same as I did before starting the book, but maybe a little bit more confused!<br /><br />If he brings out another book I think I'll give him another chance though because I've enjoyed his others so much in the past. Fingers crossed his next one has the same charm as the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons!

Started Early, Good Thing Too As I Couldnt Put It Down

To try and encapsulate the story or plot of `Started Early, Took My Dog' is actually quite difficult. It's quite a complex plot, though not so complex you have no enjoyment in it in fact quite the opposite, told over two periods in time and through several different view points in each. As the main story, told in the present day, opens we are in Yorkshire where Jackson Brodie has come out of `semi retirement' as a private investigator to look into the past of Hope McMaster who was adopted and taken to New Zealand. We also have Matilda `Tilly' Squires an aging and slightly forgotten actress in the Yorkshire drama `Collier' who is suffering from the start of dementia. We also have Tracy Waterhouse a former Sergeant for the West Yorkshire Police and now Head of Security in the Merrion Shopping Centre who is completely unaware that she is about to do something that will change her life forever. <br /><br />The second interweaving back story from mid 1970's when Yorkshire was in the grip of several serial killers. This is where we meet a much younger Tracy and her colleagues investigating the murder of a prostitute and her son who vanishes from orphanage to orphanage as if someone wants him not to be found. How does all this weave together and what does it have to do with the aforementioned Tilly and Jackson? Well you would have to read the book to find out and you really should because the way Atkinson does it is not only incredibly clever (without leaving the reader completely lost) it's also very readable.<br /><br />The more I read of Atkinson's work and in particular this series, the more of a genius I think she is. Not only do you have a mystery or two in the book to work out, you have this overall mystery of just how on earth everything interlinks and with `Started Early, Took The Dog' she draws out the process by introducing each character and bringing their circumstances and personalities to the fore. No one dimensional characters here, not even if they are merely in the book for a page or two. All the main characters are marvellous, readable and real. In doing so she also gets to voice her thoughts on both issues from the past (in this case the serial killings in the seventies which gripped the nation and left many women in fear) and in the present (the state of society, prostitution, child welfare, the recession, dementia) through their back stories which makes it even a fuller read. <br /><br />I also think `Started Early, Took My Dog' has learnt from its excellent predecessors. It has the darkness of `Case Histories', the humour - though much less farcical and more contained - of `One Good Turn' and the brilliant coincidental plotting of `When Will There Be Good News?' whilst also like its predecessors being nothing like any that have gone before it. I can't wait for the next one!

A good read but not the best of the bunch

I love Twilight and looked forward to reading this book especially as Bella had saved Edward in the last book and they were back together. I found this book though a bit strange. I was interested in the Seattle murders but there wasn't much detail about it until towards the end it was confirmed that it was due to newborns and Victoria. This was quite obvious and for some reason quite dragged out. Also dragged out a bit was the history of Jacob and the werewolves etc. It just felt like the author needed to 'fill' out this book for some reason so the actual story doesn't really move forward and we are left with the whole Jacob v Edward again. I have to admit I did become a bit bored of Bella being unable to make up her mind and insist she needs both of them. I think this book would have been more enjoyable if there was a bit more to the storyline.

The Legacy

At first I thought this was going to be a really good book, it was'nt. The story seemed to drag on and on with nothing at the end of it. I did'nt connect with any of the characters, infact they bored me. The story did'nt grip me in any way. I did finish this book but I found it such a struggle.

New Moon

The product was well wrapped along with my other purchases as presents. <br /><br />Thanks.

Good seller, rubbish book!

I am about 15 years and a gender too old for this book. Don't get me wrong, Harry potter is really good but this book is only for younger girls. Nothing really happens, it is just a glorified diary portraying her unjustified (only because he is so 'beautiful') love for some 'beautiful' boy who turns out to be a vampire. Sweet!<br />Great service from the seller though!

Over-The-Top In Almost Every Respect

This novel is an 'International Bestseller'. It is also irritatingly over-the-top in almost every respect. I have no idea why this story has been met with such high regard by some, although it would appear that it might be rather like Marmite - dividing the nation into those who love it, and those who hate it.<br /><br />The story is allegedly quite simple, about a child getting slapped in the middle of a summer barbecue party, and the legal and moral repercussions that result from that split-second decision. It has less to do with that, however, than first appearances may suggest. What the reader is given instead are little sections of novel told by various characters who are all excessive in one respect or another. Characters range from a philandering husband, an alcoholic businessman, an abusive and hot-tempered man, a gay teenager, a hippy-type mother who breastfeeds her three-year-old...I think perhaps you can see where this is going. <br /><br />Tsiolka also manages to get a good ethnic mix, a good range of different socioeconomic backgrounds and, rather strangely, a large range of sex, drugs, and expletives... I finished the tale wondering less about the characters, and the fully-accepted substance abuse mess of a 'happy ending', and wondering more about the author. I am utterly convinced that this is the 'modern art' of the literary world, and that the author is silently mocking those who deem this book of literary acclaim. <br /><br />Despite all I have said already, I actually do think it is quite readable, in the sense that it is dramatic at every turn. It is for this reason that I have given the novel three stars. May you enjoy reading it and deciding which side of the very divided fence that you sit on.

The best novel ever written.

I have read this novel several times and it never fails to hit every emotional nail on the head. Funny, moving and a eye opener to the American South of the last century. The story is beautifully paced and hard hitting, without being overbearing or preaching to the reader. The characters are perfectly drawn and are understandable in word and deed, even if you lack sympathy with their views or plight. An example in writing perfection.

another great book

This is atmospheric and light at the the same time. Interesting to see London from these eyes. Dark but not oppressive. A good read especially if you have identical twins in the family!