Tigers In Red Weather * Liza Klaussmann

Tigers In Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

Nick and her cousin Helena have grown up together and shared long hot summers over at Tiger House. With husbands and children of their own, the girls keep returning. But against the background of parties, cocktails, moonlight and Jazz, how long can perfection last? 

There is always the summer that changes everything. 

Set int the elegant 1940's Nick and Helena have always been close family members and best friends, spending hours chatting and having cocktails in the hot summer sun, to spending every summer holiday together in their Holiday home - Tiger House. 

All goes to plan, Nick falls madly in love with Hughes, a fighter in the war but soon feels disengaged and lonely when he is hardly ever there, searching for more glamour and romance in her life, Nick decides to go in search for it, but going in completely the wrong direction. 

Helena on the other hand has married into a disastrous marriage, even though madly in love with him, she just can't seem to get away from her obsessed and a little unnerving husband. Soon she starts to despise of her cousins relationship with her husband, her wonderful, romantic and glamorous marriage, but the grass isn't always greener on the other side. If anyone knows this, it's Nick. 

Fast forward to a few years and both cousins have children, Nick has a lovely young and beautiful daughter Daisy. Who is head strong and knows what she wants, even if she does get a little bit blind sided along the way, but her best friend and cousin also, Ed; there as thick as thieves and no one can stop them. 

But Ed has other ideas, ideas that only he knows. Suspicions of people's lives, how his family live theirs. He analyses them one by one, picking out flaws and things that they are unhappy with in their small and meaningless lives. 

He doesn't understand for example, why his mother stays with his Father, constantly giving him money for this "business" of his and why all those nights ago she slept with another man. Or how Daisy loves Taylor, a boy from the tennis club, but not him. 
Why his Aunt Nick has a better life than his mother and him, why she's perfect and gets everything and his mother has had to suffer. 

Or how his uncle Hughes is always watching him, like he doesn't trust him at all...
and he shouldn't for that matter. 

Tigers In Red the Weather by Liza Klaussmann, is the first novel by this wonderful author. The book is very well written (Which I appreciate) the story line was great and the plot always thickened. 

I'm slowly starting to really enjoy books that are set in the 1940's and on wards, the love I have for their fashion back then is overwhelming and everything about it is just beautiful!

I must admit, this was the first ever book I bought for my Kobo and he's been sat on the shelves of it for quite some time collecting dust. So, since I started the To Be Read Pile, challenge I decided to dust the ebook cover off and give it a whirl, and I was not disappointed. 

The book is set out about a different character per so many chapters and is told through different different years, so you have to pay more attention to detail and where the story is going, who your reading about and the year. I found this a bit difficult if I'm honest, took me a while to understand it and even near the end of the book I was flicking back to the contents to see who was matching up with who and what year. 

Nevertheless it was a great read and had such twists and turns in, which by the end I was quite shocked if I'm honest and quite dark in some places all the while making me want to read it in the sun with a nice glass of wine by the beach. Portrayed in the elegant and glamorous years, full with dinner parties, cocktails and fabulous dresses. 

I would happily read this book again, even if it may confuse me a little bit again! I recommend this book for this summer, a great summer read sat outside in the sunshine. A historic book in someways, filled with romance, lust and mystery and suspense I was very eager to turn the pages to find out what happened next! I was a slow start I must admit but I'm glad that I perused with the book otherwise I would of found this author! 

I will give this book 8 out of 10

Three seconds To Midnight * Clarifications (Wattpad review)

Three Seconds To Midnight by Clarifications 

In which Death answers the questions of the dead and discovers himself along the way.

Have you ever wondered what conversations went on with death and the people he meets along the way? Ever thought what it would be like to pass judgement onto people and their doings in life or thought what Mr. Reaper might say? 

Then read this book, don't just take a glance at it read it.  

Throughout history, things have happened there has been the devastating Holocaust, people on Death Row, children being killed or taking their lives and people dying in general for the sake of being somewhere in the wrong moment at the wrong time. 

Follow death as he has very in depth conversations with children who have died for no reason, horrible nasty people who hate everything and wish to know why they aren't going to Heaven and why Death has to make his mind up on where to send these people on their merry way. And why sometimes people need a good lesson or two on life, and that some just want to have one last chat before they go to the other side. 

Three Seconds To Midnight by Clarifications, is a short story that I found on Wattled and man what a great app that is! Filled with loads and loads of different books and stories for free by very small authors with so much talent that need to be recognised and this is one of those authors. 

I know this is a very short review and I couldn't really put much into it as it would give away the whole story, plus it's really short as stated. I actually started this book today and finished it within an hour! I just could not put it down! 

The book is very very well written and it is well set out, it flows smoothly and is very intriguing  The book is very very deep I may warn you, it's a little bit dark but it's not bad as it is based on big parts in history so it has already happened, horrible things that have happened I may add. 

I thought the book was very clever as since it's based in History, it's basically just Death having conversations with people who have died and how they may have reacted and how Death had to in some ways look after them or teach them a lesson or two. All the characters have been written wonderfully and Death's character is also quite funny as well as very smart and witty with a slap stick sense of humour, which is a nice twist. 

In each character the writer has reflected on what they have done in the past to either make them die or how they died, each chapter starts with a little fact file about this person who has been admitted to Death, who will 'Judge' them on where they are going. 

Although I am not religious myself, I find the book is lightly based around the bible and what Death would of said to some people, though reading this book and the responses he gave to some of the people I would totally agree with his response. 

The book is really deep and does make you think about the world and the universe and how it works, and how if someone does exist why would half of this stuff, the bad stuff happen around the world. To me I think the book is lightly based on the Bible, but in some ways, it's not 'slamming' the Bible in anyway, nothing against the Bible, I think that it just questions what really exists and the existence of any other human life in the world up there in the sky and if that someone, something did exist, then as it is mentioned in the book, why would half of the people die and have to suffer? 

I know I have waffled on a bit in this review, but I feel that if you're reviewing books, then you are allowed to have your view and say. After all, it's a creative hobby / activity to do / have and we should all be able to have our say on books and listen to other peoples opinions too. 

Have you read this book? What did you think to it? If you haven't read this book I suggest you do as it is fantastically written and it has wonderful background and just creativeness towards it.  I think this book deserves way more recognition than what it has and should actually be in the shops! Also, the book which surprised me, was written by a thirteen year old, that just blew my mind! For the sake of how much thinking process has gone into it and how deep the book go's it really starts to get to you and to get you thinking on how the world actually works and in someways if anything that people in the past was worth it? 

The author may not have meant it to be like that or how they are portraying their work, but to me that is how I see it, but it is a good way in which I see it. I just feel that we all need to open our eyes a bit more to what has/was and is going on around the world in the past and in the present now and what will be happening in the future, before it is too late? 

After all, one of the things that was mentioned in the book was that the biggest feeling you get when you die is Regret. I feel that is such a big and powerful meaning and to say that a thirteen year old has written this and said this in a story, makes me think that everyone needs to stop and think about what is happening to our world. 

I will give this book a wonderful 10 out of 10 as that is what I feel the book and the author deserves, well done! I was going to post this review as part of the 'Small Authors reviews' At the end of the month but just couldn't wait to post it and felt it needed to be reviewed asap. 

I highly recommend this book. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane * Neil Gaiman

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. 

Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. 

When a forty year old man returns to his hometown for a funeral, he finds himself driving back to his childhood home but not knowing why, especially driving down to the end of the lane that was at the bottom on his house. 

When he gets there he meets an old woman, and not just any old woman, there's something different about her, something that draws him in to her. He has a feeling that he knows the woman, but he's never seen her in his life.  

Then it all comes back to him, walking down to the small pond behind the old woman's house, he soon remembers why he knows her, his childhood and the dreaded memories that comes with it. 

Going back fourty years ago in the past, the young man is seven years old in his large farm house that he shares with his Mother, Father and younger sister and everything is perfect. Until a man starts to come and stay over to help his family, the Opel Minor he's called and  the seven year old boy isn't too fond of him, especially after he runs over his best friend, a little black kitten. Things all start to change. 

When their family mini is found down the lane by the police, the boy and his father go to pick it up. Only to find that it's not as white as it used to be and there's a dead man in the back of it, the man being the Opel Minor. 

Soon the events start to take on a snowball effect as one by one things start to get worse, there is a new nanny in town for the boy and his sister, and no one believes him that she is evil, apart from Lettie, Mrs Hempstock and Old Mrs Hempstock. So when the boys father becomes under the Nanny's spell and tries to harm his son, the young even year old decides to take action. 

With the help from Lettie and get family, they go on an adventure to try and track down the Nanny and the source of where she came from, to try and banish her back to where she belongs, all the while as things start to become a lot darker, and scarier. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, is one of the many books by the author Neil Gaiman. The book came out in 2013 and I have only just got round to reading it, it's been sat in my Kobo library for a year collecting dust and I do not know why I didn't pick it up sooner, I am ashamed. 

This is the first book I have read by Gaiman and it certainly will not be my last, I have watched film adaptations of some of his books, such as; Coraline and Stardust and I loved them, Coraline being one of Sam and I's favourite films to watch together, so why haven't I read the book yet? 

I feel I will like Gaiman's books a lot as they are magical and fairy tale like, but very dark. They remind me a bit of Ray Bradbury's books, which is a good thing! Seeing as Bradbury is one of my favourite authors!

I adored Lettie and the other Hempstocks, the way she has been written is fantastic, she's like a young heroine and it was a pleasure to read about her and her family, I loved the way she was a little mysterious too. I felt for the boy as he just wanted to be normal or so I felt he did, but something always happened that put him back to square one. 

The seven year old boy to me, is just trying to conquer his fears and he does just that, though as the book gets darker and more creepy, I do feel for the boy, but he does ever so well in growing up. The way his story is told is brilliant, it makes you feel like your seven again and all you want to do is go exploring, Gaiman has written this character out wonderfully, capturing the life of a true seven year old and just showing how the boy feels, thinks and wants to do. It's very imaginable and believable, it makes you feel that YOU are that seven year old yourself, and that nothing can harm you. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you truly read and see through the seven year olds eyes, the way Gaiman has wrote this book, it makes you feel like you are transported into the book itself and that you are actually the character inside the book. 

Truly a brilliant read, I would recommend to all will definitely be reading this again in the future. 

I will give this book 10 out of 10 

The Summoning * Kelley Armstrong

 The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me.

Chloe Saunders is a normal teenage girl, until she starts to get the nagging feeling that someones watching her and she can't understand why she's so afraid of the basement. 

But it all starts to become clear when she's at school, or so it seems.

When she nips to the ladies toilet to hear someone crying in the stall next to her. Though when she looks under the cubical, there are no feet in the one next door to her. Looking around the room she realises that there is no one in the bathroom with her, but the crying still continues. 

Running out scared, she bumps into a janitor, though his face is all burnt and twisted and he smells of death and dirt. He starts to chase after her but she can't get away. In all this panic, she runs into a room and the teachers have to pin her down. Soon enough her auntie and father ship her off to a 'special home' for troubled kids. 

Here there seems to be people as strange as her, many nurses and a counsellor of some sort. But there's something wrong about the place, something that doesn't feel so secure, though she can't quite place her finger on it. 

Though things start to drastically change when she shares a room with Liz, a young sweet girl with a haunting problem that only her and the children in the house believe. Until she got angry and threw a pencil at the nurse. Except it wasn't her that threw it. There was something or someone trapped inside her, wanting to get out.

Soon things get worse as children are shipped off to hospitals for the ill and the nurses start to cover there tracks. As Chloe starts to find out more about the kids that live in Lyle House with her and the strange powers they have also, they go on a mission to find the children who have been taken and to find out what's really happening to them after they go.

Seeing ghosts and decapitated bodies where ever she turns, Chloe must learn to control her power and get to grips with that it's never going to change. But the more she talks to Simon and Derek, other kids from the house and the dead also. Things start to fall into place, drastically and deep into place.

One thing is for sure, be careful who you trust in life. As not everyone is who they seem.

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong, is the first novel within the Darkest Powers series, that follows the lives of troubled kids as they are placed into a "safe" home, so they won't hurt anyone else. Though things start to go drastically wrong very quickly. 

Well, I loved this book so much that I can't wait to read the next instalment of the series! Though I must finish my current read at the moment! I finished this book in three days as I just couldn't get enough, which I'm sorry that I didn't get the review up earlier or that it's not a very good one, I didn't want to give it all away! I can tell you now that I was shocked at the end of the book!

I really enjoyed this book, and even though it is a YA book, I did feel quite freaked out by the story line, which just made me want to read more horror / thriller books! Kelley Armstrong has written this fantastically with her wording and I couldn't get enough. 

The way she captures the characters is good also, I must admit when I first started reading it was that: 

"Oh god, this is going to be a book about a stroppy "messed up" girl who is trying to find  herself and her friends go on adventure, yay!"

But I stuck at it and read all the way thorough it till the end and I'm glad I did as I loved it. I hope that you pick it up and enjoy it too! 

I will give this book 9.5 out of 10