Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel

This novel is a fantastic look at history if you like that sort of thing. It has great depictions of historical figures, whom I have heard about but never thoroughly researched, giving them personalities that are very memorable. I also enjoyed the descriptions of art and architecture and all that went into acquiring the raw materials that made these beautiful paintings and buildings which we can still see today. Much research went into the writing of this novel; that said it can get a bit bogged down in details and a bit repetitive, it is a long read but I do not regret my time spent with it.

Jab Jab Jab Right Hook - Gary Vaynerchuk

A fantastic book, feels like a fun text book, the kind a super cool teacher would assign a high-school class! It was full of great ideas and successful examples of how to make social media work for you and your business. It broke everything down into understandable bites without the normal jargon you find in a lot of business books. The Author did such a fantastic job I lent my copy to my 66 year old mom and 59 year old dad to help them understand "what us young people do with our fancy phones and Internets" we are bringing our family business into its 50th year and this will be a great help in crossing the generation gap when it comes down to how to promote successfully.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End Of The World - Haruki Murakami

I loved this book, both of the stories are fantastic. I must admit I had a preference for the Hard-Boiled Wonderland story but The End Of The World kept me turning the pages as well! It is one of those books that makes you feel smarter for having read it and makes you (well me at least) feel a bit pretentious for having read it. That this book has that intellectual feeling for me and is also a fantastic page turner is amazing! I recommend this to everyone who wants to read a bit of a surreal story that is digestible but the average reader without making us feel dumb or out of the joke.

Keeping for my library.

The Honey Queen - Cathy Kelly

one sentence summary:
The town of Redstone has an eclectic cast of characters who interact with each other as only small town people can.

review:
This was a heartwarming read, full of people struggling with life that in the end find happiness. The writing is quick and the descriptions of setting are fantastic. The characters are all connected in unexpected ways and there is a personality for everyone to relate to included in the story. I enjoyed the read, it made me smile to myself a lot. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a light, happy read.

8/10

One Hundred Names - Cecelia Ahern

one sentence summary:
Kitty is a disgraced reporter and her mentor has just died leaving her the task of finishing one last story.

review:
This is a beautiful story, it is uplifting and enthusiastic about people. It strives to show that every person has good within them and everyone has a story worth listening to too! I found myself smiling with every turn of the page. The characters are all fantastic. I recommend everyone read this, it is good for your soul.

9/10

The Watchers - Jon Steel

one sentence summary
An unlikely group team up to fight against evil...

review
I really wanted to like this book, I loved the style of the writing, I loved the descriptors of the setting but I HATED all of the characters. I know I was supposed to feel sympathetic and relate to them but I didn't. I tried to, but they were such crap I couldn't get over it. The plot was interesting but Steele let the details get in the way, the story could have been better told at half the length (much like my opinion on LotR). The pacing we terrible, 100 pages of descriptors followed by 5 pages of moving the plot forward, rinse repeat. It was so frustrating because I wanted to enjoy it but just couldn't

4/10

Sex, Lies and Online Dating - Rachel Gibson

one sentence summary
A romance author doing research for her upcoming novel sets up an internet date with an undercover cop looking for a serial killer... sparks fly

review
This was a cute read, the main characters were all likeable (if not totally believable) and the story kept a good pace so was easy to jump back into for short bouts (I read it on my lunch breaks). Apparently this is book 1 in  a series and it was well written enough that I will pick up the other books in the series and give them a go at some point. I recommend this for people looking for a romantic pick me up.

7/10