Enduring Love by Ian Mcewan

Basic plot

A romantic picnic turns into a great tragedy within the blink of an eye and that was just the beginning. Little did Joe know that a chance encounter with a random event could trigger something deeper, darker and beyond his understanding. When things start spinning out of control, nobody believes him because he barely believes it himself.

Rating: 3.5

My full review here.

The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz

Basic plot

Amy Redwing rescues dogs and she is never conventional in her methods. In her passion to help 'man's best friend' she often finds herself in precarious situations. Along for the ride is her boyfriend, more for moral support than a sidekick. While rescuing these dogs they realize that both of them are also running from a dark past, from which they can only rescue each other.

Rating: 3.5/5

My full review here.

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

 

 

Basic plot

A group of Jane Austen book lovers gather together to discuss her works and in the process find that life is not as straightforward as Miss Austen wrote it to be. If only though, it was. Jocelyn, Sylvia, Prudie, Allegra, Bernadette and Grigg do not really have alot in common with each other other than their taste in books but they find their monthly gatherings a welcome respite from their own complicated lives.

 

Rating: 3.5

My review here.

The Lights of Alborada by Gianni Riotta

 

 

Basic plot

Nino Manes escaped his prisoner of war camp in Texas to reach his village in Italy. He had a wedding to stop. Clutching a letter from his sweetheart telling him that she intends to wed their English teacher in forty days time, he risks his life to prevent this. After all, what is life without love? Joined by the unlikeliest of traveling companions, a fake American lieutenant and a waif-like prostitute, his impossible quest is fraught with daring escapes from Military Police, bounty hunters, land mines and even ferocious wild beasts.

Rating: 3.5

My full review here.

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Basic plot

"Nanny" is a NYU senior who loves working with children and when she lands a part-time job as nanny to 4 year old Grayer, it seems like a perfect fit. What she didn't count on was that her job description would include basically parenting Grayer and being at the beck and call of his frigid, uptight, snobby and constantly busy-with -doing-nothing mother Mrs X. She soon finds out despite sacrificing her time, patience and sanity to care for their son, she is in fact almost invisible and dispensable to both Mrs X and the often absent Mr X. Even nannies have a tipping point, don't they?

Rating: 3.5/5

My full review here.

The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles

 

 

Basic plot 

Mayor Penn Cage is disillusioned with his role, his hopes of bringing change to the town he grew up in seemed a lost cause when he realizes that being mayor does not mean he has everything under control. When his childhood friend tells him of an unspeakable evil that lurks just beneath the surface of the town, he can hardly believe it. Soon, not only is he force to take on these demons in human form but his life and those of the ones he love depend on it. A horrifying look at the dark side of blood sports and corruption, all in the name of greed and entertainment.

 

Rating: 3.5/5

My full review here.

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

 

 

Basic plot

Widowed with 2 young sons, Elizabeth Woodville, uses her beauty and cunning to provide for her family and ensure their future. What better way to do so than to marry the King of England. The young King Edward IV, completely enchanted with her beauty takes her as his bride and queen. Elizabeth soon finds out that life as royalty is not simply about the splendours of English court, especially during the tumultuous time of the War of the Roses. Where cousins fought cousins and brother turned on brother to have a claim to the throne. With her family now in constant danger, Elizabeth may pay the ultimate price for her crown.

 

Rating: 3.5/5

My full review here.

Strong Enough to Die by Jon Land

 

 

Basic plot

Caitlin Strong is a fifth generation Texas Ranger and lives up to every reputation expected of her. The fastest draw in the West, excellent sharp-shooter and a die-hard straight justice woman of substance. Things changed after a deadly shoot-out in the desert turns bad and she loses her partner. Set for a career change she decides to become a counselor for torture victims only to find that her first patient is her husband, presumed dead in Iraq. When conspiracies run rampant and the body count piles up, her only ally comes in the form of Cort Wesley Masters, a man who spent his years in prison plotting to kill her. With bigger enemies to face, their survival depends on trusting each other.

 

My full review here.

Rating: 3.5/5

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

Basic plot

Cassie Rivers awakes in the cemetery but that is the least of her problems. She has no idea who she is. Rescued by a kind stranger, who happens to work for the LAPD, she is soon reunited with her husband. She immediately recognizes him, but then, how could she not? When her husband happens to be America's favourite and most famous actor Alex Rivers. Cassie finds out that the life she has forgotten seems to be the stuff of fairy-tales, full of glitz and glamour, wealth and the adoration of the most desired man in the country. However, as her memories begin to resurface, she figures out that all fairy-tales have a villain. The problem is figuring out who.

Rating:3.5/5

My full review here.

Alice Hartley's Happiness by Philippa Gregory

 

Basic Plot

Stuck in a mundane, loveless marriage, Alice Hartley is convinced that she is a women in her prime waiting for something amazing just around the corner. In an epic meltdown she abandons all conformity and escapes into the countryside, young lover in tow. Faced with an ancient old aunt who refuses to die, nosy village neighbours and a stuffy professor husband out for vengeance, she rises above all adversity to establish a most unconventional healing centre. With frazzled housewives, nervous co-eds, enthusiastic boy scouts, friendly dolphins and even "aliens" thrown into the mix, surely the path to Alice Hartley's happiness is colourful to say the least.

 

Rating: 3.5/5

My full review here.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

 

Basic plot

In his quest to fulfill his Personal Legend, young Santiago left the seminary to become a shepherd who would subsequently leave his flock in search of treasure at the Pyramids. His journey takes him from Spain’s scenic rural countryside to the harsh deserts of Egypt. Along the way he meets a gypsy, a king, a crystal merchant, an Englishman and finally the Alchemist himself. A great man who possesses The Philosopher’s Stone and The Elixir of Life. At the end of his journey to fulfill his Personal Legend is a rare insight into the Soul of the World.

 

Rating: 3.5/5

My full review here.

This book actually belongs to Siti who has been kind enough to lend me this book as part of her book swap project. Lydia has also posted a book swap list on her blog. I am delighted that there are book lovers out there who, like me, want to share our passion for reading with others. (My book list is at the Book Club).

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

Basic book description

Fragile things is an of short stories and poems written by Neil Gaiman. They include a diverse collection of horror stories including:

• A study in emerald ( a bit like Sherlock Holmes)
• October in the chair (a boy befriends a ghost)
• Forbidden brides of the faceless slaves in the secret house of the night dread desire (when brides are not for humans)
• The facts in the case of the departure of Miss Finch (circus of horror)
• Harlequin Valentine (a mischievous being loses his heart)
• The problem of Susan (what really happened to Susan from Narnia)
• Feeders and eaters (the horrific fate of a good man)
• and many more...

Rating: 3.5/5

My full review here.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

 

Basic Plot 

Juliana and Valentina Poole are mirror twins who have lived their whole lives in USA together, doing basically nothing. With no real plans for the future, their lives were suddenly changed forever when an aunt they never knew existed leaves them an apartment in London after her death. For want of anything better to do the girls travel half-way across the globe to settle in their apartment which overlooks the Highgate Cemetery in London. With an agrophobic obsessive-compulsive recluse and the heart-broken lover of their aunt for neighbours, things only get stranger when they realize that the apartment was not all that was left of their aunt.

Rating: 3.5/5

My full review here.

The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby

Basic plot

What if in the blink of an eye, a massive stroke caused you to be paralyzed for life? Trapped inside your own body, your mind fully functioning yet totally helpless and dependant on others for every aspect of your life. Unable to communicate with another human being except through the blinking of a solitary eyelid, to see your loved ones live their lives without you and incapable of even holding your wife and children in your arms. This is exactly what happened to Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of French Elle magazine. What did he do? He wrote a book!

Rating: 3.5/5

My review here.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson

Basic plot

Mikael Blomkovist, a financial journalist convicted of libel finds himself roped into solving the mystery of Harriet Vanger, a member of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, disappearence. The fourty year old clues have gone ice cold but with the help of a young pierced and tattooed hacker/PI, Lisbeth Sander, they uncover more than they bargain for. True evil.

My review here.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Queen's Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn

Basic Plot 

Mary Tudor, previously disinherited daughter of the infamous King Henry VIII finally ascends the throne of England only to find that ruling a kingdom and its people is not a simple matter of faith. Married to Phillip of Spain who does not love her and struggling to stamp out the religious strayings of her people, her desperation to rule and produce an heir results in unspeakable horrors. Raphael, the Spanish sundial-maker, a stranger in a hostile land bears witness to this historical tragedy.

My review here.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Basic plot 

Ronnie (short for Veronica), a typical 17 year old teenager from New York has to spend the entire summer with her estranged father and 10 year old brother Jonah. She's mortified! What can the sleepy Wrightsville Beach North Carolina offer her? Almost immediately, she falls in with the wrong crowd and yet a chance encounter with Will, a beach volleyball playing "pretty" boy, sparks an unexpected summer romance. But things are not all as they seem, when the heartbreaking truth changes not only the summer but the rest of her life.

My review here. 

Rating: 3.5/5

The Compass by Tammy Kling

False Impression by Jeffrey Archer

I know this much is true by Wally Lamb