Booklover Book Reviews

Thanks to the many people (100+) who entered our giveaway of a Jack Susko Mystery Prize Pack by Australian author Lenny Bartulin,  kindly provided by Scribe Publications.

The randomly selected winner is…

Hilde

Congratulations Hilde, I am sure you will enjoy the work of this great Australian author.

For those that were not lucky enough to win this time round, these titles by Lenny Bartulin are available in hardcopy and ebook from The Nile, Booktopia, Kobobooks and Amazon etc.

For another chance to win, checkout the next giveaway here at Booklover Book Reviews, 2 paperback copies of  The Discovery of Jeanne Baret by Glynis Ridley.

I am pleased to announce another great international giveaway.

Thanks to the Crown Publishing Group I have two paperback copies of this fascinating book to giveaway.

NOW IN PAPERBACK FROM BROADWAY BOOKS

The untold, amazing true story of the first woman to sail around the world . . .

THE DISCOVERY OF JEANNE BARET

A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe 

By GLYNIS RIDLEY

Synopsis: The year was 1765, King Louis XV had ordered the first French expedition around the world, appointing eminent botanist Philibert Commerson to seek out medicines, spices and other resources that could give the French an edge in the ever-accelerating race for empire. Desperate not to be left behind, twenty-six-year-old Jeanne Baret – Commerson’s peasant-born mistress, and a deeply knowledgeable plantswoman in her own right – disguised herself as a teenage boy and signed on as his assistant. As the ship stopped at strange new lands, the secret lovers disembarked to collect and classify plants unknown to Western science, including the showy vine bougainvillea. But it wasn’t long before the crew members on the cramped ship began to suspect her true identity. With this incredible true tale of intrigue on the high seas, Glynis Ridley offers a forgotten heroine the chance to bloom at long last.

GLYNIS RIDLEY is a professor of English at the University of Louisville and a British citizen. Her previous book, Clara’s Grand Tour: Travels with a Rhinoceros in Eighteenth-Century Europe, won the Institute of Historical Research (University of London) Prize.

The Discovery of Jeanne Baret is currently available from all good book retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobobooks, The Nile - Australia.

Giveaway Details:

The winners of this giveaway will be selected at random and entries are open internationally.

This giveaway will also be promoted on Twitter (@BLBookReviews).

There are ways to increase your chances of winning a copy of this book:

+2 entries, tweet about this giveaway (providing link to this post) or even easier retweet my giveaway announcement

+4 entries, provide a link to this giveaway entry post on your webpage

TIP: Do the above before filling in the below form, so you have the link/info required to qualify for the additional entries.

The 2 lucky winners will be announced on 20 February 2012 – good luck!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED – see who the lucky winners were here.

Indelible Ink Synopsis

Marie King is fifty-nine, recently divorced, and has lived a rather conventional life on Sydney’s affluent north shore. Now her three children have moved out, the family home is to be sold, and with it will go her beloved garden. On a drunken whim, Marie gets a tattoo – an act that gives way to an unexpected friendship with her tattoo artist, Rhys.

Before long, Rhys has introduced Marie to a side of the city that clashes with her staid north-shore milieu. Her children are mortified by their mother’s transformation, but have their own challenges to deal with: workplace politics; love affairs old and new; and, of course, the real-estate market. (Scribe)

BOOK REVIEW

Do not be fooled by the beautiful cover art on the new release of Fiona McGregor’s Age Book of the Year Award winning Indelible Ink. This is not chick lit.

In Indelible Ink Fiona McGregor has produced a literary work of high quality with a surprisingly gritty edge.

If you are a fan of plot rather than prose, this novel may not be for you. Indelible Ink is an intense and extremely detailed character-driven exploration of themes such as greed, consumerism, classism and bigotry in general.

She was also aware, subliminally if nothing else, that there remained an impulse in her to spend because she didn’t quite believe this asset was her entitlement; her treasure was also her albatross and the impulse to destroy was all bound up with the impulse to preserve. The sadness of losing it contained also relief. Therein seemed to lie the possibility of feeling.

While much of the novel revolves around the life of Marie King and then increasingly her children, I consider the city of Sydney a leading character in its own right. Through Fiona McGregor’s evocative and sumptuous prose, the transformation of Sydney described mirrors the transformation of the family and its members, and vice versa.

She considered herself now, the white skin everywhere broken and coloured. Awareness of difference had come to her, and its corollary, awareness of judgement. She took measures in public because of this, and with the right dress code could maintain her previous position. And that was the thing as well: to recognise what she had taken for granted: a position. To recognise its ebb.

I mentioned earlier the stunning cover art could possibly give readers the incorrect impression that the content within was all fairy dust and roses. On reflection, I think the cover art well represents the real story being told in Indelible Ink. That not everything is ever what it first seems. That glossy facades often disguise seedy underbellies.

Indelible Ink is a powerful novel that forces you to reflect on your own actions and motivations, and what truly matters in life.

Although the subject matter tackled and characters in Indelible Ink were rarely pleasant, and even confronting in places, Fiona McGregor’s exquisite prose was a pleasure to read.

BOOK RATING: The Story 3.75 / 5 ; The Writing 4.5 / 5

BOOK DETAILS:Indelible Ink (The Nile – Australia); Indelible Ink (Amazon); Indelible Ink (Kobo ebooks); Indelible Ink (Audible)

Genre: Drama, Literature, Romance

This title contributes to my participation in the Aussie Author Challenge 2012 and the 2012 Australian Women Writer Challenge.

Author Information: Fiona McGregor is the Australian author of the works of fiction Au Pair, shortlisted for The Australian/Vogel Award; Suck My Toes, winner of the Steele Rudd Award; and Chemical Palace, shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Award for fiction. Fiona has also written a travel memoir, Strange Museums. She was voted one of the inaugural Best Young Novelists by the Sydney Morning Herald in 1997.

Fiona is also known as a performance artist. She has performed live across Australia and Europe, and her video works have been seen internationally.

- Check out Fiona McGregor’s website

- Interview: Christos Tsiolkas, much-loved author of The Slap, speaks to Fiona McGregor about Indelible Ink

- Fiona McGregor discusses the story of Indelible Ink

Other reviews of Indelible Ink: Melbarts, Book to the Future, MC Reviews, Mama Mia, Tony’s Reading List

* I received a copy of this novel from Scribe Publications for review purposes. My receiving this book for free in no way affected my ability to express my honest opinions about it.

Happy Australia Day everyone!

Here is a list of bookish ways to celebrate Australia Day.

Here at Booklover Book Reviews:

- I have published my review of Australian author Matthew Reilly’s latest blockbuster, Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves. This was Australia’s bestselling fiction title in 2011.

- My review of the Age Book of the Year Award 2011 winner, Fiona McGregor’s Indelible Ink, will be posted later today. [Update: read my review]

- You can enter my current international giveaway of a 3 Book Prize Pack from Australian author Lenny Bartulin – The Jack Susko Mystery Series.

- You can sign-up to the Aussie Author Challenge 2012 or read current challenge participant’s reviews of Australian titles (click to see review listing).

- You could email a lesser known Australian author and offer to review their latest release. For instance I know Ilsa Evans, Anna Patricio, Dr Nabil Saleh, and Sean Terrill are all seeking reviews. (Unfortunately I just don’t have enough time to accept all review copies I’m offered.)

Some of my favourite online book retailers are offering great discounts to celebrate Australia Day:

- Betterworld Books are offering 35% off 7+ used books from their Bargain Bin – today only

- Kobo eBooks are offering 25% discount from now until 29 January in honour of Australia Day

What are you doing to celebrate Australia Day?

Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves Synopsis

An old Soviet weapons installation in the Arctic has fallen into disrepair. Known as Dragon Island, the facility is home to a next-generation weapon with the potential to unleash a destructive force upon the world that was developed during the Cold War and subsequently forgotten.

When a terrorist organisation known as the Army of Thieves takes control of the fortified island and activates the weapon, a small band of Marines and civilians is sent in to stop them, as they are the only unit close enough to Dragon Island to be able to reach the installation in time. (Audible)

BOOK REVIEW

I always find Australian author Matthew Reilly’s novels difficult to rate when writing my reviews. They are my guilty pleasure.

Matthew Reilly is a consummate teller of tall tales, rather than a writer of literary prose. Despite this I may possibly have read more titles by this author than by any other. Why? Because Matthew Reilly’s books are just pure and simple entertainment, and I need a dose of silliness and outlandish adventure in my reading sometimes.

I have read all of Reilly’s Scarecrow Series, Ice Station, Area 7, Scarecrow (these pre-blog) and Hell Island, along with all his Jack West Jr titles, Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones and The Five Greatest Warriors.

Matthew Reilly has outdone himself with the return of his much loved action hero in Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves.

How has he upped the ante in Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves? Rather than saving a military outpost, a supertanker, or a President, this time Captain Shane Schofield, call-sign “Scarecrow”, needs to save the world.

Reilly brings some great new characters into the mix to support Scarecrow in his quest, along with some of our old favourites, David Fairfax and “Mother”. The French commando Huguenot, also known as “The Barbarian”, or “Baba”, is a particularly entertaining addition.  My absolute favourite though was Scarecrow’s new sidekick, ”Bertie“, a multi-functional, independently-intelligent robot that carries his own guns. Some of the interactions between Bertie and ‘his buddy’ Scarecrow had me laughing out loud while listening to this audio book in my car – so cute and so far-fetched.

Narrator Sean Mangan has the perfect voice for delivering Matthew Reilly’s novels. His vocalisation of the gun noises always make me smile.

Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves is more compelling, more action-packed and more intense than the previous Scarecrow outings. And while this story is very nicely concluded, Reilly has planted enough seeds to make me confident we will be seeing more of Scarecrow in the future.

Matthew Reilly’s Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves is pure unadulterated escapism – highly recommended to those in need of a dose of fun.

BOOK RATING: The Story 5 / 5 ; The Writing 3.5 / 5

BOOK DETAILS: Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves (Audible); Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves (The Nile – Australia); Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves (Kobo ebooks); Scarecrow Returns (Amazon)

Genre: Action-Adventure, Thriller, Drama, Humour, Audio

Author Information: Australian Matthew Reilly is a prolific writer. After self-publishing his first novel Contest in 1996, he has gone on to have a further 10 novels published. Reilly’s books are published in over 20 languages and he has sold over 3.5 million books worldwide: over 1 million in Australia alone; over a million in the US; and over a million in the UK.

- Watch the Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves book trailer

- Matthew Reilly talks Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves on Gillo’s Bookshelf – ABC (listen)

Other reviews of Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves: Right What You No ; All The Books I Can Read

It has been widely publicised that Google Friend Connect functionality will be retired for non-Blogger blogs such as mine in March 2012.

Many loyal readers follow what’s happening on my blog using this service.

If you signed up to Booklover Book Reviews via Google Friend Connect, I would recommend you taking up another subscription method in the coming weeks.

You can do that easily by clicking on one of the following links now,

Follow Booklover Book Reviews by Email

Follow Booklover Book Reviews by your choice of Feed Reader

Follow Booklover Book Review on Twitter 

Or, while visiting Booklover Book Reviews in future, these same subscription options are displayed on the “Follow” tab always floating on the left of your screen, or via the fixed links on my right sidebar.

I will leave the Google Friend Connect widget on my site until March to allow time for followers to choose an alternate subscription option. I will however move that widget to the bottom of my site to discourage new readers from signing up that way.

Happy reading!

Sink or Swim Book Description

Harry Gordon, sports hero and merchant banker, finds that despite is best efforts, a year after taking over the family steel business it is on the brink of collapse. Then he discovers that the seemingly random events leading to this point are not simply related to market forces. In a race against time that becomes a matter of life and death, Harry is forced to draw on all his skill and courage to avoide certain disaster. (Barnes & Noble)

My teaser:

My voice sounded strangely distant, dislocated from the thoughts tumbling though my mind. I suppose I was in shock. Edna Harvey, my father’s secretary for as long as I could remember and for the last twelve months, mine; dead.  (Page 4)

Sink or Swim is Australian author Ross Collier‘s third novel.

Although I’m not that far into the mystery, what has struck me is how very real the characters seem.

Find out more about this title - Sink or Swim by Ross Collier.

Looking forward to reading your teasers!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 

* * Check out my Current Giveaway: Jack Susko Mystery Prize Pack, 3 novels by Australian author Lenny Bartulin * *

Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto Synopsis

A modern fable for children and adults: a story of one man’s quest for eternal life and how finds it in the most extraordinary of ways—in the grand tradition of Saint-Exúpery’s The Little Prince.

When we first meet Baron Lamberto, he is very rich and very ill. He owns twenty-six banks and has been diagnosed with twenty-six deadly ailments: only his butler Anselmo remembers them all. On the advice of an Egyptian sage, Lamberto hires an army of servants to repeat his name over and over and over. It’s a recipe, he’s told, for eternal life…. Surprisingly, it works.

But Lamberto’s newfound youth is put at risk when a terrorist group lays siege to his private island in the mountains near Lake Orta. The Baron’s army of bank directors are held hostage, and an international media spectacle is born. Lamberto becomes the first casualty.

Based on the true-life terrorism of the Colombian M19. movement and the Red Brigades’ kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro, Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto is an adroit, witty, and poignant reflection on what happens when terrorism strikes. There are things, writes Rodari, “that only happen once.” In fact, “there are things that only happen in fairytales.” (Amazon)

BOOK REVIEW

Regular readers of this blog will know how I can be captured by the charming and the quirky. Gianni Rodari’s Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto ticked all those boxes and more.

In addition to a charm and sense of whimsy reminiscent of The Matchmaker of Perigord, Rodari dials up the fantastical behaviours of his characters to farcical levels.

Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto by Gianni Rodari is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

From the charm of the relationship between Lord Lamberto and his butler Anselmo (who always carries an umbrella) through to the side-splitting descriptions of the team of bankers and ensuing media spectacle, this tale is pure merriment – for the reader, and it seems at times, also for the author.

“You have to admit, Anselmo,” he complains, “you can’t hear the capital L.”

“Unfortunately, Your Lordship, there doesn’t seem to be a way of pronouncing upper-case letters differently from lower-case letters. Spoken Italian does have its shortcomings.”

“I understand, but it’s troublesome, Anselmo. The ‘L’ that begins my name sounds no different from the ‘l’ that begins leech, lizard, and lollipop. It’s dispiriting. I have to wonder how the great Napoleon was able to tolerate the fact that the very same ‘N’ that began his imperial first name shared the initial sound of nambypamby, natter, and nosehair.”

Much of the wry banter relates to plays on numbers, words and speech, and for this reason, this English translation of Gianni Rodari’s Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto by Antony Shugaar is all the more impressive. This newly released English translation also contains comical illustrations by Federico Maggioni that add something special.

Although Gianni Rodari’s Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto is a fable that is accessible to the young, there is considerably more value for the adult reader, or as I like to think of it, the young at heart.

BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 4.5 / 5

BOOK DETAILS: Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto (Amazon); Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto (Kobo ebooks); Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto (The Nile – Australia)

Genre: Humour, Drama, Historical, Literature

Author Information: Gianni Rodari (1920 – 1980) was an Italian writer and journalist, most famous for his books for children. He won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1970 and is considered by many to be Italy’s most important twentieth-century children’s author. His books have been translated into many languages, though few have been published in English. (Wikipedia)

Other reviews of Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto: Fiction Advocate ; The Lit Pub ; Forever Overhead