A Leaf In The Bitter Wind by Ting-Xing Ye

Spanning 35 years, this enthralling memoir chronicles the life of a woman, a survivor, who has been buffeted by the winds of history. Ting-xing Ye was born in Shanghai, the fourth child of a factory owner who had his factory taken from him. By the age of thirteen, her parents were dead.

The Cultural Revolution then tore Ye's family apart. Writing with grim irony, she offers a riveting account of her work on a prison farm, where, as the child of a "capitalist," she was continually subjected to humiliating psychological torture.

She then wryly relates her change in fortune when she found herself accepted into Beijing University and eventually, in a consummate irony, was offered a job in the Chinese Secret Police. Managing to get herself reassigned to the Foreign Ministry as a translator, the girl from the prison farm found herself translating for the delegations of such dignitaries as Queen Elizabeth, Ronald Reagan and Imelda Marcos.

In a moving and dramatic final section, Ye writes about her feudal-style marriage, her falling in love with a Canadian, and her eventual defection to Canada. 

I was absolutely blown away at how incredible this book was, how engagingly written it was, and what an amazing survivor Ye Ting-Xing is. 

A Love Match by Barbara Allister

Stephen Huntington modestly told Miss Rosemary Wyatt that his only title was that of Honourable, but Rosemary could see that this did not stop this wealthy, charming, devastatingly handsome gentleman from being the catch of the London marriage mart. Why then, did the Honourable Mr. Huntington set about courting an untried woman like her when the ravishing Clarissa Ravenwood set her cap for him? What dark intent might lie behind Stephen's dazzling smile and glowing gaze? Rosemary had good cause to fear all men - and this one above all, for she had no weapons to defend her heart against a love that well might be too good to be true. 

Light and fluffy nonsense.

The Clovis Incident by Pari Noskin Taichert

The Clovis Incident, an intriguing and superbly crafted murder mystery which following the unexpected adventure of Sasha Solomon, an ordinary PR director fired from her job as PR director of Albuquerque's only holistic HMO, and then travels to the small New Mexico town of Clovis to bid on a PR project for the local Chamber of Commerce only to become entangled in a dark and ruthless plot of murder and intrigue.

A quirky tale of murder, mystery and alien abductions.

The Darkest Secret by Gena Showalter

Keeper of the demon of Secrets, Amun can manipulate the darkest thoughts of anyone nearby. But when the immortal warrior is chained and isolated to protect those he loves, death is his only hope of release—until he meets Haidee, a fellow prisoner whose beauty and hidden vulnerability draw him into a reckless test of his loyalty….
Haidee is a demon-assassin, raised to despise Amun's kind. Yet how can she hate the man whose touch sets her aflame? But to save him, she must give herself body and soul…and face the wrath of a powerful adversary sworn to destroy her. 

Another great installment in this series. There hasn't been much about Amun in previous books so getting to know him and his story was great. Haidee turned out to be a very sympathetic character with an interesting backstory as well.

The sex scenes were hot, but not as frequent or explosively hot as in some of her other books.

And....angels can be mean.  All that no showing any emotion and everyone is supposed to be as perfect as them stuff.  I'm hoping she writes a book where the head angel meets his woman and she brings him down a peg or two.

Very enjoyable read. 

The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax

Ten years ago authors Mallory, Tanya, Faye and Kendall met at their very first writers’ conference they have all survived the competitive publishing world and are still best friends. They are all very different. Mallory is a workaholic whose churns out one bestseller after another to support her lavish lifestyle. Tanya is a single mum who works in a cafe to supplement her writing income, she juggles work with kids,an alcoholic mother and her deadlines. Faye is the wife of a famous televangelist and writes inspirational romances, but she has a secret that could bring down her husband’s ministry. She is not the only one who has a secret though when Kendall Aims’s once-promising career appears to be on the skids -Her book sales are falling, her new editor hates her-and her husbands leaves her for a younger woman. She is told that she has until December to produce the last book of her contract, and no extension. Mentally crippled, Kendall holes up in a mountain cabin to confront her writers block and hopeless future. But her friends won’t let her face this trial alone. Together they decide to break their contract rules and secretly collaborate on Kendall’s novel. However each of them use their own lives as inspiration, and reveal truths in the guise of fiction, because surely no-one will ever discover that the truth is behind their words?

Really, really good. Glad I got to the 2nd half on a day off as I spent most of my day reading to finish this. I couldn't put it down. 

Retribution by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Journal Entry 1 by amberC from Darwin, Northern Territory Australia on Sunday, September 25, 2011 Different cover. Harm no human… A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey. Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief—Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meeting the man who killed her family: Jess Brady. A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster… Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who’s assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he’s not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all. Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they’ve sworn to protect. Another in the Dark Hunter series.  They are always good, but, my complaint with this one is it introduces yet more gods and goddesses and associated legends and end of the world scenarios, this time native American.

Bringing Out The Dead by Joe Connelly

In a narrative that moves with the furious energy of an ambulance run, we follow Frank through two days and nights: into the excitement and dread of the calls; the mad humor that keeps the medics afloat; the memories, distant and recent, through which Frank reminds himself why he became a medic and tries, in vain, to convince himself to give it up. And we are with him as he faces his newest ghost: the resurrected patient, whose demands to be released into death might be the most sensible thing Frank has heard in months, if only he would listen.

An interesting novel about a burnt-out paramedic suffering from guilt caused by botching up on saving an asthmatic girl's life. His idealism shot long ago, he is riding an ambulance through hell (Hell's Kitchen, New York) with the disillusionment that the job is more about bearing witness than saving lives. Beware, though. The book really has no plot. It never seems to build up to a climax or anything for that matter, but this is the type of book you have to read because it effectively immerses you in the life (or death) of a stressed-out paramedic.


This was a very dark, almost depressing story, maybe a bit too realistic, but it still kept me hooked.

Spirit Bound by Christine Feehan

Lethally sexy undercover agent Stefan Prakenskii knows a thousand ways to kill a man-and twice as many ways to pleasure a woman. So he's looking forward to his new mission: arrive in the coastal town of Sea Haven and insinuate himself in the life of Judith Henderson, an ethereal beauty with ties to the crime lord he's determined to trap...

I like how the art is so entwined in the story. Especially how the colours and emotions are tied together through the art, magic and their relationship.
Stefan is a confident and sexy guy who tries his hardest to get Judith to trust and love him, without putting himself at risk. 

The Tinder Box by Minette Walters

In a small Hampshire village, Irish labourer Patrick O'Riordan has been arrested for the brutal murder of elderly Lavinia Fanshaw and her live-in nurse, Dorothy Jenkins.

Lots of twists and turns and a surprise ending. 

Tempting the Beast by Lora Leigh

Callan Lyons is a genetic experiment. One of six fighting for freedom and the survival of their Pride. Merinus Tyler is the reporter who will tempt him, draw him, until the fury of the "mating frenzy" locks them into a battle of sexual heat there is no escape from. Deception, blood, and the evil Genetics Council are hot on their trail. Callan will use his strength to try and save them both...and do all in his power to keep his woman in the process.

Erotic, sensual and passionate with characters you come to care about. I can't wait for more in this series.   LOTS of sex.  Callan has lion DNA so there is lots of growling and dominant male behaviour, some biting and one spanking. Really good book.

Butterbabe by Rebecca Golden

'The best thing about weighing 40 stone is eating whatever you want. You don't worry about gaining half a stone: you know it won't make a difference. You know that losing half a stone won't make a difference either'. Rebecca Golden weighed just over 6lb at birth. By the time she graduated from high school she weighed almost 26 stone and a few years later she tipped the scales at over 40 stone. Although morbidly obese she never had high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes; she drove a car and worked and 'never became fused to a sofa'.But being so large meant there were things she simply couldn't do, like get up off the floor unaided and sit in booths in restaurants. Then, at the age of thirty-three, she took the difficult decision to have a gastric bypass, and lost over 15 stone. Fusing the themes of body image, abusive family dynamics and the social consequences of being overweight, this astonishingly articulate and beautifully written memoir gives a unique and quirky insight into what it's like when your weight spirals out of control.

I found this to be an easy, enjoyable read. I liked that she never whined about her life, just spoke about her difficulties with honesty and often humour. 

Memory Zero by Keri Arthur

For Sam Ryan, life began at the age of fourteen. She has no memory of her parents or her past. For the ten years that Sam's been with the State Police, she's searched for clues to her identity. But it's as if all mention of her family has been deliberately wiped off the system. Everything changes the night she agrees to meet her missing partner, Jack, and barely survives his attempt to kill her. Charged with his murder, Sam finds herself accepting help from Gabriel Stern-a shapeshifter with secrets of his own. As Sam delves into her partner's death, it soon becomes clear that the key to surviving the present lies in unravelling the threads of her past-and discovering not just who she is, but what she is . . 

I found it a bit slow to start. That could be because it is the first in a series so there was a bit of world building to do. You can see the possibility of romance, but there isn't any yet.

An interesting start to a series with a lot of potential.

Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione

Serena Kelley is an archaeologist and treasure hunter - and a woman with a secret. Since she was seven, she's been the keeper of a powerful charm that grants her health and immortality ... as long as she stays a virgin. But Serena isn't all that innocent. And when a dangerously handsome stranger brings her to the brink of ecstasy, she wonders if she's finally met the one man she cannot resist.

Wraith is a Seminus demon with a death wish. But when an old enemy poisons him, he must find Serena and persuade her to give him the only known antidote in the universe - her charm. Yet, as she begins to surrender to his seductions and Wraith senses the cure is within his grasp, he realises a horrible truth - he's falling for the woman whose life he must take in order to save his own. 

My favourite of the series....so far, and it will be hard to beat.

I do enjoy a tortured hero who finds a woman strong enough to love him...and lots of demon vampire sex, lol.

Ice Blue by Anne Stuart

Museum curator Summer Hawthorne considered the exquisite ice-blue ceramic bowl given to her by her beloved Japanese nanny a treasure of sentimental value—until somebody tried to kill her for it.
The priceless relic is about to ignite a global power struggle that must be stopped at all costs. It's a desperate situation, and international operative Takashi O'Brien has received his directive: everybody is expendable. Everybody. Especially the woman who is getting dangerously under his skin as the lethal game crosses the Pacific to the remote and beautiful mountains of Japan, where the truth can be as seductive as it is deadly….

Summer is likeable, bold, smart and vulnerable.

Takashi is alpha male walking the fine line between hero and villain.

My only complaint would be that the ending was a bit too neatly tied up.