Northern Suns: An Anthology of Canadian Science Fiction

As usual with anthologies I enjoyed some more than others.  They were mainly alternative history, with quite a few after the end of the world stories.  The ones that stood to were;

The Fragrance of Orchids - This was just a lovely bittersweet story.
Halo - A brilliant space-y sci-fi (my favourite)
Things Invisible to See - Fantastically beautiful microfiction.
Craphound - Lovely, almost sweet. Loved the lists of items from sales/auctions. 
Offer of Immortality - One of those "oh I shouldn't be laughing at this" stories. Great humorous writing style. 
Freeforall - written by one of my favourite authors, Margaret Atwood. She writes so well it doesn't matter what genre she writes.

Calculated In Death by J D Robb

On the steps outside an empty office in New York's financial district, a woman lies dead. It's a bitterly cold winter and her coat and other items are missing, which initially seems to point to a mugging gone wrong, but Lt Eve Dallas soon discovers that the body was dumped at the newly-renovated property. Now she has to find out why.

Marta Dickenson was an auditor, so Eve has a host of suspects among those who were under her scrutiny, not ruling out the fact Marta's sister-in-law is a famous judge. With the financial wizardry of Eve's husband Roarke at her disposal and the faithful Peabody by her side - when not distracted by the upcoming premiere they're all to attend - Eve starts the process of shifting through the motives of some powerful people to catch a killer... 

Another good mystery. Not enough Roarke.

Dark Peril by Christine Feehan

Dominic of the Dragonseeker lineage - one of the most powerful lines the Carpathian people has - ingests vampire blood laced with parasites in order to infiltrate the heart of the enemy camp and learn their plans. This is a one-way mission. He plans to get in fast, relay the information to the leader of the Carpathians living in the area and go out fighting - an honourable way to end his life. Solange Sangria is one of the last of the jaguar people, a royal pure-blood. Her people, once many, are now nearly extinct. She has long been alone fighting to save the remaining women who are able to shift from the hands of Brodrick the Terrible, her own father who slaughtered everyone she loved. Wounded, weary, she plans one last battle, hoping to stop the man who has made an alliance with the vampires, accepting she will not come out alive. They are two warriors who have lived their lives alone. Now, at the end of their time, they find each other, a complication neither sees coming. 

Another OK read in this series. Very repetitious, both in paragraphs throughout this book and of information found in every other book in the series.  I think it's time the series came to an end. 

Simply Love by Mary Balogh

Twenty-nine-year-old beauty Anne Jewell is an independent woman: an unwed mother who has found contentment, if not happiness, in her life as a teacher at a girls' school. Sydnam Butler, an aristocrat who lost his eye and right arm in the Peninsula Wars, has achieved a similar peace as the reclusive steward for the Duke of Bewcastle. Through her son's father, Anne is related to the Bewcastle family, which includes her friend Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, who wants to acknowledge her and her nine-year-old son, David, as kin, despite her stubborn independence. Joshua invites Anne and David to spend the summer at the Bewcastle estate in Wales, where she meets Sydnam.

Unique, sympathetic characters.  Not your usual regency romance. Nice, light read.

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

Personal vendettas, hidden treasure, and a monkey named Carl will send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most explosive adventure yet. The Crime: Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars
Dom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money, and did the time. His family couldn’t be more proud. He always was the smart one.

The Cousin: Joe Morelli
Joe Morelli, Dom Rizzi, and Dom’s sister, Loretta, are cousins. Morelli is a cop, Rizzi robs banks, and Loretta is a single mother waiting tables at the firehouse. The all-American family.

The Complications: Murder, kidnapping, destruction of personal property, and acid reflux
Less than a week after Dom’s release from prison, Joe Morelli has shadowy figures breaking into his house and dying in his basement. He’s getting threatening messages, Loretta is kidnapped, and Dom is missing.

The Catastrophe: Moonman
Morelli hires Walter “Mooner” Dunphy, stoner and “inventor” turned crime fighter, to protect his house. Morelli can’t afford a lot on a cop’s salary, and Mooner will work for potatoes.

The Cupcake: Stephanie Plum
Stephanie and Morelli have a long-standing relationship that involves sex, affection, and driving each other nuts. She’s a bond enforcement agent with more luck than talent, and she’s involved in this bank-robbery-gone-bad disaster from day one.

The Crisis: A favor for Ranger
Security expert Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, has a job for Stephanie that will involve night work. Morelli has his own ideas regarding Stephanie’s evening activities.

As usual with this series a light, fun read with a few laugh out loud one liners. My favourite line "I need to keep my arteries clogged otherwise my blood zooms around too fast and I get one of them dizzy spells".

The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her ‘our little genius’. Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh. Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children’s cells. She tells her favourite teacher all the things she’ll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn’t know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

The story is set in a post-apopolitic Britain. It starts in a school, a very special school and Melanie is the top of her class.  It sort of a horror story (there's some zombie-like people), a bit sic-fi, definitely love between Melanie and her favourite teacher and the beginning of a growing romance.

It was unexpected, engrossing, heartbreaking, amazing. Yes, I really enjoyed it. Couldn't put it down. 

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A woman on a quest to find out the truth about her family, a mysterious Victorian authoress, a book of dark fairytales and a long-hidden secret - The Forgotten Garden is another addictive and compulsively readable romantic mystery from Kate Morton, author of the international bestseller The Shifting Fog.

A lost child 

On the eve of the first world war, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her - but the Authoress has disappeared without a trace.

A terrible secret 

On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell O'Connor learns a secret that will change her life forever. Decades later, she embarks upon a search for the truth that leads her to the windswept Cornish coast and the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor, once owned by the aristocratic Mountrachet family.

A mysterious inheritance 

On Nell's death, her grand-daughter, Cassandra, comes into an unexpected inheritance. Cliff Cottage and its forgotten garden are notorious amongst the Cornish locals for the secrets they hold - secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family and their ward Eliza Makepeace, a writer of dark Victorian fairytales. It is here that Cassandra will finally uncover the truth about the family, and solve the century-old mystery of a little girl lost.

A captivating and atmospheric story of secrets, family and memory. The switching back in time and place got a little confusing at first, but it made sense and was a good way to tell the story.