What I've Been Watching - Game of Thrones

And I have to bow and thank everyone who told me that I had to read the books. I resisted till now but after starting to watch the series and enjoying it so much I decided to pick them up. Thank you all!

Fallen - Karin Slaughter

There’s no police training stronger than a cop’s instinct. Faith Mitchell’s mother isn’t answering her phone. Her front door is open. There’s a bloodstain above the knob. Her infant daughter is hidden in a shed behind the house. All that the Georgia Bureau of Investigations taught Faith Mitchell goes out the window when she charges into her mother’s house, gun drawn. She sees a man dead in the laundry room. She sees a hostage situation in the bedroom. What she doesn’t see is her mother. . . .


"You know what we’re here for. Hand it over, and we’ll let her go."

When the hostage situation turns deadly, Faith is left with too many questions, not enough answers. To find her mother, she’ll need the help of her partner, Will Trent, and they’ll both need the help of trauma doctor Sara Linton. But Faith isn’t just a cop anymore -- she’s a witness. She’s also a suspect.

The thin blue line hides police corruption, bribery, even murder. Faith will have to go up against the people she respects the most in order to find her mother and bring the truth to light -- or bury it forever.

I'm not only behind in reading books... I haven't had the time to write about them too. To be honest I don't think I'll ever be a frequent blogger (as in posting something every day) again. The day just doesn't have enough hours for everything I have to do. Fallen, by Karin Slaughter, was a book I read in August 2011 (thank you Goodreads!) and just now I am finding the time to write a review.

Slaughter is very good at finishing her stories, meaning that when I finished Broken I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next one - Fallen. It's like that after all of her books really, right now I'm looking forward to the next one.

In a way I think I loved this one even more than Broken. It has a very convoluted story, the action is very fast paced, there are plenty of surprise twists and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Faith has been Will's colleague in past stories and now is the main character in this one. I never really had an opinion about her, she seemed nice enough but I never thought her intriguing as I do Will or his boss Amanda Wagner. Here we get to know a bit more about all of them and a lot more about Faith.

In Fallen, Faith finds that her mother's house became a crime scene and that her mother is missing and possibly hurt. She deals with the men she finds on the scene and from then on the police is involved and launches an investigation about what happened. Trying to protect her family Faith pursues her own investigation and soon it becomes apparent that the answer may be in her mother's past. The book does have a lot of characters and subplots that get a bit confusing at times but I read it in one sitting as I was so curious to find out what was going to happen next. The level of violence is high as gangs are intent on marking their territory and corrupt cops are involved in shady dealings.

I do have two complaints though, I did not like the story that motivated all the action, I won’t mention it here what because it would be a huge spoiler but I think Evelyn could have made other choices. And then Sara doesn't appear as much as I would like. But I did like when she appeared and I want to know how her situation is going to be resolved.

Ms. Slaughter please, in your next book, I want as much action as in this one but with a lot more Sara. Thank you!

Grade: 4.5/5

Book Challenges

I used to be a challenge's enthusiast but in 2011 I missed all goals... I have been toying with the idea of joining just one challenge and I have decided to join Historical Tapestry's Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. Not only because I am a member of that blog's team (I didn't join last year) but because I really have been in the mood for some HF.

Since I'm not sure how much time I'll have I'm joining at the Struggling the Addiction level and try to read 10 books. If you want to join me (and a whole lot of other booklovers) you can find the challenge post here and the post for the January reviews is already up! 

Happy New Year

2011 in Review

I have sadly only read 13 books this year. There were so many things to do after the twins were born that time flew by and not only I didn't have time to read any more but I also forgot about what books were coming out that I wanted to keep an eye on.

Looking at my list I see my mood lead me to read mostly historical fiction and mysteries. Definitely two of my favourite genres that are usually combined with romance fiction but not so this year. My favourites for the year are The Black Pearl by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, A Vision of Light By Judith Merkle Riley and the two books I've read by Karin Slaughter, Broken and Fallen.

My least favourites, sadly there were those too, were Secrets of the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan and Mr and Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy, Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan. I think I may give the Tudor's a rest in the near future but I know I won't resist a few more Austen themed books.

I have no idea how 2012 will be in terms of reading. I've decided not to do any reading resolutions because it may well be that I wont have time to fullfill them. I would love to know, though, what great books I missed in 2011 and what should I keep an eye on in 2012. So, if you are in a mood to recommend something I'll gladly take notes...

Tank you for being there even when I haven't posted much and have a great 2012!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve

Victoria & Albert Decorate the Christmas Tree

Illustration from Godey's Lady's Book, December 1860.

May you get to spend your Christmas Eve surrounded by your family and friends and may this be a time of Peace, Happiness and Joy! To me it will be a magical time, my first Christmas with the babies.
Merry Christmas everyone!