Review: The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld

5 stars for The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld.

This is an overdue post. I meant to write my review and post it right after reading, but as usual, things do not always turn out the way we want it, and so, this turns out to be a really late post.

The Enchanted is a dark story about men on the row waiting to die and a woman who is assigned the job of death penalty investigator. Though the tale borders on the theme of death and can be unsettling at times, it is a joy to read this book as it is filled with lyrical descriptions of this so-called enchanted place. To quote "When you walk on death row, you look for the light. Any light." The writer also expressed emotions in an an imaginative and beautiful way. To quote "the sound of freedom is like the wind in the trees, the splash of water hitting the pavement, the gentle caress of rain on your face and the sound of laughter in the open air." The books talks about death, not just the dead but a deeper kind of melancholy about what happens when a person dies. To quote "How odd it is, that the dead weigh more than the living. You would think it would be the opposite, but it isn't. I think it is because souls give bodies lightness and air. When the soul leaves, the body has nothing left and is desperate to return to the earth. That's why it's so heavy."

The story is brilliantly crafted with the first person narrator as the fly on the wall - the quiet unnoticed-by-all observer that sees and hears everything and lives to tell the story of what goes behind the stone walls of the prison dungeon. He is the all-seeing eyes of the inmates, guards, wardens, the priest, and the lady. Ironically, the inmates are the ones with names such as York, Striker, Arden. The rest of the characters are given generic names such as the priest, the lady, the warden.

Death penalty investigation is labour intensive as it takes months to locate ancient records, to track down witnesses from decades before, to uncover the truth of a crime. There is much mystery lurking behind the inmates awaiting execution and the author knows how to get the reader hooked with delicious anticipation by peeling off the layers piece by piece to get the truth out.

The story builds steadily and the plot - I won't say it thickens, because to me, that is not exactly what happens - develops in its own unique way. I savor every drop of word that forms sentences to bring to life a whole new sensation of reading.

A powerful and enchantingly beautiful novel.

Review: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

3 stars for Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa.

This is a tale about the value of kinship, the magic of reading and the power of books that bring together people from all walks of life, and to a smaller extent, the meaning to living.

Set in Jimbocho, Tokyo, the story of living in a bookstore with unlimited access to books is every booklover's dream. How I wish the same for myself, that I too, have a wild, carefree and unconventional uncle who owns and operates a secondhand bookshop, one where I get to work and live in at the same time. It will be a dream come true.

Though the story revolves around a bookstore and books, it is not a story just about manning a bookstore and selling books, it is also about relationship managing, networking and connecting to people. There are obvious parallels between doing a book business and living a life. The author works to draw a parallel between the two, to be connected to people through books. There is the joy to be had in connecting to someone we have little or nothing in common with through books. There are also the wonders of being connected to secondhand books, to be given the chance to experience encounters or connections that transcend time, to be a part of that bookstore where readers can feel the quiet flow of time.

To quote "Even though we think of it as an independent business, what matters in the industry more than anything are the relationships you have with people. I guess that's probably true of the world in general."

Besides the theme of relationship dynamics, the author also explores perspectives and possibilities. People's frame of mind change over time and so do their views on living life on their own terms and on values that feel true to themselves - the search for meaning in life and what one truly wants. Through the characters, we have glimpses about living life, about seeing the world, and about exploring a whole range of possibilities out there.

To quote ".. I don't know, maybe it takes a long time to figure out what you're truly searching for. Maybe you spend your whole life just to figure out a small part of it."

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop is not the most ideal story for me, but it is definitely a refreshing one with a gem of a book cover. The paperback with rows of upright books gracing the cover make a lovely addition to my bookshelf.

And yes, I will love to have a Morisaki Bookshop, one where I can call my own.

Review: Those Who Walk Away by Patricia Highsmith

2.5 stars for Those Who Walk Away by Patricia Highsmith.

I cannot remember how I came to add this book onto my reading list. But I do remember why the book captures my attention enough for me to add it to my ever-growing list of books. The story revolves around two men and to a certain extent, a woman. Both men are related to the woman, one is the father, the other, the husband. Here comes the interesting part - the woman is dead, and the father accuses the husband of murdering his daughter. Now, the million-dollar question is, is the father right in his accusation? Or is the husband innocent? The only way to find out is to, well, read the book.

The book is about friendship, forgiveness, managing grief and moving on after a death. I will say it is not a story I enjoy reading thoroughly. Perhaps because I already have some ideas on the overall plot, I find myself forming certain expectations based on what little I know, and when those expectations are not met, I am disappointed. Or perhaps this story is just too direct to the point of uneventful. There is pretty much nothing fanciful or exciting in the plot development, instead, an overdose of nitty gritty details.

Those Who Walk Away has been on my list for at least 3 years. Now I am simply glad to have finally read it and to walk away (or rather, strike it off my reading list). For those who love simplicity and ambiguity in a story, well, this may be the book for you.

Review: Lottery by Patricia Wood

4 stars for Lottery by Patricia Wood.

In the midst of watching and rewatching Chinese drama series, I decide that I still want to do some reading. Deep down I know my reading progess will be slow but it does not bother me so long as I know I am still reading. I have no idea what I want to read, so I just randomly scroll to a collection on my kindle and click on it. I laugh out loud when I saw that the book I have so randomly chosen is one titled Lottery.

Initially, I wasn't sure if Lottery will make a good company, but it turns out that my worries are extras. The book makes an excellent lunch time buddy as the characters - Perry, Keith, Gary, Cherry, Gram, Gramp and even those so called cousin-brothers - come alive and leap out of the pages to accompany me on a great many lunches. Perry and his first person narratives never fail to perk up my lunch break. Gradually, his voice and his simple outlook to life turned into a kind of quiet strength for me.

As days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, I start to worry if I will ever finish reading this book. Yes, it does feel as if I am taking forever to read this book since I read mostly during weekdays lunch time. Now I have my answer and I know it can be done because reading is just, well, reading. The story will come to an end some day, even if it takes me as long as three months.

Lottery is both a happy and sad story. The protagonist, Perry, is a simple man. And because he is a simple man, everything he sees and does is processed in a different way. And because of that, life becomes so much simpler. And happier. I would say, Perry in Lottery is the thinking cap to a happy life. And oh yes, I learn a new word from him in this book. Perry likes the word "echt" and it keeps popping up throughout the book - it means real, genuine, authentic.

Lottery is a great story. This is echt. This is true.

Review: A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson

Did Not Finish A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson.

I did not expect this, but the fact is, at 40%, this book has joined my limited repertoire of Did Not Finish. Still, I will like to say something, hence posting this short review.

This Young Adult fantasy novel is remarkable in its originality. I am lulled into reading the book on the promise that it involves art-based magic, romance, and murder.

True to its word, there is the combination of all three in the aforementioned, and then some. The protagonist, 18-year-old Myra Whitlock, possesses the unique ability to alter reality with her painting. She does portrait painting with a wondrous touch of magic healing. Because of this rare ability, she is offered a highly challenging job, one of its kind. To accomplish what she is tasked to do, Myra needs to unravel a mystery. And in seeking the truth, romance happens in its most unexpected form.

In truth, I have nothing against this book, the characters and the story. I know for sure, if I am to read this book at a different stage in life, I will have latched on to the story and not let go. It is a beautiful enchanting story where there is a hero and there is a heroine.

I like to think it is a matter of time and space that I am unable to finish reading the book. Still, this is a good story and one that I will recommend to read.

Review: Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter #1) by Nalini Singh

Did Not Finish Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter book 1) by Nalini Singh.

While deep in the throes of urban fantasy novels involving vampires and lycanthropes, I decide to try the Guild Hunter series. This series has fifteen books written to date and if I am not wrong, is still an ongoing series. So, if the story is my cup of tea, I will have no worries on books to read, at least for a long while.

The protagonist is this book is a 28-year-old vampire hunter Elena Deveraux. The unusual thing about the vampires here is that, they are not the exotic powerful sexy vampires protrayed in most books, but rather, they are slaves to angels, the price paid for exchanging their mortality for servitude. Elena is tasked with an odd job this time, instead of a vampire, she is to track an Archangel..

I can't say much more about the story and the writing as I give up reading at the 15% mark. I can only say that the story is not my cup of tea. It is sad because there goes my fifteen potential reads. I hope this is not a sign that I have grown too jaded to enjoy a murder mystery amidst steamy sexual tension in urban fantasy novels.

Review: Blood Enemy (Underworld #2) by Greg Cox

2 stars for Blood Enemy (Underworld book 2) by Greg Cox.

Having enjoyed Underworld thoroughly, I move on to the next instalment in the series almost immediately after the concluding chapter in book 1.

Blood enemy is still very much a story about the shadow war fought by immortal creatures of the night, vampires versus werewolves. But the focus is different. It is a story before Underworld and bulk of it is about Lucian's love interest, Sonja. It is the reason for the rise of the lycans against their vampire masters. For countless generations, the vampires oppressed the lycans, condemning the wolf kind to never-ending servitude. This book sheds light on why the household lycans defect from the vampire's castle and flock to join Lucian and his army to oppose the coven.

Sad to say, I did not enjoy reading Lucian and Sonja's love story. While the writing is good, the story gets stale after a while.

Still, credit is given to the author for connecting this book back to the main story, where there arises the search to find a way to match the staggering power of the vampires Elders, the search for some secret, hidden away in the very origins of the two races - vampire and lycan. In closing, we are given a sneak preview as to how the ultraviolet ammunition - the glowing blue cartridge that seems to be infused with encapsulated sunlight - that we see in book 1 comes about.

Review: Underworld (Underworld #1) by Greg Cox

5 stars for Underworld (Underworld book 1) by Greg Cox.

Never once in my life have I ever thought that there will come a day where four yet-to-be-written reviews stare right in my face. Initially it is just one, then it becomes two. And then, it doubles up and becomes four. The more I procrastinate, the higher the number. It just doesn't get better, does it? Somehow, I feel the need to explain what happened, at least for my own sake. So.. well.. drama CLJ happened. For those who know me well, I am never into soap opera or what you call drama chasing. But this time, I have it bad. I am hooked. Suddenly, all my free time seems to disappear into thin air. I have time for nothing else. Though I will say drama chasing is similar to staying up late to read a really good book, it is also in a way different. Drama chasing is more tiring, it zaps not only my time, but my energy as well. The worst is, I am not done swooning over it yet - I am rewatching this drama TV series. Action speaks louder than words. It goes to show how much I adore this particular drama. To add on, I am also spending a tremendous amount of time - hours on end - doing finger exercises on its OST piano collection. I don't know how much more time I will be investing on drama CLJ and/or anything related to it. But I know it is only a matter of time I will get over this drama thing, in fact, any good drama given sufficient time. And when that day comes, I will go back to reading. Always. Without fail. For now, I just want to get the four reviews out of the way, so I can go back to swoon in peace over the characters, the settings, the songs and whatnots in this newfound favourite drama of mine.

Underworld. This is a rare one where I watch the movie first, then read the book.

Having watched the Underworld movie years ago, I feel a surge of excitement as I am about to embark on my journey to relive Underworld - in my mind's eyes this time - all over again, to meet Selene, Michael and all the rest of the wolfish and vampiric characters. In fact, I mentally prepare myself that the book is going to be very different from the movie version as movie script writers are known to dramatize.

To my surprise, the Underworld movie followed closely to the book, right up to the scenes, the settings and even the speeches. It is unexpected. As I read the book, I stop intermittently to rewatch the movie. Suddenly I find myself catching a lot more of the story details than my first viewing of the movie. For example, when I first watched the movie, I am only aware that the characters are fighting and running around in the scenes. With the book reading, I see all the finer details amidst the fighting and so much more. The book is well written and helps bring everything together in vibrant clarity.

Set in the ancient city of Budapest, the Hungarian capital, a human is caught in the middle of a covert war that has been raging for the better part of a thousand years… a blood feud between vampires and lycans. Older, more powerful lycans such as Lucian, the most feared and ruthless leader of the lycan horde, are now able to change form at will, no longer tied to the moon. They are becoming a greater threat to the vampires and the Death Dealers. (Death Dealers are an elite squad of vampire warriors that hunt down the surviving man-beasts and kill them off)

Towards the end of my reading, I find it strange that almost all the conversations in the book echo the words spoken out loud in the movie, so much so that it seems as if it is the book that takes after the movie, not the other way round. Finally, I decide to consult Google and have my suspicions confirmed.

Underworld is a 384-page novelization of the movie of the same name written by Greg Cox and released by Pocket Star on September 1, 2003. The book contains scenes that were changed during filming, or which were never included at all. I also discover that this was actually mentioned on the book cover which I have never bothered to take a good look at.

P/S: Novelizations are, in essence, book-length descriptions of movies, typically written not by the author of the screenplay. They are the complete opposite of the more familiar practice of turning a book into a movie.

For those who have never watched or read the Underworld series, I will recommend reading the book first then the movie. Because no matter how one feels about it, there is this major flaw on watching the movie before reading - the reader's imagination is compromised.