Missing you – a review

9780857987167Missing you – Kylie Kaden

Summary
A tantalising love story and a seductive suspense novel: ‘Our lives were built around the strength of a kiss between strangers. Yet seven years on, look where it led us …’ When Aisha met Ryan she fell hard for his good looks and easy charm. Why worry that he didn’t want children or a 9 to 5 job? Nothing and no one would come between them. But with the birth of their high-needs son, Eli, their extraordinary love is shackled into an ordinary life, their passion blunted by responsibility. Until Ryan can’t take it anymore. Then, following a mysterious phone call late one night, Aisha leaves four-year-old Eli in the care of her elderly father Patrick – and doesn’t come back…

Comments
A love story mixed with suspense.  When Aisha met Ryan she fell hard for good looks and easy charm.  Why worry that he didn’t want children, or that Aisha didn’t want to marry. Nothing or no one would come between them.  Fast forward a year, not only are they married, but they have a son with high needs, they feel stifled by responsibilities. Add in a grandfather, a twin brother, an ex-roommate and an ex-boyfriend, and this makes for a well written easy to read story.  A real page turner with each chapter leaving you wanting to know what happens next.
This book received mixed reviews from within our group.  Those who did enjoy the book finished it within days of starting it.  This would be a great easy read over the holiday break.

Rating – 6/10        Read by – Cultcha Club Book Club

Amnesia

 

Amnesia by Peter Carey

amnesia

 

Summary

It was a spring evening in Washington DC; a chilly autumn morning in Melbourne; it was exactly 22.00 Greenwich Mean Time when a worm entered the computerised control systems of hundreds of Australian prisons and released the locks in many places of incarceration, some of which the hacker could not have known existed. Because Australian prison security was, in the year 2010, mostly designed and sold by American corporations the worm immediately infected 117 US federal correctional facilities, 1,700 prisons, and over 3,000 county jails. Wherever it went, it travelled underground, in darkness, like a bushfire burning in the roots of trees. Reaching its destinations it announced itself: THE CORPORATION IS UNDER OUR CONTROL. THE ANGEL DECLARES YOU FREE.’ Has a young Australian woman declared cyber war on the United States? Or was her Angel Worm intended only to open the prison doors of those unfortunates detained by Australia’s harsh immigration policies? Did America suffer collateral damage? Is she innocent? Can she be saved?

 

Comments

Several readers didn’t like many of the characters and found it difficult to continue reading. Continue reading

2015 Summer Bookmarks are here!

Looking for some reading inspiration for Summer? Why not check out one of our latest bookmarks here or pick one up at any Parramatta Library Branch. What’s your favourite? Crime/Thriller; Australian Authors; Steampunk; Horror; Historical fiction; Scandinavian Crime; Books to Screen; Fantasy; Science Fiction; or Romance.

Staff Picks

 

Have a look at what library staff have been reading this week.

 

Cat out of hell by Lynne Truss
About a librarian overcome with grief for his wife’s death who unwittingly becomes involved in a murder mystery featuring talking cats… – 3/5

Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner
Andy & Rachel meet one night in the ER when they are kids, a love story spanning 3 decades it’s a story about how they keep finding each other throughout the different stages of their lives and how they overcome different backgrounds. A nice easy holiday read – 3/5

The invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Book two in the Queen of the Tearling trilogy follows Kelsea as she deals with the fallout from stopping the shipments to Mort and the inevitable invasion by the Mort army. We also meet Lily, a woman from pre crossing era – 5/5
Four: a Divergent collection by Veronica Roth
Story starts 2 years before we meet Beatrice Prior in Divergent, we hear Four’s story and how he came to be in Dauntless, eventually merging with Beatrice’s story – a bit of a pointless book, only for devout divergent fans – 2/5
The Sun in Her Eyes by Paige Toon
Amber is an Australian living in the UK, after being made redundant she learns her father back in Aus has had a stroke, leaving her husband Ned behind she flies to Australia to help her dad in his recovery. There she reconnects with Ethan, a boy she has been in love with since she was 8 years old. Ambar must choose between her husband and the man she’s always loved… A slight side story, when Amber was 3 she was involved in a car accident which killed her mother, we meet the stranger who stopped to help and holds her mother’s last words. It’s well written, but hard to like and relate to the main character Amber, so only – 3.5 stars
Ready by Kate

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The Gilded HourSara Donati

A well-written, well-researched story about life as a female doctor in 19th Century New York. Sara Donati captures this period beautifully, touching on poverty, wealth, racism, and a women’s right to choose, which made me very grateful to live in this place, in this century – 5 stars

Tower of ThornsJuliet Marillier

I always love Juliet Marillier’s books, but I’m worried they’re starting to follow a bit of a formula. This one seemed a bit same-same. I still enjoy her gentle writing though and her fairy-tale-like plot. Fingers crossed for the next one! – 3 stars.

 

We Never Asked for WingsVanessa Diffenbaugh

I read and loved The Language of Flowers a few years ago so picked up this one eagerly. It reminded me that sometimes we put our mothers up on pedestals when really, they are often as troubled, and have as much baggage, as the next person – 4 stars

The Natural Way of ThingsCharlotte Wood

I know there has been a lot of press around this book and it is receiving some amazing reviews, but I just found I couldn’t get into it. Maybe it’s just not my kind of story, or I’ll go back to it one day and love it. For now though…2 stars.

The Readers of Broken Wheel RecommendKatarina Bivald

A lovely, light book for all the book-lovers out there. A great one for the summer, I think! – 4 stars

Read by Amanda

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Happy Reading!