Book Review: The Lifeguard by Deborah Blumenthal

• Hardcover: 268 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (Mar 2012)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 080754535X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807545355

It's an unsettled summer for Sirena. Back in Texas, her family's splitting apart, but here in Rhode Island, at the cottage of her free-spirited aunt, it's a different world. There are long days at the beach and intriguing encounters with him. Pilot. He's the lifeguard with shamanic skills. He both saves her and makes her feel lost at sea. Sirena explores her obsession with Pilot and discovers his mysterious--almost magical--gifts.

Lifeguard was a warm, romantic read that felt sun-kissed and as tumultuous as the ocean.

Sirena’s parents thought it would be a good idea for her to spend the summer with her aunt at the beach…so she wouldn’t have to deal with their impending divorce. Sirena takes the news badly, blaming herself and feeling lost and alone. Until she meets him. The lifeguard. Beautiful, mysterious and deep.

Pilot is not just a lifeguard, he has been taught shamanic healing by his grandfather. Sirena is not the only one with dark and agonising thoughts rumbling around inside her. Pilot also has his demons, and reasons for his unbreakable commitment to his job.

Together, Pilot and Sirena learn how to let go of things out of their control, and fall into the beginning warmth of love.

A perfect read to cast aside the dreary winter chill, and warm you from the inside out. A lovely light holiday read.

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Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 5 KB
• Print Length: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mills & Boon Nocturne (1 Jan 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
• Language English
• ASIN: B00699I8YG

Micah: The Dark Prince As the dark lord who condemns souls to damnation, Micah is nothing but a feared barbarian wrapped in impenetrable black armour. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows – the daughter of his enemy. Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armour to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden, or their whole world will be lost…

Lord of the Abyss is my favourite instalment of the Royal House of Shadows series. Micah, the youngest prince of the kingdom of Elden, who was scattered along with his brothers and sister to distant realms in a bid to save their lives by their mother, is now a far cry from the prince he used to be. The Blood Sorcerer cursed him, ensnaring him to the Black Castle at the edge of the Abyss where he must condemn the souls destined for the abyss. Covered in impenetrable armour, he is feared and ruthless with nothing inside him but darkness. Until one woman dares to help him remember who he once was.

Liliana, daughter of the Blood Sorcerer is nothing like her parentage. She does not murder or torture, yet she is almost as strong as her father. Liliana is gifted with visions, and has sent the eternal downfall of Elden. Unless she can help Micah remember his true self and return him home. And so Liliana braves the Black Castle and lands at the mercy of the Lord of the Abyss.

Bit by agonising bit, Micah’s teasing and arrogant nature peaks through his dark armour. He is enamoured by Liliana and the stories she tells of the four princes and princess, especially by the youngest prince. It isn’t long before he longs to touch her, to taste her. And lord help her if she isn’t mesmerised by him also. But Liliana knows his feelings will darken when he learns who she really is.

Lord of the Abyss was dark, teasing, romantic, sexy, terrifying and everything else in between. This has been a fantastically written series with an electric ending. I for one cannot wait to re-read them all again. 

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Book Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager (4 Aug 2011)
• ISBN-10: 0007425473
• ISBN-13: 978-0007425471

A Handmaid’s Tale for a new generation…

Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery has only four years left to live when she is kidnapped by the Gatherers and forced into a polygamous marriage. Now she has one purpose: to escape, find her twin brother, and go home – before her time runs out forever.

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb – males only live to age twenty-five and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden’s genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape – to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden’s eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she trusts, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

Orphaned twins Rhine and Rowan know exactly when they are going to die. They live in their parents home, sleeping in shifts and desperately trying to stay away from danger. Thanks to genetic testing and mistakes of older generations, when the scientists found a way to cure disease, they radically shortened life spans. Twenty five for males. Twenty for females. Desperate to keep the human race thriving, girls are stolen and sold into marriage with the sole purpose to reproduce. Rowan has always tried to keep his sister safe, but nothing could have prevented the day Rhine was stolen.

Sixteen year old Rhine, along with nineteen year old Jenna, and thirteen year old Cecily, are bought by the formidable Housemaster Vaughn to be the wives of his son, Governor Linden. Linden’s first wife, Rose, is suffering her last days, gripped by the disease that will claim everyone when their time is up.

Rhine vows to escape and somehow get back to her brother, but with locked windows, and stuck on one floor of the mansion, Rhine must earn Linden’s trust if she is to break free from her cage.

The character of Rhine leapt off the page for me, her fears becoming mine and her entrapment making me feel claustrophobic. Her interaction with Gabriel, an attendant in the mansion, brings the small bit of light into her world of darkness.

A new dystopian series, Wither is sure to be an absolute hit. With shocking content and disturbing view of the future, the author pushes the limit yet also keeps the characters and events startling real. I for one cannot wait for the sequel. 

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