Since we last spoke I have been very busy reading both "real" books and ebooks on my Kindle.
Yes! It is true. A Kindle found it's way to me (via my lovely brother who thought I should have one for my birthday) and even though I expected it to be an unlikely outcome, I have actually enjoyed searching for books and using it. So far I have read 21 books, have one filed in a collection called "Unfinished" (for obvious reasons) and have 46 more waiting in the TBR pile.......
The type of books I have chosen to download onto the Kindle are quite different, in terms of genre, from books I would buy from a book shop. I have surprised myself, truth beknown.
So, onto reviews. I will be posting over the next few months about all the real books and ebooks I have read since we last chatted. Some of the real books I have read are in the photo below. Oh yes! I have also read 6 Marian Keyes, tonnes of Alexander McCall Smith and lots of M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series which are not included in this photo.
Do you use a Kindle?
What is your experience downloading titles?
Staying at Daisy’s - Jill Mansell (paper book)
Other than “Rumour Has It”, “Staying at Daisy’s” is the only other Jill Mansell book I have read. I wasn’t overly impressed with Rumour has It, primarily because I found it to be too formulated and predictable. Even though predictability is quite usual in most light romance books and generally speaking we all know the main characters will all live happily ever after, this one was just a little too tidy to entertain me and the main female character, Tilly, was a little annoying at times. However, when I picked up Staying at Daisy’s and read the blurb on the back cover I thought I should give it a try. I always believe in giving something a second chance (restaurants, bars, books, authors, cities, airlines, etc. etc) especially if first time round they didn’t impress too much – working on the premise that it may have just been a bad day, or the chef’s day off or jet lag, I will usually go back for seconds! So, I was rather pleased I did this with Jill Mansell’s work as I really enjoyed Staying at Daisy’s
Daisy MacLean runs the country house hotel, owned by her father, Hector. He is a larger than life character and loves to entertain his guests by singing and dancing and getting them to do the same. He has a well-kept, long standing secret, as do many of the characters in this story. History affects the current plot significantly and all of the main characters are wrapped up in interconnected intrigue which leads them to be embroiled in each other’s lives in unusual and unexpected ways.
Without giving any of the plot away at all, the reason this book was so enjoyable for me was entirely because of the characters. With the exception of Dominic and Annabel’s sister, Jeannie, I liked them all, including Annabel herself. I even liked the dog, Clarissa!!
If you want to be entertained by interesting, likable characters who are not perfect but seem real, then I wholeheartedly recommend to sneak between the covers of Staying at Daisy’s.
9.5/10
Bubba and The Dead Woman – C. L. Bevill
This was the first C.L. Bevill ebook I read. The main reason I downloaded it for my Kindle was that I was quite taken with the blurb, encouraged by the reviews on Amazon.com and it was free! I also liked the fact that it was set in a small town in East Texas and had a main character called Bubba Snoddy. We find out very early on that Bubba used to be in the military and stands at 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 250 pounds and is a gentle giant. He is smart and patient in that “Southern Hospitality” way and finds himself in all kinds of trouble in this story, through no fault of his own.
Having lived in mid-south USA for several years myself, when I read anything set in the south I can hear those southern accents as I read the dialogue. This book was no exception and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so that I will definitely BUY the next ebook in the series, just to see what happens to Bubba next. I liked C.L. Bevill’s writing style and as a result of reading this book I searched for more of her work, which I also found on Amazon.
So back to Bubba and The Dead Woman. Bubba is a mechanic at Bufford’s Gas and Grocery Store which is owned by a mean man called George Bufford who is currently off gallivanting with his secretary in the Bahamas whilst his wife is taking care of the store at home. When we first join Bubba he is on the phone to a very disgruntled Bufford employee who should have been working that night with Bubba, but, for some reason is resigning over the phone. Because of this and as it is Mrs Bufford’s night off, Bubba ends up being the only employee working at Bufford’s for the whole of the night shift. When he gets home from work the next morning he finds a dead woman lying head first in the long weeds at the side of the caretakers house, which is where Bubba lives. Things get more complicated from there and before you know it Bubba is in the thick of a mystery that involves confederate bullion and the long arm of the law.
This was an adorable book to read, I loved every minute of it and really grew fond of Bubba, his dog, Precious and his mother, Miz Demetrice. The characters were very reminiscent of many people I met whilst living in mid-South USA and the way the small town picture is painted is indeed accurate, as I recall it. If you want to be entertained and smile for a few hours then read this book. It is free on Amazon.com and is an absolute treat.
9.5/10
Have you read either of these books? What are your thoughts?
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