Fashionably Dead - Robin Peterman (Hot Damned Series #1)

Fashionably Dead is the first in a series of fantasy books called Hot Damned Series by Robin Peterman.

Astrid wakes up to find she has been turned into a vampire. Her world is suddenly manic and completely off the wall. She is now in the reliable hands of an angel called Pam who is the image of Oprah but with a serial liking for profanity and a fighting coach fairy called The Kev who is a dead-ringer for Arnold Schwartzenegger, speedos and all. Along with her best friend Gemma, these characters support and guide Astrid through the tumultuous times after her change. 

I really can't make my mind up about this book. The fashion references and Astrid's propensity for all things Prada are at times funny but sometimes annoyingly out of place in the setting. At times the writing was laugh out loud funny, particularly any dialogue including Pam, the angel who has the filthiest turn of phrase, and then other times I found myself skipping through mystifyingly boring bits! The basis of the story is very amusing and the style in which Robyn Peterman writes is in equal measure funny and quirky but something just didn't click for me so I cannot say I really loved it. Having said that, I can see how it has wide appeal and has received such high ratings.

8.5/10

Black Swan Rising – Lee Carroll

Garet James is no ordinary woman, but, when the book begins, she doesn’t know that yet! Even though she has a thriving jewellery-making business she has financial troubles of her own. With an aging father to look after and his art gallery business under threat she is worried that they may lose their home which also doubles as their business premises.

As she is heading back from a meeting with her bank manager, she stumbles across an old jewellery shop which she hasn’t noticed before. Trying to escape a sudden downpour she steps inside the shop and is immediately drawn to an old silver jewellery box. There is something very special about this box which seems to shimmer under her touch. The shopkeeper seems to know of Garet’s talent of working with silver and gold and asks her if she can open the box as it has been somehow soldered shut. Not an easy task to perform and keep the intricate work on the box intact but with the offer of $1000 from the shopkeeper, she takes on the challenge. She heads home with the box and takes it to her workshop where she begins on opening the seal.

That is when her life changes forever.

I first read this book when it was newly published in 2010 and loved it. Having just re-read it, I fell in love with it all over again. It is a fantastical tale of magic, fairies, vampires and a centuries-old love affair. Garet James is the latest in a long line of female protectors of humankind, it’s just that she has no idea about her powers or her heritage as her mother died before she could tell her the truth. So in Black Swan Rising, Garet makes the journey of finding out about herself and her ancestors’ story without the guidance of her mother’s wisdom and experience and she takes the reader along with her too. She does have some help along the way as Oberon, King of the Fairies, makes an appearance and leads her through various challenges to help her realise who she really is.

This is the first book in a trilogy which chronicle the tale of the Black Swan. The second book, Watchtower was published in 2011 and the final book, Shape Stealer, is to be published in March this year. I can hardly wait to read it!

If you love a fantastic story filled with magic and a tale of the age old battle of good versus evil, then pick up these books. You will not be sorry.

9.8/10

It's a Kind of Magic and For Better, For Worse - Carole Matthews

Carole Matthews is one of my favourite authors. Her work is funny, charming, often fairytale-like and reading her books always cheers me up. Thanks to the great review of It's a Kind of Magic from the lovely Dot at Dot Scribbles, I wanted to re-read a couple of Carole's books again and so I did.

It's a Kind of Magic is a fairy tale, quite literally!




Emma and Leo have been an item for five years. They are constantly breaking up and getting back together again, usually because of Leo's unreliablity especially when he teams up with his two best friends, Grant and Lard. When Leo turns up for Emma's thritieth birthday dinner a couple of hours late, drunk and dishevelled after being with his mates, Emma can't help but wish that things were different and Leo would change. Of course, they fall out again and Leo heads home alone, too drunk to drive, so he walks.

As he is passing over Tower Bridge Leo meets the beautiful Isobel and he instantly falls under her spell, which is only to be expected as she is a fairy and has chosen Leo to be her human mate. Leo is bewitched with her from that moment on, but, all the time he thinks of Emma and what she means to him. Emma notices how Leo is changing before her very eyes. She realises that at her insistence Leo has moved on and has met Isobel and Emma doesn't like it one bit. If she is to win Leo back she must do some things that are out of character for her and so she begins to change herself. The results are very amusing and the tale takes on a couple of surprising turns.

This is a magical tale of love and change and friendship. My favourite parts of the book are centred around the dialogue especially that between Leo, Grant and Lard. I just adore their banter and Carole Matthews writes this extremely well.

If you want to escape the real world for a few hours and sample some magic then I would highly recommend you pick up this book.

9/10

For Better, For Worse.



Josie Flynn has just signed her divorce papers after being married to Damien for five years. The day after, she heads off to New York to be bridesmaid at her cousin, Martha's, wedding. It is with some trepidation that she sets off as this is the first time she has travelled alone on such a journey. She finally takes her seat on the plane and finds herself sitting next to Matt Jarvis who is a music journalist and also a nervous flyer. He orders a couple of stiff drinks after take- off and soon he and Josie fall into easy conversation despite her mother’s warning not to speak to strange men on the flight. She doesn’t think that Matt is strange at all and as they get to know each other better, it transpires that Matt is also recently divorced. After they swap divorce horrors and in spite of Josie’s good intentions to arrive in New York sober and hydrated, she ends up joining Matt in a few stiff drinks, too.

They arrive in New York very drunk and much the worse for wear and have a plan to meet up again later to visit the Statue of Liberty together. They have a wonderful time and agree to meet up for dinner later that evening. Unfortunately, Matt arrives one and a half hours late having been waylaid by the pop group he has come to New York to interview. They literally pass each other on the street, but, fail to see each other.

The rest of the story revolves around Matt trying desperately to find Josie again and of course, Josie’s cousin’s wedding. As always with Carole Matthews writing there are some laugh out loud moments and some great dialogue. At the same time she touches upon some serious topics such as fidelity, growing up, grief and family ties in this book. In spite of this For Better, For Worse is a great read and very entertaining.

9.5/10