Is there ever such a thing as too many books? I don’t think there are too many books to read, but there can definitely be too many to review. Often I’m sent books and, with an already sagging review shelf, these unsolicited books often end being overlooked – I just can’t fit them in to my schedule. Sunday Shout-Out aims to acknowledge these books and the publishers who have sent them to me.
Sunday Shout-Out is a bookish meme hosted by Monique of Write Note Reviews. If you’re a book blogger and you want to join in, just:
1. Gabriel’s Redemption by Sylvian Reynaud (fiction RRP $17.99) – published by Penguin
From the author of the New York Times bestsellers Gabriel’s Rapture and Gabriel’s Inferno comes the epic conclusion to this captivating romantic trilogy. Professor Gabriel Emerson has left his position at the University of Toronto to embark on a new life with his beloved Julianne. Together, he’s confident that they can face any challenge. And he’s eager to become a father. But Julianne’s graduate program threatens Gabriel’s plans, as the pressures of being a student become all-consuming. When she is given the honor of presenting an academic lecture at Oxford, Gabriel is forced to confront Julianne about the subject of her presentation – research that conflicts with his own. And while there, several individuals from their past appear, including an old nemesis intent on humiliating Julianne and exposing one of Gabriel’s darkest secrets. In an effort to confront his remaining demons, Gabriel begins a quest to discover more about his biological parents, sparking a chain of events that has startling repercussions for himself, Julianne, and his hope of having a family.
I haven’t read the first two books in this erotic fiction series and I’m not really fussed if I do or not, so I won’t be reviewing this book. I’ve got too many others to review that aren’t part of a series. A quick look at Goodreads shows the first two books have split reviews – it seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it series, much like 50 Shades of Grey. What about you? Are you a Sylvian Reynaud fan? Why?
2. The October List by Jeffrey Deaver (fiction RRP $32.99) – published by Hodder & Stoughton
Gabriela is sitting in an apartment in Manhattan, watching the clock. Her daughter has been kidnapped, she’s shot and killed a man, she is trying to evade the police and negotiate with the kidnapper, a stone-cold killer. He wants the October List, and he wants money. The doorbell rings… That is the end of Gabriela’s story, and the first chapter of this extraordinary novel by the world’s best thriller writer Jeffery Deaver. The next chapter is the scene which came before, and what follows is the what happened before that. Deaver’s breathtakingly clever new thriller is guaranteed to keep you gripped to the final page – where you find out the beginning…
Starting with the end first is a bold move for any writer and it’s bound to be polarising for readers – a quick look at Goodreads shows pretty divided views. As a writing technique it’s clever and keeps readers on their toes, constantly reorganising the facts in their mind, but I just couldn’t get into it. I tried. I found the reversal of time to be irritating and it ended up putting me off. To be fair, I really just wanted to read and escape a bit, and this book just wasn’t right for that mood. For Deaver fans, and those wanting a thriller that’s twisted in more than just the plot, I’d say go for it, but I don’t think it will work for everyone.
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What do you think? Which of these books would you read?
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