It has been a month since i last read and very quickly reviewed the book "The Firebird" by Susanna Kearsley. In the days passed, i had made 2 other trips to the National library to snatch up whatever book of hers I could find. With great glee, i managed to lay my hands on 5 of them and took my time to savor them. The last of the lot was Sophia's Secret (also named as Winter Sea). To my utmost surprise and delight, it was one of the best books i read from the author, and upon finishing it, went on to read it another time around!! And to get even more from the book, i went online to read other reviews to see whether the book was similarly enjoyed by other readers.

Throughout the book, the names of the characters were strangely familiar sounding but i thought little of it, since i recognized it as a common theme of Susanna Kearsely, the English/Scottish history she is so expert in. But i was utterly surprised to discover online that this last book i read, Sophia's Secret (SS) is actually the "prequel" to the first book i read of hers, The Firebird (FB)!!!!! Oh my! To say the least, i am more fired up now than ever, to return to the library and try to borrow the latter book again and rehash the pleasure of reading it again and reuniting the characters, all to wondrous finale in my mind!!! This is truly an unexpected bonus and one that is surreal, much like the theme of the books i am reading! Haha, i do believe the magical dust of the books has rubbed off on me!

So, my dear friends, once again, i am inept in reviewing these books but still repetitive in asking you to head out to the library to try to find this series from this talented author and get started on this journey like i did. If you do managed to read them, may i suggest that you start with SS, followed by FB and any other books of hers in between! Do drop a line of comment here or you can pm me if you share my excitement or not so. Either way, i look forward to any of your feedback!

Jen

Excellent Read! - The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

In the depths of my heart, i have a secret wish to be a writer! I have a dream that one day, maybe at "retirement", i shall sit myself down and write meself a novel! When i was younger, it was bound to be a romance! But as i grow older (yieks!), i tell myself that it must surely be something that has more depth, more substance - maybe a suspenseful drama, a reflective journal, a historical mystery.... to say the least, i have very little idea of what i would actually write, but it is still my dream!

I was reminded of this dream when i was reading this novel,  and was reminded again the enormousness (i checked, there IS such an adjective) of this dream, the task of writing a book. I was filled with awe as i turned the pages of this book, the multi facets of the story, the parallel dimensions of 2 stories in one book both captured my imagination and my mind! It was so informative as well as fantastical that i was swung from pleasure to pleasure. There is so much research that the writer had to do, discipline to alternate between two plots, linguistic prowess for English and its dialects  to weave such a wonderous tale of love, history, personal journey and discovery! In short, i was humbled, it will be a dream that will require more than mere wishing to fulfill!

Pardon all my musing and allow me now to share the joy of reading this book. The story revolves around 2 women from two different times, Nicola who has psychic powers and Anna, who has to escape and survive at a young age to preserve a family heritage. Both women have a past to deal with and a future to prepare for and while we view through Nicola's eyes, the life of Anna with her growth and struggles, we are still fully aware that Nicola is not insulated from the realities of her own life! It is like watching a movie of a girl watching a movie, we read and "watch" 2 life stories at one go! So addicted and spellbound i was, i took a day and a half to finish the whole book! It is certainly highly recommended and i would love to hear any comments from anyone who have the same pleasure of reading it too.

I know that I am lacking in reviewing this book in good detail but i do beseech you people out there, if you are at a loss of what to read, this is definitely the book to plug your need. The plot is clever in managing between two lives, two timelines, informative in telling the history of early Europe and suspenseful in leading the reader through the many peaks and intrigues of her characters. Read and truly enjoy!

Fresh Fiction reviewed "An imaginatively captivating trip through time."
Historical Novels Review : "Romantic, passionate and bittersweet, this intelligent, tension-laden story will sweep you away."

Jen

Suspenseful Read: The 39 Clues series by various authors

Hi guys! I know we've not been posting a lot (sorry for that) but we've been really busy these days, my sis has been preparing for this big major exam this year & my mum has been helping her prepare. I've been also studying for my Common Tests & End-of-Year exams these past few months. So I hope you all understand & apologises for being MIA for a while. Anyway, I've told them to post whenever they have time & since now it's the school holidays, we'll have more time on our hands to read & review books. So you guys may expect an entry by my sis or mum coming up soon!

Moving on, the book (or rather series) I'm recommending today is The 39 Clues series. This series is written by different authors and consists of 11 books (in the picture, book 1 is the last book while book 11 is the first one). The series mainly surround the plot of orphan siblings Amy & Dan Cahill, along with their au pair Nellie Gomez, competing against their distant relatives on a hunt for 39 Clues around the world to become the greatest Cahill in history. How did this whole thing start off? Before Amy & Dan's beloved grandma Grace passed away, she set up a challenge for all the Cahills; to take 1 million dollars or take the first Clue & start the hunt for the rest. At her funeral, this challenge is relayed to all the relatives through Grace's lawyer. Amy & Dan decide to take up the challenge, along with other fame-hungry relatives as well. From then on, they travel around the world, looking for clues based on historical figures that were apparently part of this influential Cahill family. It may seem a little complicated now so read the first book, Maze of Bones, to find out more!

Some background on the Cahills: there are 5 branches of the Cahill family; Lucians, Tomas, Ekaterinas (or Ekats), Janus & the most powerful and mysterious one, Madrigals. Each Cahill has a special characteristic that identifies what branch they're from, for example, the Janus are usually talented in the arts, having historical figures like Mozart in their branch. All the branches are at loggerheads with each other, leading to the fierce competition that Amy & Dan face during the hunt from their relatives, who use their individual skills & tactics to trick each other & get ahead in the hunt.

This book is so full of suspense & adventure that it is such an exciting read. You never know which scheming relative will come out & trick Amy & Dan during the hunt. There are also so many mysterious characters that you don't know who is good or bad. This is why I usually borrow 3-4 of these books from the library at one go so I can immediately move on to the next book & find out what comes next! I finished reading book 10 & can't wait to finish the series with book 11! For all those who like adventure & a little bit of history while using your brain to figure out the meanings behind the Clues, this is THE book for you. Once you start reading, you'll find it hard to stop!

Another interesting thing I found out about these books recently: When reading book 8, I noticed certain words or sections of a word were circled (not in pen, in the printing). If you combine all the circled words, it forms a message! How cool is that? Books 9 & 10 have symbols at the page number margins & the "guide" to decoding the coded message is somewhere in the book (for these 2 books, they were at the page with the publishing info at the start of the book & the blank pages at the end of the book). Go ahead & read the other books in the series & have fun decoding the messages!

From what I hear, there's gonna be a movie of the book coming out probably in 2014 so I'm especially excited for it. Also, after reading this series, you can check out another series, Cahills vs Vespers, about the Cahills' greatest enemy, the Vespers and there's even a new series coming up soon this October, Unstoppable, so there's a lot in stall for 39 Clues. Definitely go & check out this series & hope to hear your views on the books soon. Again, if you have any books you want us to review, please drop us a comment or email us at bookpicks4all@gmail.com. We'll be happy to hear from you! Happy reading!

Lydia