The Lies of Locke Lamora - could have been so much more!

In the dark and dangerous city of Camorr, Locke Lamora is a young orphan being trained in the art of thievery. A quick study, he soon outshines all around him and after a few years ends up as the head of the Gentleman Bastards, a supremely accomplished gang of con artists who start to build a legendary reputation. Like all the other thieves in Camorr, they must pay their dues to Capa Barsavi, the criminal mastermind who runs the city. During a particularly lucrative con, Locke's world is turned upside down by the appearance of The Grey King and his Bonds Mage sidekick, an almost mythical duo who are intent on bringing Capa Barsavi down with magic and violence. When Locke himself is out-conned, it seems that there is no escape for him or his gang of cohorts. The Lies of Locke Lamora is a book that has great characters and a great premise. The description of the life and times of Camera are truly visceral. However, it is not a book for those of a delicate constitution. Not only is there is an amazing amount of violence, which lingers in the mind, but the explicit (and far from original) language used throughout was real turn off for me. I felt that the author, Scott Lynch used the f-word so much that it actually got in the way of the story. This is a shame as there are parts of the book that I really enjoyed and, at it's core, it's a real romp that carries you along to a satisfactory end, but still leaves the door open for the next book in the series. However, I'm not sure I loved it enough to see past the language to spend more time in Locke's world.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 544 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.99.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Body Surfing - an understated emotional journey

Twenty-nine year old Sydney has not been lucky in love. Her first marriage ended in divorce, and then her second was brought to an abrupt end by the death of her surgeon husband. Two years down the line, she is slowly putting the pieces back together, and assuming that she had already had her share of love. She finds herself in the employ of the Edwards, who want her to tutor their teenage daughter, Julie, during the summer at their beach house. She forms a close bond with Julie and her father, but Mrs Edwards remains cold and distant. Enter Julie's brothers. Within a very short period of time, one of them seduces Sydney and shortly afterwards, proposes marriage. This causes a rift within the family and what should have been the blossoming of a happy ever after for Sydney starts to drift into melancholic shadows. Author Anita Shreve has woven a deceptively tender tale of a woman who, despite what the world has thrown at her, still opens herself up to the possibility of love and the closeness it can bring to a fellow human being. Body Surfing is certainly not a book for anyone that wants their drama full of big action scenes and fist fights. It is more understated and subtle, and feels much more real as a result. There is so much that is not said, but which becomes more and more obvious to the reader as you follow Sydney over the course of a year. I haven't read a book like this in a while and I wasn't sure about it to start off with, as I thought there wasn't really much going on, but I'm really pleased that I stuck with it. A satisfying book that worms its way slowly, but surely, into your consciousness and hangs around after you have turned the last page.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 264 print pages.
Price I paid: 50p.
Formats available: print; audio CD; ebook.

William Walker's First Year Of Marriage - a fun read

On my beloved Kindle, I have many, MANY e-books that I have purchased over the last few years ... when I say purchased, a very high proportion of these books were, in fact, free, or ridiculously cheap. This is a very attractive propostition when you are on a budget! And so, that's how come William Walker's First Year Of Marriage fell into my lap. This book does exactly what it says on the tin in that it takes you month by month through William's first 12 months with his beloved wife Isobel. Things do not go smoothly, starting with the honeymoon itself. This cautionary tale highlights the huge importance of proper communication and trust between couples, as well as making sure that when things do go awry, you don't let things get out of hand beyond the point of no return. William gets deeper and deeper into trouble by not wanting to tell Isobel about stuff that he thinks will upset her, but of course, it all goes wrong and he inevitably ends up upsetting her even more. A wedge starts to develop between them over Isobel's best friend, Alex, who keeps turning up at the most inopportune moments. William is convinced he has a hidden agenda to oust him. Into this mix comes an old flame of William's, who is a tad bonkers in the bunny boiling meaning of the word. Can he convince his young wife that she is and always will be the only girl for him before it's too late. There is much to admire about this book by Matt Rudd, who honed his craft on The Sunday Times. It is so easy to read, set out like a diary, and is very funny in places. There may not be much that is too original, but the result is hugely entertaining and worth the trip.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 304 print pages.
Price I paid: 49p.
Formats available: print; ebook.