ARC Review: The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

Title: The Book of Life
Author: Deborah Harkness
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Headline
Published: July 15th 2014
Page Number: 592

Summary:

 

After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

 

I met Deborah:

 

The lovely, Caitlin from Headline Publicity was nice enough to invite me to attend the Publication event for The Book of Life. It was on the 4th July. I had such a great time at the even. I fangirled with other bloggers about the book and we all got a bit tipsy (Some didn't.) Then we had a Q&A with Deborah where she answered some great questions and to end the night there was a raffle with some awesome prizes. Everyone that attended took home a Glamour gift bag and a signed copy of The Book of Life.

 

 

 

 

Review:

 

I must say this is going to be one of the hardest reviews to write, because this is the conclusion to the trilogy. However, there will be spoilers in the spoilers section.

 

Now if anyone knows me, A Discovery of Witches, which is the first book in this trilogy is one of my all time favourite books. This is one of my all time favourite series. It's addictive. However, this one wasn't my favourite of all three books. And that's why my star rating is undecided because I can't decide between a 4 Stars or a 5 Stars.

 

Like always, I loved most things about this book. The characters are some of my favourite and there was also some characters who appeared and shocked me. It gave me nostalgia feelings, like I was meeting them all over again. Which I kind of was, only they were older. Diana and Mathew are so perfect for each other, but I wanted a bit more Marcus and Phoebe in this book. We got a little, but not enough.

 

As a conclusion, I thought it was done very well. Not every trilogy can end as good as this one. Look at The Hunger Games, that ending was a hot mess. However, Deborah really gave the readers what they wanted and I feel like I can place it away and feel happy with it. But I still want something more from this series. It can't end just yet. I'd like some novellas or something in other characters POV's. Talking about POV's those were very annoying in this book. It constantly changed and I got confused who I was actually reading from until a two of three pages of their POV starting.

 

Another thing I didn't like about this book was the action. Some of the fighting scenes were great and kept my attention. Not all of them did. Especially the last action scene. I kind of got bored with it and felt like Deborah killed specific people off, just because.....

 

However, I still loved it.

 

 

 



 

ARC Review: Make You Mine by Macy Beckett

   Book Name: Make You Mine
   Author: Macy Beckett
   UK Release Date: 6th May 2014
   UK Publishers: Headline Eternal
   Summary:

For ninety-nine years, every man in the Dumont family has remained a perpetual bachelor. Residents of Cedar Bayou, Louisiana, whisper about a voodoo hex cast upon the family, sabotaging each man’s chance at marriage. In truth, the Dumont men have their own player personalities to blame, and Marc is no exception. As captain of his family’s riverboat, he’s broken hearts up and down the Mississippi. That is, until his high school crush strolls on-board…

Allie Mauvais rocks the boat when she fills in as his pastry chef. She hasn’t seen Marc since senior year, when rumors flew that her great-great-grandmother was the one who cursed the Dumonts. After two weeks on the water, neither can deny the attraction that still burns between them. But to truly reach Marc’s heart, Allie must show him that the hex is all in his head and it’ll take more than her mouthwatering sweets to prove it. Will Allie’s love be enough to finally make Marc hers?

 

Praise for Macy Beckett:

 



"Beckett (Sultry with a Twist) begins her Dumont Bachelors series with this pleasant story of a riverboat captain and the pastry chef who captures his heart. Marc Dumont has been attracted to Allie Mauvais since their high school years in tiny Cedar Bayou, La. Trouble is, after a Dumont man left Allie’s voodoo-priestess great-great-grandmother at the altar, she cursed the whole family to be unlucky in love. When Marc’s regular pastry chef gets ill immediately before a scheduled voyage, Marc hurriedly hires Allie to sub in the kitchen. Strange episodes ensue, and everyone thinks it’s Allie’s fault—or the curse’s. Still, Marc can’t stay away from her. While the story gets a bit annoying when everyone’s assuming Allie can fry them with her supposed voodoo magic, overall this is a solid tale that portends a likeable series." Publishers Weekly

Review:

I requested this from Bookbridgr (run by Headline Publishing) this does NOT affect my review!

I absolutely loved this book! The characters were very well written, the storyline was fresh with a hint of cliché in there. The romance was very well developed and I loved that it was fast paced and not over the top with sex. Every little thing that happened between Marc and Allie happened for a reason. To Marc it was because of the curse. For Allie it was because it was supposed to happen.

The book was great and I loved that there was a mini side story intertwined into it; Joy and Ryan who found love after going to Allie for advice. Joy learned to live her life the way she wanted, and not the life her parents wanted her to live. Getting a tattoo led to Joy finding her perfect guy; Ryan.

I'm not always a fan of reading books by authors I've never heard of, but I'm glad I discovered this author. Her writing style is simplistic and natural. It flowed very well and I felt like it was very well researched for the surroundings in the story as it was mostly set on the boat, but also set on different islands and I loved that. I was glad there was room for more than the boat. It allowed the story to expand and a lot more drama for the characters.

Overall, I seriously loved this book. And I cannot wait until the second book in this series because this has become a guilty pleasure read. I would highly recommend buying this book because it is beautiful. I gave this a 4/5 Stars!

Quote:

'Like a great new Adult novel only sexier.' Bookbitchreviews.blogSpot.co.uk