Reading with Chuckles #40

Welcome to Reading with Chuckles! This is where I fill you in on what I'm reading each week-what it is, where I got it or heard about it, what I think of it, if I'm continuing with it or abandoning it and any special offers I'm aware of where you can try the book yourself. Comments are welcome but no spoilers please! It's not fair to other readers!

Erk! It's been a while since I did one of these posts so I'm only going to share a selection of what I've read this month. I'm hoping to be more organised over the summer and back to regular daily blogging. Real life does get in the way though! 

Book Review: Fear The Light by William Massa

Who Murdered Dracula?

Many had tried to kill the Count over the centuries. All had failed. Until now...

Eight vampires gather at their maker's castle to solve the mystery of who killed Dracula. But as the sun rises outside the chateau, a voice cries out and another vampire is slain. Trapped inside their master's lair, the sun burning bright outside, Dracula's children realize that they have met their match - a formidable killer who plans on picking them off one by one! As the daylight reigns and their numbers dwindle, a dark suspicion grows - could the killer be hiding in plain sight?

My Review:
Who killed Dracula? That is the question that his clan have been brought to his Paris estate to discuss and investigate. With little time to talk before the sun comes up, they agree to meet when darkness falls to start investigating. When the others are awoken to a death scream just hours later, they realise that Dracula's killer is inside the house and the sun cuts off any chance of escape. Now they must solve the mystery and outwit the killer by staying alive until dark...

I really enjoyed this book and devoured it in one night. It gets straight into the story as we follow Vincent who refuses to feed on humans or have anything to do with the clan, being forced to join the others in Paris. They are all children of Dracula, turned through the ages, with different views on what their Master was. Is it one of them who killed Dracula or is there another unknown enemy hiding in the castle? It's like one of those old murder mysteries you see on Sunday TV where the suspects all gather and point the finger at each other. Then the killer starts to take them out one by one, using their vampire weaknesses against them.

I liked seeing the vampires vulnerable and scared, trapped inside by the sun and not knowing who to trust. These are killers at the top of the food chain who are used to hunting and now THEY are the weak prey being hunted. They cannot go into the sun and are trapped in the castle with an enemy who seems to anticipate their every move. The author had me thinking about everything that was said or done, trying to find that clue as to who was the killer. It was fun! To start with I had two suspects in mind but they died quickly so that ended that! But I did pick up on a couple of clues and guessed who was responsible by just after halfway through the book. That was very satisfying!

I liked the clever ways that each vampire met their death, just like a good horror film. There was enough tension as they try to find a way to escape the castle and evade the traps set for them. I also felt as if I was rooting for a couple of the vampires to escape but hoping others would die, based on the characters that I liked. I also liked the addition of the two human hostages being held by the vampires as their story and involvement was intriguing!

There were twists and turns and the book moved along at a fast pace which I liked. There is no slowing of the action from the minute they arrive at the castle and something is always happening. It was a good thriller that non horror fans can enjoy as it is not graphic in the death scenes for the most part. I would certainly read more by this author in the future.

Stacking the Shelves #89

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! Click on the link under the book to find its page on Goodreads or Smashwords. 

Please note that I always leave a message on your STS/SP if you visit me, but if you use DISQUS or a similar third party I will not be able to leave a comment on your page. And sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress so you might get a double message sometimes! Blame them, not me!

          

This has been quite a productive week. I've launched my new reading challenge-to get over 100 books off the tbr by the end of the year-or as near as possible anyway! I'm off to a decent start with 8 completed novellas/short stories and 3 or 4 abandoned books. Nice! I'll be posting updates about my progress on a blog post after the weekend. So things are good on the reading front PLUS I've showed suitable restraint in book buying so it's another small haul for me this week. If I can keep this up I might hit my book targets! 

DOWNLOADS:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25156064-two-tales-of-the-iron-druid-chronicles 

BOUGHT PAPERBACKS:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23211040-dog-with-a-bone

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2010857.Forty_Years_of_Coronation_Street

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10023209-coronation-street-the-novel

FOLLOW ME:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3426724-chucklesthescot
https://twitter.com/chucklesthescot
https://uk.pinterest.com/chucklesthescot/

Chuckles Corrie Mania #4

Welcome to Chuckles Corrie Mania! I watched Coronation Street all through the late 70's, 80's and early 90's but lost touch with it by 1999 due to work. So discovering that kind Corrie viewers have uploaded a ton of classic episodes on YouTube was great! I've spent two years gathering as many as I can, ready to get watching, and as I work my way through them, I'll be reviewing what I watch and sharing my thoughts. Would love to hear the thoughts on these episodes from other fans.

Thank you to Auntie Corrie(1976-1994), Mr Magister(1961,1995-2000), Classicsoap(2001+), CLKfanvideos(2006,2010,2011), corriestuff(various), OZZY45100(1960's, 1970's), FullEps(2009), XCorrieClassicsX(2006-2009), albiondean(2012-present), Sevin Alsoylar(2006,2011), Soap Fan 2013(various), JonathanOpenshaw(various) and everyone else who has supplied episodes online.

I have now reviewed the 8 episodes that featured in the 1960 section of the dvd box set. The next 8 episodes were screened on Granada Plus and can all be found on YouTube. I'm starting to review those episodes here.

Episode 9: January 6th 1961
Lucille packs to go back to the Orphanage and Harry asks Concepta out on a date. Frank is furious that Ken is receiving political mail at the house and threatens to kick him out of the house if he goes on the protest march with Susan. An insurance man investigates May's death to Christine's dismay. Ena and Martha are still not talking and Elsie (right) gets a visit at the shop from Norah to pester her about the divorce.

Ken is so annoying in this episode, looking down his note at his dad again and refusing to accept than anything other than his opinion is correct. You really do want to give him a slap! I love watching Elsie in a temper and the fued with Ena and Martha was amusing. It reminds me of those childhood fights with your best friend!

Episode 10: January 11th 1961
Frank is furious at Ken for defying him while Ida is worried that Ken might be moving out. Elsie is furious at Ena spreading rumours about her and decides to take action. Christine is getting worried about money when her rent goes up. Harry and Concepta (left) go on a date and Elsie's warning about slander appears in the paper.

It's really strange to see a cheerful version of Albert in this early episodes, making him a much nicer character. I'm still not warming to Christine and Ken is still getting on my nerves. The fun part was Elsie in a foul mood about the gossip.

Episode 11: January 13th 1961

The milkman can't get an answer from Albert (right) so he, Ken and David break the door down. The doctor wants him to go and live with his daughter Beattie but Albert refuses. The plumber's mate Joe Makinson feels sorry for Christine when she can't pay the bill so he takes it away to check for a mistake, giving her more time. Linda leaves after a fight with Dennis. Elsie lays into Ena in the pub over the gossip and Concepta is not impressed with Harry's drunkeness on their date.

Ena was so funny in this episode, loudly exclaiming how sad it was that someone was abusing the wonderful Mrs Tanner...when it was her all along! As always, her fights with Elsie are so well acted.

Episode 12: January 18th 1961
The insurance refuse to pay Christine what she expected to get because May witheld information about her mental illness to get the policy. Frank tells Ida (left) that it should be Beattie who looks after Albert, not her. Elsie agrees to give Arnold his divorce when he tells her that he knows about her affair with Steve Tanner. An embarrassed Harry apologizes to Concepta. Ena and Martha make up.

There is less action in these older episodes but there is humour and a lot of good acting. I can see why so many people became hooked on the series.

Book Review: Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega #0.5)

Alpha and Omega 0.5 by Patricia Briggs
The werewolf Anna finds a new sense of self when the son of the werewolf king comes to town to quell unrest in the Chicago pack- and inspires a power in Anna that she's never felt before.

Inhuman by Eileen Wilks
Kai has a secret gift of sensing thoughts and desires. What she senses in her neighbor Nathan could be dangerous. Because he has a secret gift, too, and it's about to be let loose.

Buying Trouble by Karen Chance
In a New York auction house, a Lord of the Fey crosses paths with a fiery redheaded mage named Claire. But in this strange underground society, the rarity up for sale is Claire herself.

Mona Lisa Betwining by Sunny
Among the children of the moon, Mona Lisa is of Mixed Blood- part Monere, part human, and destined to be alone. Then she meets a man who could be her salvation- or her downfall.

My Review:
I picked up this anthology years ago to read the Alpha and Omega short story. I had just got into the Mercy Thompson series and decided to read the start of the spin off series. I didn't like it as I didn't know the characters and I lost interest in the entire series. This week, many years later, I decided to give it a second chance. The reason? Well, having read all the Mercy books so far, I now know a lot more about Bran's pack and figured that I'd now be more interested in reading about them. Last night I re-read this short story-and loved it! So it WAS a good idea to give it a second try!

Anna sees a report in a newspaper about a missing boy-who she saw locked in a cage at the house of Leo, her abusive Alpha. Despire her fear of Bran, the ruler of the werewolves, she reports it to him. He is sending his son Charles, his executioner, to investigate a few things that are wrong with Leo's pack and asks Anna to meet Charles so he can offer his protection to her. There is an attraction between them as Charles discovers his wolf wants her as a mate and she is a rare Omega werewolf, a calming influence on other werewolves.

There was a lot to like in this story. Anna is abused, damaged, knows little about the werewolf rules, changed against her will and raped by various pack members. Her life has been miserable and she finally sees that there may be a better life on offer away from Leo if Charles wants her as a mate. Anna is a sad character that you can instantly feel sorry for, and you want those that hurt her to be punished. As an MC she is able to carry the story well.

Charles is very much an Alpha, with dominant personality and striking looks. I already found him intriguing from what he hear about him in the other series. Perhaps I carry the same werewolf gene as Charles because, like him, I get irritated by people in crowded places! I hate shopping and anywhere with rude people pushing into me and being loud! So I had sympathy for Charles from the very start. I like the way he is determined to put the bad wolves in their place and protect Anna from them.

So, Charles has to find out why all the females in the pack except Leo's mate are dead-except Anna and why a lot of older wolves in the pack are also gone. I'm not going to spoil the plot by saying what he uncovers but it was a good plot twist, and it explains the brutal treatment of Anna. It was a twist that had me changing my mind about a few of the characters in the book.

Enjoyable read and I will certainly be going on to read the first full book in the series to see what happens next.

NB I did not read the other three books in the anthology.