You may think this is purely a love story but no, it is not. It is mainly the story of Dolores who is on a quest to find true love, happiness, and her purpose in life. The book starts with Uncle Bill narrating his experiences while in Brazil and also how he met Juanita. Juanita is Dolores’ mother.

There are many characters in this book but I’ll just start with Uncle Bill, as Dolores calls him. He does not have a happy marriage and finds comfort in the arms of Juanita. He believes Juanita is his true love but they cannot be together since he has to return to his promiscuous wife in Australia. Bill also treats Dolores like his own daughter and he’s one of the few people whom she can trust.

When Bill and Juanita separate, Juanita met another man, Jack. At first, Dolores looked up to Jack as a loving father but he has been sexually abusing her without her knowing it because she’s still too young to understand and all. She thought that he’s just being a loving father figure.

One night, Juanita thought that Dolores was trying to steal Jack away from her although Dolores was just actually trying to save her mother from Jack’s cruelty and selfishness. Since then, Dolores wasn’t on good terms with her mother. Her mother was certainly very blind to everything and naive at that time.

Dolores left for Sydney, working as a dancer. But she didn’t stay long at the job. After that, she tried to get herself recruited into modeling agencies but to no avail. Things got so bad and she was absolutely desperate for money until she decided to be a high class prostitute at The Brazil nightclub at Kings Cross. She vowed to save up enough money so that she can return to Brazil to start a brand new life.

Cupid’s arrow struck her when she met Thomas, a famous photographer who thinks that he is not capable of loving a woman. However, she’s unsure if he really likes her or just using her. She’ll just need to wait and see how things go then.

Dolores wrote parts of life down in her diary and she sent a manuscript to Uncle Bill, probably hoping that he’ll write a story of her life. That’s how the story began.

It is an interesting and unique book though there are obvious grammatical errors in it. There are also many events in the story and it gets complicated if you don’t read it properly. Besides that, I think that girls and women should read it as it is a story for women after all. Apparently, An Amazing Story is a partly true story, to what extent I do not know. Is there a real Dolores out there?

All the same, if it is a true story, it’s good that it is written. Maybe it can be a guide for young women who may feel that they have nowhere else to go or have completely given up on love. Dolores’ story is capable of helping women out there.

***Thanks to Carlo Gabbi for providing me a copy of this book!

Other reviews: Faisal

Popularity: 4%

Astro Socks is a brilliantly written book about a young boy who wants to make a pair of socks for his baby sister. Chris is 10 years old and his younger sister is Rachel. One of Rachel’s socks can’t seem to stay on her feet for long. When she’s in her Jolly Jumper and she kicks hard, a sock will fall off. That’s why Chris is determined to find out how to make the perfect pair of socks for her.

Chris is smart as well as inquisitive. He likes to find out how things worked and his parents are proud to have a son like him. They are caring, considerate, and they encourage him to not give up on things easily. Oh, Chris would like to be an inventor one day too.

So, Chris starts his research on how to make socks that’ll stay put on his sister’s feet. He looks up for information on the Internet and finally sends a simple e-mail to a company that makes space suits for astronauts. Little did he know that that e-mail will help make his dream come true, that is becoming an inventor.

This book would be a very good read for children. I like the cover (simple and light) and there are also some cute drawings scattered throughout the book. The drawings were drawn by Leigh’s son and his classmates! This makes the book quite different from the others.

With the book’s simple language, I believe it could help children with their language and vocabulary. Children and adults alike would certainly enjoy reading about Chris and how he tries to solve the sock problem, as Chris appears to be an average and likeable kid. The sock crisis is a new one too. I was eager to find out Chris’ solution to the problem.

Astro Socks is Leigh Le Creux’s first novel. She’s working on her second one too, so open up your eyes and ears for more news!

***I’d like to thank Leigh M. Le Creux for sending me a copy of this book to review!

Popularity: 3%

I know of a story where a vampire is in love with a human but what if the romance is between a vampire and a witch??? Now, that should be a very interesting tale.

Jasmine Tremaine or Jazz, is a 700-year-old witch who was banished from The Academy for Witches many, many years ago and is forced to survive on her own in the big, bad world. So now, she works as a curse eliminator and also as a driver for All Creatures Limo Service during the night. Dweezil is Jazz’s boss in this limo service company.

Jazz’s life is tumultuous. Eliminating curses for people can be quite a tough job, especially when clients don’t pay her but that’s easy because she will only need to bring the curse back to them. Then only they’ll pay her quickly!

Besides that, working as a driver for Dweezil’s company is like a nightmare. One of the customers that she has to drive is Tyge Foulshadow whose farts are absolutely horrendous but since Jazz is a witch, they don’t bother her that much. She hates to drive him, too because she knows that he likes her and she feels uncomfortable around him. Tyge pays in gold bars and Dweezil values him as a very valuable customer. That’s why Jazz still drives him around.

But wait! The excitement isn’t quite over yet. How would you feel if you had a T-Bird car with a ghost in it? Pretty scary, right? Well, Jazz’s ghost is not that scary at all. Irma is/was a heartbroken woman who killed herself in her husband’s car. And now that car belongs to Jazz.

Now, the part I guess you’ve been waiting for. The man, or should I say vampire in Jazz’s life. He is Nikolai Gregorivich or simply Nick. He needs Jazz’s help now to find the bad guy who’s responsible for the disappearances of vampires. The thing is, will she help him? Many years ago, he had put her in jail because he thought that she was a thief! Weird, huh? They’ve already hooked up and broke up lots of times.

What do you think? It is an exciting book, after all. Just check out the cover’s design. I like the cover and I like the feel of the cover. I just like to hold the book, you know. 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover is fun to read, a few twists and turns here and there, and you will like Irma the ghost. You might not like Dweezil or Tyge as they are quite sleazy kind of creatures.

The bad guy’s part is kind of creepy. Well, he has to be creepy, right, since he’s the bad guy? I guess this is not purely a chick lit’s book as chick lit books don’t scare me. Nevertheless, it kept me turning the pages to find out if good triumphs over evil.

By the way, look out for more of Jazz’s adventures in the next book, Hex Appeal! And don’t hesitate to check out my interview with Linda Wisdom!

***Thanks to Danielle Jackson of Sourcebooks for sending me a copy of this book.

Popularity: 4%

A well known book and has gained numerous excellent book reviews though some book bloggers couldn’t finish it. Well, I did complete the book. The language was easy and it was quite a quick read. However, some parts of the book were too deep for me and I’m too tired to understand everything in it. But, never mind, at least I got the gist of it all. After reading, you may want to consider to really follow your dream, like what Santiago did!

The title is The Alchemist but it isn’t wholly about an alchemist. The alchemist only appears halfway through the book. All the while, the story is about a young boy, Santiago, who is in search of some hidden treasure near the pyramids of Egypt. That’s what a gypsy lady told him after she interpreted some dream he had dreamt a few times.

Santiago was a shepherd and understood his sheep but he gave them up so that he could look for the treasure. During his journey, he met several interesting characters who guided him towards his goal. He’s met the gypsy lady, a king who wanted his sheep, a crystal merchant, an English man and many others. He even fell in love with a woman of the desert.

Then, there’s all this stuff about Personal Legend, the Soul of the World, the Language of the World, etc, which is all quite complicated. Perhaps I just wasn’t alert enough to really understand everything. Anyway, there are words of wisdom that one could use through life. It’s kind of like a motivation book. A book that gives hope to the despondent. My favourite part of the book is on page 86 where a camel driver tells Santiago:

Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.

That makes a whole lot of sense, don’t you think? No use worrying about the past or the future. It just won’t bring anyone any good.

If you have read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, then you’d definitely be familiar with the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life. The functions of both items are explained more in this book. So, that part’s quite fascinating.

While reading, I had suspicions that the ‘treasure’ wouldn’t be a physical thing. The ending was a surprise anyhow. It’s an okay book for me – some parts were too deep and boring. Or like I said, perhaps I didn’t give this book a chance. I will try reading it again later on.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Zeek, Alice, QuaChee, Just A Reading Fool, Bibliolatry, Deckled Edges

Popularity: 8%

I gladly plucked out this book from the shelf because I’ve watched the movie a few years ago and liked it. Well, the movie was quite similar to the book. Some things were changed though. Anyhow, this is a great book and if you’re the sentimental type, you’d probably cry at certain parts in the book. I noticed that there’s a lot of crying in it.

Landon Carter is already 57 years old and he’s telling his story of what happened to him when he was 17. His life changed when he started spending time with Jamie Sullivan, when they were 17. Landon was considered a bad boy and other parents assumed he’s plain trouble. His father was a congressman and was rarely home to be with his family.

On the other hand, Jamie Sullivan is the daughter of Beaufort’s Baptist minister. That’s where they all lived – Beaufort, North Carolina. She’s not fashionable and she always carries her Bible wherever she goes. So it’s certainly obvious that she and Landon have not much in common. That’s what Landon thought.

Incidentally, Landon did not have a date to Beaufort High’s homecoming dance. Most of the girls already had dates or he didn’t fancy going with the less attractive ones. In the end, it was either go to the dance alone and clean up puke in the toilet or go with Jamie Sullivan and risk being teased by his friends. She did smile at him in class, so maybe she might agree to go with him. Finally, he asked her and surprisingly, she accepted. On one condition, that is, he must not fall in love with her. He agreed. Anything is better than cleaning up puke.

Landon found her to be a very kind and understanding person who always looked on the bright side of things, no matter how horrible they are. However, after the dance, he did not feel like spending any more time with her. That time, he still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend, Angela.

But then later, Jamie asked him to join the Christmas play. Initially, he didn’t want to join but after some pitiful remarks from Jamie, he finally gave in. So, they rehearsed the play and then, it’s show time. Without warning, Landon fell in love with Jamie when she appeared looking amazingly beautiful.

All in all, it’s a nice story with a wonderful plot. Incredibly sad, though. Also, I found out what the title ‘A Walk to Remember’ refers to. It’s the kind of book where one may want to change to become a better person after reading it. And if you like books where the guy changes himself for the girl, then this is the book for you.

Popularity: 11%

Mark Haddon’s second best-selling novel isn’t anything like his first. I enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time but I can’t say the same for A Spot of Bother. However, it’s an easy book to read because Haddon wrote in short sentences and small paragraphs. Plus very short chapters too.

The story is about George Hall’s and his family’s adventures. I say ‘adventures’ because the things happening to them sound like that. George is a retired guy and he’s in the middle of building his own studio in his garden so that he has his own space to draw and paint. He also has some lesion on his hip, which he thinks is cancerous and he also thinks he’s lost his marbles.

Then, his wife, Jean, is having an affair with George’s old friend from work, David. Sometimes she feels guilty about it all and feels bad betraying her husband. One day, David poured out his feelings to her and asked her to be with him forever. To leave George and be with David, that is. But Jean doesn’t think she’s ready to take such a huge, drastic leap.

Besides that, Katie, their daughter, is about to get married a second time. She already has a little son, Jacob, from her first marriage. This time, she’s going to marry Ray. Unfortunately, her parents and brother don’t think that he’s quite suitable for her. Also, Katie isn’t sure if she’s in love with him or not.

Finally, there’s Jamie, Katie’s brother. He’s a homosexual and he’s having trouble with his partner, Tony. Jamie is also trying to get his life back together, trying to rebuild the perfect life he created for himself. Anyway, things don’t always go to plan, do they?

Well, doesn’t it sound like a pretty exciting book? I find that things got more exciting after about 60% of the book. My favourite part of the book was when Jamie’s mother and sister greeted Tony after a very unexpected scene, which shocked family and friends.

Actually, most of the book is about George. Yeah, it’s quite pitiful for him. He admits he’s afraid of death and yet he doesn’t get a thorough medical check-up. His family’s too busy to take any notice. They took it for granted that he could take care of himself, like he always did.

I guess this book would be perfect to pick up to read if you’re having a particularly rough day. While reading, imagine you’re in the shoes of any one of the characters (except little Jacob, though), then perhaps you might feel a little bit better.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Bibliolatrist

Popularity: 4%