Paige’s stepchildren, who are older than her, are furious about their father’s will and have accused her of forging his signature. Bert Falkenberg, Paige’s assistant at the school, however, claimed to be present when the ailing Torg signed it. Now it is up to Claudia to determine the genuineness of the signature on the will.

After meticulous examination, Claudia affirms that the signature on the will is indeed Torg’s, which means that Paige won the case and she gets to keep her inheritance. The children are even more furious and sent one too many a threat to both Claudia and Paige.

Claudia also becomes extremely concerned with a student from the academy, Annabelle Lee, a rebellious young girl who once attempted suicide. She learns that Annabelle’s mother died when she was younger and her film producer father who only cares about reputation and making the next big hit.

Throughout the novel, more revelations dawn upon Claudia, so much more than she can handle. When Paige and Annabelle go missing, Claudia goes all out to find them, concerned with their safety, especially Annabelle’s. Deciding that she’s on her own, Claudia also brushes off all warnings from her detective boyfriend, Jovanic, who claims that Annabelle is only using her.

Written In Blood is a forensic handwriting mystery that will keep you turning the pages fast to find out what’s next. I’ve not read any kind of handwriting mystery before but I can say this was an enjoyable and enlightening book. There is so much to be learned from a person’s handwriting.

The title may be a put-off for some people who might think that it’s a thriller with gory and bloody scenes. Before reading the book’s summary, I thought that way too. Well, there is one such scene but I’m sure most readers can handle it.

The author, Sheila Lowe, is also a court-qualified handwriting expert. She has three other mystery books featuring Claudia Rose – Poison Pen, Last Writes and Dead Write.

***Thanks to Sheila Lowe for sending me this book for review.

Olivia then needs a dress to attend a function with her parents. Having given up finding something suitable in her own closet, she searches Violet’s stuff only to find a beautiful dress with a tear in it. She brings it to Posey, a dressmaker, for mending but Posey drops off a completely different dress the next day.

Not knowing that it’s a magical dress, Olivia simply wishes for her sister again. Lo and behold, Violet turns up in the middle of the night and Olivia’s life is almost back to normal again. They find out that Olivia has two wishes left and she has to use them carefully.

Olivia feels quite happy again now that she has her sister with her. She is also making friends with the popular and gorgeous Calla from school. Even Calla’s cute boyfriend, Soren, is taking an interest in her.

Don’t you think it’ll be wonderful to have three wishes to get whatever you want? I’m constantly wishing for more hours in a day. I also wish that I’ve done some things differently. I do wish for many other things (the list is endless) but in the end, I know I need to make do and appreciate what I have now. Be careful what you wish for, right? =)

I enjoyed reading about Violet’s return and liked the close bond between the twins. What put me on suspense was waiting to know how Calla would react if she discovered that her boyfriend was interested in Olivia.

I also liked how Wish wasn’t too fantastical despite having a dressmaker who provided magical dresses. It also explores on dealing with the death of a loved one, which is not easy for a teenager to cope, especially if it’s a very close twin sister.

Wish is a good story and I’m looking forward to reading the author’s next novel, Wishful Thinking, in which the magical dresses make an appearance again!

When she goes into somebody’s dream, she can only observe. But she’s trying to do something about it. She wants to try to resist being pulled into others’ dreams. Hey, it may be a special gift but it’s not worth it if she cannot handle it until it becomes a disruption in life.

Janie also gets friendly with a schoolmate named Cable. He was quite a mess when they were younger but he has changed since in terms of his looks. The other girls in school begin to pour attention on him but he is only drawn to Janie. They have a love-hate kind of relationship but while it was blossoming, it was sweet.

Janie’s friendship with her best friend, Carrie is interesting because Carrie is also good friends with other people who do not like Janie. Still, they turn to each other most of the time when there are problems. Carrie is not aware of Janie’s ability to see dreams though.

Wake was going pretty well in the beginning. I liked how the relationship developed between Janie and Cable. But it was a bit confusing when he started going out with another girl, right after he ‘broke off’ with Janie. He kept sending her ‘sorry’ notes though.

Unfortunately, I did not really like the way the book ended. I expected something more dramatic. I expected something more paranormal. The way the story turned out was just not how I imagined it would be.

However, the story behind the novel is fascinating. The author apparently had a dream that she was in her husband’s dream and was watching what he was dreaming about. That was how the incident inspired the creation of Wake, which is followed by Fade and Gone.

Other reviews: It’s All About Books

After battling with some desert raiders, Alanna and Coram meet Halef Seif, the headman of the Bloody Hawk tribe who are of the Bazhir clan. They all then return to the Bloody Hawk village where they were eventually adopted by the tribe.

But not everyone was welcoming or accepting Alanna as she walks around wearing men’s clothes and her face unveiled unlike good Bazhir women. The one who is openly hostile towards her is the shaman, Akhnan Ibn Nazzir who believes that she was sent by the devil to corrupt them all. In a later event, both of them fight where Alanna triumphs over the unfortunate Akhnan. As a result, Alanna is expected to become the next shaman for the Bloody Hawk tribe.

Besides having to worry about her duties as the new shaman, Alanna is also bothered with the evil magic in a crystal sword that she’s using and also having to train her three young apprentices to be the next shamans of the tribe. Kara and Kourrem are obedient students while Ishak, the hot-headed one who also shows extreme interest in Alanna’s crystal sword.

Let’s also not forget that Alanna is somewhat caught in a love triangle with Jonathan of Conte and George, the King of Thieves. Jon plans to make Alanna his wife while George has promised to wait for her no matter what. Jon will always be Number One in Alanna’s heart but she’s not ready to walk down the aisle.

This book was alright where we meet new characters from different cultures and customs. You can expect a lot of events happening but don’t worry, you won’t get lost in the plot. Pierce has cleverly written out the story so readers don’t confuse themselves.

So who are you voting for to end up with Alanna? Jon or George? I know that some of you know how the story ends but don’t let it out, okay? If you ask me, I’m all for George. Jon just didn’t impress me much I guess.

Can’t wait to get started on the final book, Lioness Rampant!

Rosie Dunne and Alex Stewart have always been best friends. They first met when they were five years old and have always been together through thick and thin. They did things like all best friends did together. They roughed it out through school, making their teachers and parents go crazy over their silly antics.

One fine day, Alex and his family had to move to Boston as his father was being transferred in his job. Alex and Rosie are from Dublin. Naturally, they’re upset because they can’t spend time together that much any longer. So they kept in touch through letters and e-mails.

Alex was supposed to return to Dublin to accompany Rosie to her debs or prom night. However, he missed his flight and Rosie had to go with someone else, a guy named Brian. She got drunk and the unexpected happened. Rosie then ended up being a pregnant 18-year-old. She couldn’t go to college in Boston anymore and also couldn’t be with Alex.

It’s evident that Alex and Rosie have strong feelings for each other but numerous things always got in the way. Just when Rosie might have confessed her feelings to Alex, he and his girlfriend, Sally, announced that they’re to get married! Rosie, wanting to move on, met another guy, Greg and got married too. Both friends were at each other’s weddings but felt weird seeing each other walking away from the altar with someone else.

Both friends also showed obvious dislike for the other’s spouses or partners. Rosie strongly expressed her dislike for whoever Alex was dating or was married to. Alex would also find fault with Rosie’s husband, Greg. And they’ll go on and on criticizing but they never got around to confessing their true feelings because they had to think of others, especially their children. They still do ponder over the ‘silence’ which they experienced after Rosie kissed Alex.

Anyway, Rosie’s daughter, Katie seemed to be experiencing the same thing like her mom. She also has a guy best friend, Toby, and never gave a second thought of having feelings for him. Katie and Toby are like the younger versions of Rosie and Alex!

Where Rainbows End is written in the form of letters, e-mails, and instant messages so it’s a very engaging read. Reading it was very quick even though it’s a rather thick book. Some boring parts could have been taken out so as to make the book thinner. Rosie’s e-mails tend to be terribly long as she can drone on and on about her job, her kid, Alex, Alex’s wife/girlfriend and her husband, Greg.

I definitely enjoyed reading this, just like Ahern’s other novel, PS, I Love You. Some things didn’t make sense in this novel but they can be excused. Can’t wait to read more of her books! Ahern sure knows how to write funny, heart-and-soul, touching and moving kind of stories.

Other Reviews: Annie, Alice, Rima, Kittycat

The Johnson family consists of George and Olivia Johnson, Harriet’s parents, and Alec, Toby, and Edward are her brothers. Her parents own a shop that sells off vegetables, fruits and other stuff which their uncle, William Johnson sent them. Usually, what he sent them could not be sold off easily as they were bad, rotting or just things that people don’t want. He grew them in his own garden and always eats the good ones so the Johnson family is stuck with selling bad stock.

Now, since Harriet is feeling weak and looking fragile, her doctor, Dr. Phillipson suggested that she take up skating to improve her health and strengthen her legs. Alec will then get a job delivering newspapers so that there’ll be money to rent her skates and boots. Her brothers are really thoughtful.

At the skating rink, Harriet befriends another young girl, Lalla Moore who’s training to be the greatest skater in the world. Lalla’s parents died in a skating accident when she was very young. Her eccentric Aunt Claudia wished for her to be a star skater and made her practise as often as possible. The aunt is also always reminding everyone that Lalla is a special child and that she needs to concentrate fully on her skating and nothing else. Therefore, poor Lalla’s life is quite sad for a young child who shouldn’t have such a heavy burden on her shoulders.

The story is more focused on Lalla’s skating and not much on Harriet’s. When she first entered the skating rink, she could barely skate. But, we will know that she’s improving fast not only in her skating but in her health too. She’s become so good that Lalla’s personal skating trainer, Max, told her to take up some skating tests, which Lalla had taken earlier.

Lalla is quite a selfish little girl with too many grand ideas in her head. When she sees a photograph of Harriet in a newspaper and the article claiming her to have a great future in skating before her, she got upset and threatened poor Harriet. Of course, Lalla thinks that she should be the only good skater and Harriet will always be not as good as her.

White Boots is a nice story for children and adults alike. I thought the cover somewhat dull. Only a pair of legs in white boots doing a ‘left forward outside edge, most likely a crossover’, according to Noel Streatfeild’s nephew, William Streatfeild, who wrote a postscript at the end of the book. If it’s a book meant to attract children, they should make a cover that is more eye-catching.

Buy White Boots (Large Print)