November - Book Review

Look at all the books I read in November! I know it was only five, but that was pretty good going for me. It has been a busy month for me as I attended GenreCon and spent a lot of time preparing to write my next book. But I've discovered that if I read while doing my daily stretches rather than playing games on my phone, I actually manage to read a lot more books!

​So here's November's book review. 

Books I Read in November

Mardie and the City Surgeon by Marion Lennox
I can't believe it's taken me so long to read this book considering it has not one but TWO border collies in it! But I kept putting it off because it's the fourth in the Bansika Bay series and I felt I needed to read the others first. Well, I skipped them and just read this one so I can complete my Border Collie Book list. This was also my first Marion Lennox book, so that was fun. I really enjoyed this story. Mardie and Blake have their problems and reasons for leaving each other and not getting back together, which makes the story interesting, but I just loved the dogs. Bounce is a one year old working border collie and is learning ... but Bessie is four and can herd sheep blind! Yes, poor Bessie has cataracts, but that's okay because Blake is an eye surgeon and knows a good vet who fixes Bessie. She gets her sight back and a happy home with Mardie, Blake, and the love of her life - Bounce! Such a lovely, feel good story. Yeah, the people were cool, but I was in this one for the dogs.

The Country Wedding by Barbara Hannay
I'll admit, I started this book ages ago but with my mood swings and moving, it got a little forgotten about...but I'm so glad I finished it! This was a lovely story about young Flora and Mitch and I was very pleased for Hattie and Joe who were finally able to finish their love story as they neared their 80th birthdays. This book was full of interesting twists and reveals - it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I love Barbara's work and hopefully will catch up on all her unread books I have on my shelf.

The Secretary's Secret by Michelle Douglas
I was interrupted while reading this book because I didn't finish it before going to GenreCon and I don't like to travel with library books, then it was due to return so I had to quickly get it done. I really enjoyed this story of Kit's and Alex's as they came together over an accidental pregnancy and fell in love. I still love Michelle's work and have so much more to read!

Cry of the Firebird by T.M. Clark
This book was a lucky one - it overcame my book-buying ban. However, if I wasn't going to be running into Tina at GenreCon, it probably may have stayed on the shelves for a while longer, but I was in Brisbane with my friend Dee for GenreCon and we went to Big W to pick up a copy in preparation for Tina's book signing the next day. And I'm so glad it overcame the book-buying-ban because I have a pretty signed copy now and it was a very fun read. Dee and I read it pretty much side by side over the weekend and we were about 75% through when we returned home, but I quickly finished it the next morning. I loved the tainted-pharmaceuticals plot line and the African scene-setting really makes the story come alive. I'm definitely going to be picking up the rest of Tina's books - the library have them all available on Borrow Box.

No Judgments by Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot was my favourite author when I was a teenager so I was psyched that this new book was coming out - especially because the US edition had a border collie on the cover! But when I need to buy them ebook or online, I tend not to. I'd considered buying this online, but I have much better resistence when I don't have the book in my hands. So when I saw it in Dymocks in Brisbane, I was a goner. I really enjoyed this rom-com and all the hurricane fun, which is something I can relate to, having been through cyclones myself. The mess is devastating! Apart from the fact it seemed slow because it's set over about 3-4 days, this was a fantastic read and I'm so glad I gave in and bought it. I loved the dogs...and there were lots of them! I even liked Gary the cat.

Books to Read in December

Eddie and the Show Queen by Cathryn Hein
Yeah, I've been slack. I still need to read this. Maybe I should put it on my bedside table instead of hidden in the drawer.

Undara by Annie Seaton
I bought this on release and was so keen, but still haven't managed to read it. I see it on the shelves in Big W and think 'damn, I still gotta read that'. I really should get to it.

An Annie West Novel
​I feel like I really should read her work and I have plenty of choices on my shelf, so I should get onto that.