SiNgUrL's Book Shelf

by Penny Vincenzi



It took me a very, very long time to finish the book "Almost a Crime by Penny Vincenzi". Too many words and plots all in one book. I did love the ending. I wasn't expecting that the story would end that way but I was happy it ended like that.

All in all, it was a good book. Not that great for me but good.

by Amanda Quick



From a magnificent ballroom ablaze with lights to an imposing country house steeped in shadows comes a breathtaking tale of an impetuous miss--and a passion that leads to peril...

At five and twenty, Prudence Merryweather knew very well tht risks a woman took by visiting a gentleman in the dead of night. But bearding the notorious Earl of Angelstone in his den was the only way to stop him from engaging her hot-headed brother in a duel. And that was why she found herself ushered into Sebastian's frobidding presence at three int the morning--and thoroughly kissed before dawn.

She was a country-bred innocent--and an intriguing experience for a man who dwelt more in the shadows than in the sunshine. Yet as her boldness drew Prue into one dangerous episode after another, Sebastian found himself torn between a raging hunger to possess her and a driving need to protect her.

SiNgUrL's Review:

It was an easy read but it was good. Just enough details to read and keep me reading to the end.

I like the relationship between Prudence and Angelstone. How they both handled their work and balanced it with their emotions and everything around them.

Trust and Faith was one of the best things they possessed for each other whoch kept the story on the right track.

by Russell Andrews



Gideon is a high-concept political thriller by Russell Andrews (the pen name of a partnership between book editor Peter Gethers and mystery novelist David Handler).

When a promising New York writer named Carl Granville is paid a quarter of a million dollars to produce a novel called Gideon, he thinks it's his lucky break. The book is to be based on the material of an old diary--which Carl is allowed to look at, although certain dates and names have been blacked out. The diary and novel involve a 10-year-old Southern boy who killed his brain-damaged baby brother. Carl, baffled but glad of the huge payoff, gets on with translating the diary into a bestseller. But when the editor who commissioned the book is murdered, and nobody at the publishing house knows anything about the Gideon project, the writer realizes that sinister forces are at large. Just to add to his troubles, Granville is accused of the editor's murder and is forced to go on the run to escape the FBI and an assassin. His only chance for clearing his name is to reveal who wrote the decades-old journal.

Gideon is an invigorating read with a remarkably fresh plot and a highly likable and believable protagonist.

SiNgUrL's Review:

I just borrowed it from a friend of my dad's and finished reading it weeks ago.

I thought it had something to do with religion but I was wrong except for the part there had been an important character of a priest in it. It wasn't a major focus in the story.

It was disappointing. I expected more from the novel. There was something missing in the flow of the story. All of it revolved around a murder committed by a very powerful man and had been hidden for many, many years.

I think the missing part of the story was further description of the murderer. How hard he achieved his place and it was devastating how one hidden secret from his past could ruin his image and everything he achieved for his mother, and with her help, too.

There were so much missing in the book. Too much action and complications but very few explanations.

by Ken Follett



Ken Follett had long been a staple of the bestseller lists for his novels of intrigue and espionage. Then came The Pillars of the Earth, a grand novel of epic storytelling that readers and critics quickly hailed as his crowning achievement. Now, The Pillars of the Earth is available for the first time to a new audience of readers, in this attractive new trade paperback edition.

In 12th-century England, the building of a mighty Gothic cathedral signals the dawn of a new age. This majestic creation will bond clergy and kings, knights and peasants together in a story of toil, faith, ambition and rivalry. A sweeping tale of the turbulent middle ages, The Pillars of the Earth is a masterpiece from one of the world's most popular authors.

"A novel of majesty and power...Will hold you, fascinate you, surround you." --Chicago Sun-Times

SiNgUrL's Review:

The first reason I bought this book was that because it was one of Follett's novels and I love his works. I was about to buy Time Traveler's Wife but I saw this and got distracted by it. I kept deciding should I buy this or Ken Follett's. Well, you get the picture... I bought Pillars of the Earth.

It's a very long book and this is my longest read book so far. I thought I wasn't going to finish it because there was so much going on with my life but eventually last night, I read the last part and liked the ending.

It is like a series in TV, there are lots of ups and downs for both the protagonists and antagonists. It was like a rollercoaster ride. The book didn't bore me but it took me so long to finish it because I was trying to adjust my life with time.

Anyway, I will buy the sequel to this book as soon as I go to the bookstore.

The Little Bookworm: Much Ado about Shakespeare Challenge

It was a good and easy read. The plot twists were awesome and it wasn't predictable at all.

The thing about books that gets you which movies often spoil is the point of suspense and how the climax is given.

Books can't get you wrong! That's why I love 'em! Another cheery-up!

by Stieg Larsson



My first assumption nwas that Salander's mother could be the missing Harriet could be but it was only left as a notion. Also thought that Lidberg had something to do with the frame up of Blomkvist.

My 3 main suspects were Frode, Martin and Harald. And I thought Cecilia had something to do with the crime revolving around Harriet and categorized her as a passive witness of the crime together with Isabella.

It also came to me that maybe Henrik had to do with Harriet's disappearnce and maybe a sickness caused by old age or trauma caused him to forget but all in all, it didn't make sense.

Salander's mother being Harriet still paled on my mind but when Salander got contact with Blomkvist, I dismissed the notion.

I later categorized Alice, too as witness of the crime but it didn't make sense too with all the clues except for her disappearance in Hedeby because she was guilty of something.

Then the case was solved and the only problem left was Wennestrom.

I thought that maybe Frode had something to do with framing Blomkvist for him to end up in Hedestad but again, it turned out that Wennestrom only really was a "Gangster" as Salander labeled him.

In the end, I craved to read more of what happened to Salander after her heart got broken but there was no more.

All in all, the novel was unpredicatble, thrilling and really stirred up the suspense in me enticing me to read on.

"Wow! I still can't believe that he died! (I won't write who...don't want to spoil..LOL) Why did he even trust that Half-blood prince. I thought the half-blood prince was voldemort. LOL and I want to know who R.A.B. is."

"I've finished reading it and I gained respect for Severus Snape. His devotion of love to one woman and for having been wise to choose his path well. And to Albus Dumbledore, he wasn't truly the Dumbledore I knew from the first books. Harry Potter was one heck of wizard to fight all the temptations of power and darkness. I wonder if he had his aspiration to be an auror when they graduated."

- my reviews for Half Blood Prince and the Deathly Hallows in Goodreads.com

It was shocking to know that Dumbledore died in this chapter.

Now I'm writing my review about book 6 here, I already read book7, too. So I know what already happened. His lost wasn't really saddening when I learned about his brother who still lives and who helped Harry so it's like he didn't passed away at all.

I remember hating Snape here. I really thought he was a bad guy but in book 7. I totally admired his work. He was a martyr. He didn't let anybody see his good will and good works and I hated Dumbledore because of what he did. He made an experiment out of Harry just to prove if his theories about Harry and Voldemort were right. And his past was revealing the truth behind him (Dumbledore).

In Deathly hallows, I was like "Rowling is killing everyone!" then I say "Ugh! For the convenience of Harry Potter being the living hero." It was too obvious why many died though I liked how it ended. It was really great.

I read the last two books but not the first five. I'm still about to read it maybe the last week of September after finishing 5 more books on my shelf which I only borrowed from my dad's friend.

*Sorry for totally spoiling everything here. Hey! I gave a warning int he title of the post though! So don't blame me! lol