A must needed update...

I have a few books to add to my posts, but seeing as it has been a while since my last post...I think I will just pick 3 books out of the pile I have read lately.
A wee while ago I read Blue Eyed Boy by Joanna Harris (who also wrote Chocolat). This is the first book of Harris' that I have read. I found it a struggle to become absorbed to begin with, but then I found the storyline intriguing enough to carry on.

The book begins with: 'Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child, timid and dull. But Blue was his mother's favourite. And he was a murderer.' The story is told via various posts on badguysrock@webjournal.com,telling the dark tale of a poisonous, dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems.

Although it was interesting...I haven't become a fan of Joanne Harris. However, a friend of mine has lent me 3 of her books...which I will give a go. I may change my mind...? Thanks, Jenny.

Meanwhile, I have a new favourite NZ author! Her name is Deborah Challinor and she has heaps of books. So far I have read two of them, and each of them I found hard to put down and was extremely disappointed when they were finished (not because of storyline...but because I wanted to carry on reading). I find Challinor's books are similiar to Jenny Patrick's Denniston books.

The first Challinor book I grabbed from the Hornby library was Isle of Tears. The story is set in the 1830/40's in NZ and is about a girl, Isla, and her siblings who are taken in by the local Maori after her parents were murdered. Isla eventually falls in love and marries into the tribe...but war breaks out between the Pakeha and Maori...Isla becomes separated from her husband and her siblings...she has to learn to survive in the Pakeha world. The book was a thrilling and romantic read!

The second Challinor book is also the first of a trilogy. It is called Kitty. This story begins just before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Kitty has travelled to NZ with her missionary Uncle and Aunty. She befriends a local Maori princess, Wai. Shocking events occur which force Kitty and Wai to flee to Sydney. Kitty falls in love with a sea captain, Rian Farrell which leads to adventures involving deceit, illicit sexual liasons and death. I was utterly disappointed when I came to the last page...as I haven't managed to find a copy of the next book Amber yet.