The voice of the night by Dean R. Koontz

This is the first Koontz book I've been able to finish. A lot better than the one I've tried reading before. Doubt I'll keep it though as I do need space in my bookshelves.

The voice of the night is about two young boys whose friendship turns into a nightmare. Colin has never had real friends before and he thinks Roy is the coolest kid. This is why Colin doesn't understand why Roy would hang out with him. The cool kid insists they share a common interest which is why he was drawn to the unpopular boy but refuses to reveal it until he can trust the boy. Roy is fascinated with death and claims he has killed dogs/cats and loved it. He makes Colin constantly nervous by pushing these morbid questions and scenarios on him. Roy also demands the other boy to do whatever he wants otherwise they aren't real friends. He also insists on blood oath.

As soon as Roy started his speech about loving killing things I knew he was trouble. I knew he was dangerous and I wanted Colin to just walk away from him. Of course if this had happened there wouldn't be a book. It made the book hard to endure though when you knew where it was heading. Even though Colin that Roy was just testing him when he claimed he had killed big animals and even humans, I knew it wasn't a test. It kind of creeped me out. Through the whole book Roy keeps pushing Colin to be like him, testing the boy's limits while the subject thinks he is not serious. Until something bad happens that lifts the vail. Book's tone changes after it leaving you wondering how badly will things get towards the end.

I did like the book and it was quite creepy to read at night time. It was well written and it was fast to read when you got into it. If you like Stephen King and horror in general I'd recommend it. It's also rather short book so you don't have to wait long for the ending. I came to care about Colin while I Roy could've rotted in hell for all I care honestly. I guess Koontz did a good job by creating this dangerous young boy with uncommon interests. I just wanted to give Colin a hug and tell him he will make friends and Roy is just trouble. Just end it before you regret it and soon you'll find people who share your interests.

I wouldn't mind reading more books from the author but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to acquire more of them. Maybe I'm less of a horror fan the older I get and more of a fantasy/murder mystery enthusiast like I used to be. Over all I'm happy I read it even if the child made me worry about there being real kids like him. That would be a scary story I'm not sure I'd want to read.

Anybody out there? by Marian Keyes

I've read some of Keyes' books before  and I've always enjoyed them. Anybody out there? is the 4th installment of the Walsh family books. Each book focuses on one of the sisters and this time the main character is Anna who is described as a wreck. She is mentally and physically broken and back living with her parents. She desperately wants to go back to New York, to her husband and her job.  Since she is recovering from a horrible acr accident she is forced to stay at home for quite a while. She gets annoyed by her parents and her sister Helen who announces she is going to be private investigator. Everyone tells her to keep resting but she leaves for New York as soon as she was able. All she cares is her husband.

When Anna gets to their apartment in NY she realizes her husband isn't at home. She goes to work earlier than she is supposed to as she just can't stay alone in that empty apartment. Every morning she sends an email to her husband Aidan and listens to his voicemail message. Until around page 200 you won't know what happened to Aidan since it takes that long for Anna to admit it. As a reader it is obvious long before this reveal but it doesn't mean it's any less heartbreaking.

Throughout the book Anna keeps looking for her husband, unsure of where he is. She goes to desperate measures just to make sure he is okay. She meets people who can talk with spirits and gets to know other people in her situation. I don't believe in spirits so a lot of time I just wondered how naive Anna is. But maybe if I were in her shoes I'd do the same thing, chase the impossible.

The books is almost 600 pages long but it is a very quick read. The story sucked me in even though I remembered I've read it before years ago. All the new people Anna meets are interesting to me and even the emails between Anna and her family keep me entertained. Especially her mother sending constant updates about a woman who forces her dog to pee and poop on their yard. Why would she do that? Does she hate someone from the Welsh family? There are times when Walsh's get on my nerver but what family wouldn't. I'm still not sure if all those emails from Helen bout her P.I. jobs were supposed to be true or did she just use her imagination since they were rather movie like at times. I mean what kind of a fresh P.I. with no expertise would get mixed up with the mafia?

Over all I enjoyed the book and will most likely keep reading Keyes' books if I stumble upon them. They are great for fluffy reading when you just need to relax. Especially during there hot summer days when your thoughts seem to slow. They are interesting and funny and sad and usually leave you with a good feeling. Even something as heartbreaking as Anna's journey ended nicely and was handled well. Definitely worth a read if all you want is a feel good book.

The Killing Edge by Heather Graham

This is one of those books I'm not sure where I got them from. Don't think I've read anything from Graham but this claims she is a bestseller. After 10 first pages I already disagreed with it.

The killing edge starts with teens party gone horribly wrong. All but 4 kids got brutally murdered in their sleep and the only reason why these 3 survived was because girl named Chloe happened to wake up and save them. Book fast forwards 10 years and we find out police thinks they solved the case by finding a dead killer with a suicide note.

10 years after a swimsuit model disappears and Chloe who is now psychologist spesialiced in trauma victims is worried the killer is targeting modeling agency. Then she sees the girl's ghost and decides to investigate the case herself. Conviently enough her friend, one of the 3 survivors, is a model there so she has way to insert herself to the agency. At the same time private investigator appears and after a while they work together to find the murderer.

From the beginning the author makes it clear that Chloe has build a wall around her and doesn't let anyone in. Of course meeting this private investigator, Luke, makes her feel things she didn't think was possible. Same happens to Luke and I suffered through horrible "will they, won't they" routine for a while. I say horrible because there was no build up it was literally just either Chloe or Luke thinking "I can't like that person, I'm so closed up, I can't, I have suffered in my life, why do I want them" all the time until inevitable happened. I was not surprised to find out you can buy this book from harlequin site because the so called romance reminded me of those books. Sex scenes were even worse, I'm just happy they weren't long or I'd skipped a lot of reading.

The story involved mostly of Chloe and the rest of the survivors with Luke pretending to belong in the fashion industry. A lot of it happened in the agency or the island most of the shoots seemed to go on. I can't say I came to care about the secondary characters, even Chloe's over protective uncle seemed really one dimensional. The killer/killers were your average "I'm helping this world by getting rid of these people" kind of murderers . I guess I have read too many books and seen too many horror movies to really be affected how brutal those killing were supposed to be. Making religion as the reason is boring and overused for me so I didn't care for too much for the motive at the end.

The plot was still okay, I never guess who the murderer is and it took me a while to figure the person out. I kind of accepted Chloe seeing ghosts that help her as a plot device even though I do not believe in ghosts myself. Without them I guess the book would have been even more bland. There was alot of rituals and mysticism thrown in. Cults seem to be popular theme in crime novels and this really wasn't a great example for corporating them in a fascinating story.

Over all it was a fast albeit awkward read that I won't be going through again. The writing just didn't hook me in and didn't feel like bestseller level to me at all. I guess I'm really not the audience for her even if I am a fan of thrillers. I much read my Agatha Christie books over and over again.

Nanny Returns by Nicola Kraus & Emma Mclaughlin

This book is a sequal to Nanny diaries so if you haven't read the first book or don't want spoilers this is your warning. I will try to avoid bigger spoilers.

The writers of these books are both former nannies and they satirize upper class Manhattan society as seen through the eyes of the nannies. Apparently some of the people in the books like the employer is modelled after some real people these women met. If that's true Im' glad I'll never get to see that society as it just sounds like hell.

I haven't read the first book I've only seen the movie and while reading Nanny returns I realized there are some differences. So if I ever find the first book I will probably buy it. In Nanny diaries Nan is employed by Mrs. X due to a misunderstanding where Mrs. X thought Nan said she was nanny instead her name being Nan. Nan ends up looking after little Grayer who hates her at first because anyone he loves just leaves him. Of course Nan can't be a nanny for him for the rest of her life so by end of the first book she's not working for Mrs. X anymore and feels guilty over abandoning Grayer .

Nanny returns is set 12 years after where Nan married the Harward Hottie ( HH ) from the first book and she is back in New York after moving around all those years. The couple buys a home they start renovating while Nan tries to set up her consulting business when HH gets send overseas thanks to his job for UN. This leave Nan renovating the house alone, working at a school where no adult seems to care for the kids and having Grayer back in her life when he drunkenly stumbles at her doorstep one night.

From that night on Nan is sucked in the X family's drama and it is just quite unpleasant to read. Between the bratty rebellious Grayer and the teachers and parents at school I didn't know which person I'd want to slap first to get some sense into them. Grayer is mad at Nan for leaving him even though it wasn't her choice. She feels guilty still 12 years later so during this book she does whatever she can to please the boy while he keeps disrespecting her. It was really difficult to relate to Nan. She is also strained with her husband because HH wants kids, Nan doesn't feel ready and they can only talk rarely because UN business is very hush hush.

Throughtout the story Nan acts as a mom to Grayer and his little brother Stilton who sees his big brother as his role model. She tries to help them and be there for them when the boys parents are going through a vicious divorce. Making it even worse it seems like neither of the parents truly want the kids so at times they'd be sleeping on the streets if it weren't for Nan. The whole thing about rich people not caring for their kids is awful in this book. Never understood why they would have children in the first place. Even at work at the school Nan only meets parents who care more about their reputation and vacations than the health of their kids. So yeah, very frustrating to read. There wasn't a lot of bright points at all, it seemed like one misery lead to another one with very brief happy breaks. Of course the end had some sunny moments so you feel like maybe there's hope everything turns for the better but who knows. The only person I really cared for was Stilton as it was heartbreaking to think he might grow up just like Grayer, hating all the adults for leaving them and thinking he can only trust himself at 16 years old.

I was disappointed in Nanny returns honestly because I really loved Nan and HH in the movie and I figured a sequal would show them together. But instead the husband was barely in the book as he didn't come back until the very end. It was all about drama and it made the book very tiring to read. I was constantly hoping for a punching bag so I can vent my anger towards these people that weren't even real. At the end I am happy I read it but I doubt I will read it again.

Angels Fall by Nora Roberts

I can't remember if I've ever read any of Roberts books before. Back in high school my mum used to like her but I labeled her books as romantic nonsense. Angels Fall was one of the books my aunt left behind and I decided to give it a try. Especially since it seemed to have more to it than just romance.

Angels Fall follows Reece Gilmory who is the sole survivor of a brutal crime. What that crime was isn't revealed for a while which kind of frustrated me because I'm a curious person. I wanted to know what made this woman so scared and paranoid she couldn't stay in one town for a long time and kept changing her identity. She couldn't even sleep unless she was sure all the doors and windows were locked and there was a chair pushed against the bedroom/apartment door.

At the beginning Reece ends up in a town called Angels Fist. She gets a job as a cook in a diner which is owned by a tough woman called Joanie. While working there Reece meets eyes with a broody but irresistable Brody. When Reece goes on a hike and witnesses a murder that no one else sees, Brody is practically the only one to believe her. Soon after the incident weird things start happening to Reece that make other townies to believe that she is just a jittery newcomer seeing things that aren't there. With Brody she starts figuring out if the murder really did happen and who were the people involved.

I read this 500 pages long book in 2 days. It was just easy to get into it for hours and I really got interested in all the characters. From the diner owner and her waitress to the real cowboy customer, sheriff and the doctor they were all interesting people contributing to the story. What bugged me the most however was Brody. He was dealing with a woman with panic attacks due to the brutal crime and I didn't like how he handled it. Everytime Reece was getting upset or started hyperventilating Brody told him to quit because he doesn't deal with fragile or soft women. He only likes tough women. If I had an anxiety attack and my boyfriend told me to quit just because he doesn't like weak women I doubt I'd be dating him for long. That is just my opinion though as Brody's approach seemed to work in the book.

The plot was interesting enough and I really rooted for Reece as she didn't have an easy life. Especially after witnessing murder and thinking all the weird things happening around her was something she was doing unconsciously . Instead of someone trying to mess with her.Also as always the romantic plot moved forward ridiculously fast but that's a problem I feel like most romance novel have. For me it's hard to buy a romance where you say I love you and practically move in together in 2 months because you just know your relationship is the real deal. Maybe I'm just cynical but it would be nice to see slower romances where sex isn't the only thing keeping them together at the beginning.

Overall Angels Fall was an easy read and it was a pretty good book. The ending was fine and even though I figured out the murdered before the reveal I still enjoyed it. I probably won't read this book again but it provided nice 2 days in a small American town where people know each other and help each other. I wish there were more of those types of towns in real life.

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

This is definitely my favourite of the books I've read lately. Terry Pratchett has been one of my favourite writers well over 10 years and his Watchmen books just always make me happy. Who couldn't love Sam Vimes? Or creatures like black ribbon vampires who have sworn off human blood? Never a boring time with these guys.

This time Sam Vimes has to stop a war involving vampires and werewolves. It is an intense story but as always there is some humour in it. What really amused me was Igors. They are a clan of servants that all share the same name. Somehow they always know which Igor they are talking about though which confuses Vimes and causes some lovely breaks in the story. 

I had a hard time putting this book down which meant reading until I fell asleep. Sam Vimes and his wife Sybil are just so great together. Just because Sybil has  grown up proper doesn't mean she's anyway frail. She also always seems tok now what to do no matter how weird the situation is. I wish I more like her.

Sergeant Angua is very deliciously werewolf and I learned things I hadn't even thought of before. She is a big part trying to prevent the war as one of the hotheads is her brother. What I didn't realize was that werewolf is kind of like an half elf. Not accepted by either side. They are too human or too wolf. It's a sad situation to be in. Also can you imagine how horrible a bad hair day is for a werewolf?

Discworld books are the type of books I can read ten times over and not get tired of them. It's sad there won't be any new stories to read but at least we got a huge world to live in. Pratchett did an amazing job with it and reading one of his books feels like going home every time. I will definitely need to hunt down the books I'm missing.

Queen of babble in the big city by Meg Cabot

To start, I wish I'd known this is a part of Babble series. Without knowing until I googled ( thanks to ending) I had read second book in a trilogy. The book ends in a question so unless you read the last book you are out of luck. I think I'll survive though.

Queen of babble is a book my aunt left behind when she moved and I figured I'd read it if I had nothing else. Well, book jar figured this was a good time. I don't read a lot of romance novels unless I've read something so terrifying that I need a palate cleanser .

The star of the book is Lizzie who is aspiring wedding gown specialist. I've never planned my own wedding or really dreamed about it so this was already a meh start. I did however like the little tips that started of a new chapter with. They could be useful from deciding on a wedding gown design to after party. Which wasn't really the case for me but it gave the book a little character.

Lizzie doesn't have a job or a place to live and she has been crashing with her boyfriend of few months. This guy, Luke, happens to be a French prince that seems to mean nothing but money since the monarch isn't recognized anymore. Predictably the money part does create tension between flat broke Lizzie and Luke's parents.

Reading this book I felt like Lizzie's only aspiration in life was to marry Luke. They had only been dating less than six months but the girl was determined. She does seem passionate about her career but she just literally has wedding in the brain. It got tiring for me. I couldn't really relate to Lizzie at all and I didn't really care whether or not Luke pops the question. The book wasn't hard to read so I decided to finish it but it was just not for me. I cared more about Lizzie's friend who wasn't a big part of the story but I liked where her storyline went. I just wasn't happy how Lizzie treated her or how she did not really pause to think that maybe Shari wasn't doing so well. Lizzie had her selfless moments but she seemed very obsessed and self centered to me.

If all you need is some brainless romance novel to take your mind of your daily life, I'm sure there is better ones than this. But if you aren't picky this one did have it's moments. I did read some reviews and it looks like the first book was good. Then it was downhill from there but it's better to judge it yourself. I do not have the other books and I probably won't look for them, but there certainly been worst books than this. At least this means my bookshelf will be one book lighter.