Divergent by Veronica Roth

Synopsis by www.goodreads.com

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her

My Comments :

This book was easy to "get into" for me. From the beginning it was like entering a whole new world.

What I like about this book is that the story was pretty much tensed . Very fast paced once the day of the choosing arrived. I really like the character , Tris. For me, Tris was like a real person instead of a fictional character. That's an accomplishment of the author in bringing realism into the book

However, I find that the romance between Tris and Four was a bit "forced". Does not have the "fire" and the "feel" towards it. Maybe it's because this is a dystopian tale and not a full fledged romance.

My friends had compared this book with Hunger Games and I some what agree with them that it's not as tense and mysterious as Hunger Games though it's fast pace.

Nevertheless, the pull is there for me to read the second book in the series.

For me, this book rated 4 stars out of 5.

Big Bad Wolf Books Sale 2013!!!

Do I need to say more? Get ready everyone!!!!

Inspector Singh Investigates : A Calamitous Chinese Killing

 Summary from www.goodreads.com

Inspector Singh's expertise is required in China in his sixth adventure, as he battles political intrigue to get to the bottom of a very murky and complex crime Inspector Singh is on a mission to China, against his better judgment. 

The son of a bigwig at the Singapore Embassy has been bludgeoned to death in a back alley in Beijing. 

The Chinese security insist that he was the victim of a robbery gone wrong, but the young man's mother demands that Singapore's finest (in his own opinion) rides to the rescue. 

But solving a murder in a country that practices socialism "with Chinese characteristics" is a dangerous business, and it soon becomes apparent that getting to the bottom of this calamitous killing will be his toughest case yet

My Comments : 

Shamini Flint has done it again. Another thought provoking book fill with suspense.

Cleverly blend in the story are issues on corruption, illegal organ harvesting, poverty, materialism, environmental issues and crackdown on fulan gong members. Did I miss out on any other issues? Qing's aunt had certainly voiced out what I felt about Mao's policies.

As usual, it was not easy to begin reading this book. The story jump from one character to another but as it goes, the story will come together.

The only downside is that I am not happy with the closure on Professor Luo issue. It feel just so unfair. I would have love it if it have a perfect ending. but then with perfect ending, the story will no longer have the realistic feel, right?

I wonder where will inspector Chen send inspector singh to next? will Mrs singh learn how to make szechuan food? will she be more involved in his investigation?

For the moment am giving this book 4 stars out of 5.

The Ghost Bride by by Yangsze Choo

Original title :The Ghost Bride

ISBN :0062227327 (ISBN13: 9780062227324)

Summary at www.goodreads.com

"One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..."

Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound.

Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.

After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever

My Comments : 

I grew up in Malaysia. Ever since I was a kid, I observed that my elders tend to mix Taoism, Buddhism and various local custom together when they pray. It would be hard for those who have no background on the custom and superstition to digest the full effect and glory of this story Yea, I have heard of the story of Ghost Bride. In fact, if my memory didn't fail me, I recall Mom mentioned one of my great grand aunt had a son/daughter who pass away and "came back" in his/her mom dream and told them that he/she met a mate in the underworld and they want to get marry. Hence the family performed the rites Now i know why my elders had always deter me from picking up things from the roadside. Have heard of "spirits" being attached to some things . Hence sometimes people them away. have heard and seen people burning all the belongings of the dead..hmmm...only now did I know that spirit have connection to the things they loved. Enough about me. I should be writing about this book but how shall I start? Well, As you've read, it brings back a lot of memories. For me it has been a wonderful experience reading this. At parts it was really eerie. Especially where the author mentioned the paper doll offerings and the paper houses.  I kept imagining the two red dots on the the paper servants cheek. It gave me goose bumps. overall I love it very much. Hope the author would write more of this genre.  These superstition and believes is being abandon and forgotten in the age of technology. This has been part of our ancestors life. It would be nice to have it preserved in memory though we no longer practice them. Let it be part of our history. Am giving this book full 5 stars.

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True Believer (Jeremy Marsh & Lexie Darnell #1) by Nicholas Sparks

Synopsis by www.goodreads.com

Jeremy Marsh is the ultimate New Yorker: handsome, almost always dressed in black, and part of the media elite. An expert on debunking the supernatural with a regular column in "Scientific American," he's just made his first appearance on national TV. 

When he receives a letter from the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, about ghostly lights that appear in a legend-shrouded cemetery, he can't resist driving down to investigate. 

 Here, in this tightly knit community, Lexie Darnell runs the town's library, just as her mother did before the accident that left Lexie an orphan. Disappointed by past relationships, including one that lured her away from home, she is sure of one thing: her future is in Boone Creek, close to her grandmother and all the other people she loves. 

Jeremy expects to spend a quick week in "the sticks" before speeding back to the city. But from the moment he sets eyes on Lexie, he is intrigued and attracted to this beautiful woman who speaks with a soft drawl and confounding honesty. And Lexie, while hesitating to trust this outsider, finds herself thinking of Jeremy more than she cares to admit. Now, if they are to be together, Jeremy Marsh must make a difficult choice: return to the life he knows, or do something he's never done before--take a giant leap of faith. 

A story about taking chances and following your heart, True Believer will make you, too, believe in the miracle of love.

Did You Know?---

True Believer is not inspired by any of Nicholas's family members, but the protagonist, Lexie Darnell, is named after one of Nicholas's twin daughters?

Boone Creek -- the setting for the novel -- is a fictitious town in North Carolina, modeled after Pamlico County?
True Believer was one of two books that Nicholas wrote in a year? (The second is At First Sight, the sequel to True Believer.)

My Comments: 

Mysterious lights in the cemetery of a sleepy town. This book had potential . Unfortunately I find that it's not engaging enough. The sparks between Lexie and Jeffery was  strangely missing, unlike his others book. Only redeeming grace for me in this book was the debate between Lexie and Jeffery on who is the one who is expected to sacrifice everything and also the part where the mysterious lights appeared. Overall It had been an average read. I like it but am not in love with it

At First Sight (Jeremy Marsh & Lexie Darnell #2) by Nicholas SParks

Synopsis by www.goodreads.com

There are a few things Jeremy Marsh was sure he’d never do: he’d never leave New York City; never give his heart away after barely surviving one failed marriage; and never become a parent. 

Now Jeremy is living in the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, engaged to Lexie Darnell, the love of his life, and anticipating the start of their family. 

But just as his life seems to be settling into a blissful pattern, a mysterious and disturbing e-mail sets off a chain of events that will change the course of this young couple’s relationship.

How well do we really know the ones we love? How do we handle the inevitable doubts, fears concerning parenthood, and stumbling blocks that are sometimes placed in our way? 

Continuing the story of the young couple introduced in Sparks’s bestselling True Believer, this novel captures all the heartbreak, tension, romance and surprises of those who are newly wed. 

An astonishing tale about the love between a man and a woman and between a parent and a child, At First Sight is about endings that bring new beginnings . . . tragedies that lead to unexpected joy . . . and, most of all, the magic of everlasting love.

My Comments :

I made the mistaken of reading this book first before I read "True Believer". Hence, there were some parts which I felt that I was in the blind.

Nevertheless, after reading the first book; am still of the opinion that this is not one of his best work.

First half of the story was rather dry. All Jeffery's self doubts and their arguments was not engaging at all. It did jot endear me to either Lexie or Jeffrey

Things only pick up soeed when the baby was in distress

overall this has been an okay reads. For me this have been two stars out of five

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Synopsis from www.goodreads.com

A BIG NOVEL ABOUT A SMALL TOWN ...

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

My Comments :

The story was painfully slow. Up to page 200, the author was still building up background of various characters in the story. However, the last 100 pages or so saved the story or else I would say it's a waste of time reading this

The words used here were rather stilted. It was like something out of Enid Blyton's fairy tales genre. Not very suitable for modern days story.

For example page 118 " Fats had been told by a reliable informant that the one fail-safe way of quitting the Winterdown grounds without being spotted from a window was to climb over the side wall by the bike shed. "...it would have been easier to say Fats decided to skip school. .." the word "quit" makes it sound so dull and "old English". 

I don't feel the sense of urgency to know what willhappen next nor want to know who will win the post. 

But as i have said earlier, story only pick up speed in the final 100 pages or so. The book could have done with more trimming off unnecessary long winded portion.

For me this book is worth two starts out of five.