Book Pimping

[naomi_jay]

One of the best things about four-day weekends (apart from not being at work on Monday) is all the extra reading time. I read a couple of awesome books this weekend so I’m pimping them out to you.

First up, Wraith by Phaedra Weldon. Zoë Martinique is an astral traveller, capable of leaving her body to move invisible through the world. She’s making a pretty nice living as a professional snoop until the night she witnesses a murder in her astral from. Unluckily for her, the murderer is also a traveller and he’s determined to get his hands on Zoë.

I loved this from beginning to end. Zoë is a funny, engaging heroine and the story was dark, intense and original. The hierarchy system of the beings of the astral plane was a little confusing at times, but never enough to detract from the action. The ending was surprisingly poignant and Weldon left plenty of scope for a sequel (which I believe is in the works). I can’t wait to see how the dangling threads in Wraith are tied up.

Next, Night Rising by Chris Marie Green. Attentive blog readers will know I’m kinda wary when it comes to vampire novels. I cast aside my preconceptions for this book and I didn’t regret it. Stuntwoman Dawn Madison returns to Hollywood to find her estranged father, who went missing whilst working on a case for PI firm Limpet and Associates. Before long, Dawn is caught up in a shadowy world of Hollywood glamour and sinister vampires.

What set this aside from regular vampire novels, for me, was Green’s approach to her monsters. They were monstrous - dark, deadly and inhuman. Green also threw in some fresh twists on the vampire myth that were so cool I couldn’t believe nobody had thought of it before. Mixing in missing film stars, psychic midgets and disembodied PIs only added to the fun. Dawn is fabulous – a rough-and-ready tomboy trying desperately to move out of the shadow of her dead Hollywood goddess mother. Once again, I’m left gasping for the sequel.

So seriously, why are you still here? You should be out buying Phaedra Weldon’s Wraith and Chris Marie Green’s Night Rising.

Go now!