Down Under Views

About the Book

Leading dietician Arlene Normand shares her no-nonsense, tough-love approach to dieting. Her 10 Commandments will give you the tools and the motivation to achieve your weight-loss goals.

This is not a fad diet. In fact it’s not a diet – it’s a practical lifestyle plan. With Arlene’s guidance and sensible advice, you can lose weight – and keep it off forever.

The Long Story

While I didn’t see this so much as a ‘tough love’ approach to weight loss, The 10 Commandments starts from a more practical standpoint when it comes to becoming healthy. Rather than setting you up with a plan you have to follow to the letter, she helps guide you to creating a healthier lifestyle.

Using her ten commandments – ‘eat slowly’ and ‘get organized’ among them – you get a solid base and start to sorting out your health life. While she mentioned a lot of things I already knew, it provided a good refresher for getting me refocused on my health.

One annoyance for me is Normand’s approach to sugar. First, it appears that she is fine with sugar and more concerned about fat. Then she later says that ‘lite’ products often have the fat content replaced with sugar, which isn’t good. This sort of back and forth irked me – especially in a book people who are looking for solid guidance might read.

That being said, this book also provided me with a beautiful light bulb moment when I read: “Your worst time for eating is your best time for exercise.” That small section gave me a completely different way at structuring my exercise time to cut off the urge to munch. (For me, this is late afternoon before my husband is home from work.)

Above all, though, I loved how Normand took Australia’s food culture into account and listed tips on what are healthy choices for Chinese, Indian, Thai, Japanese, etc. I found that quick guide very useful.

The Short Story

I highly recommend this book if you are just getting started on getting your healthy life going. And even if you’re not, this book can be a great refresher to get you motivated again.

***
Rating: 4 stars

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***
The 10 Commandments of Losing Weight
By Arlene Normand
http://www.dietpty.com.au/
ISBN: 0143003216
Length: 305 pages

**SPECIAL NOTE: I know that global warming/climate change is a hot button issue. However, I would never seek to judge someone on one component of what they do or don’t believe, and I hope you will do the same for me. A person’s actions show their character, not which group of scientists they follow when it comes to an environmental issue.**

About the Book

You’ve heard the claims that the earth is warming up just because of cars, light bulbs, factories and the many other wonders that human ingenuity has created. But is it really true?

Well, here’s news for the global warming Chicken Littles – the sky’s not falling!

Sure, our planet is changing, but it has before and well again. There’s lots more the the climate change story than you may have heard! Can we really adapt to a changing world in ways that help animals and the environment while keeping people working and countries growing strong? Of course we can!

Yes, it’s OK to chill about global warming. Look inside and find out why.

The Long Story

I was, admittedly, someone who didn’t know much about global warming. So when I heard this book is about global warming but also geared for children ages eight and up, I felt quite excited. I’m not ashamed to say I wanted to start at this level of reading to start learning about things.

The first thing that struck me about this book is that right in the beginning, Fretwell points out that her list of sources is in the back and you should check them out for yourself. That is probably the best beginning of a ‘might not agree with popular opinions’ book I have ever read.

She doesn’t want to challenge your beliefs without being able to back up what she’s written with facts.

I would love to send this book to everyone, child and adult alike, because there are so many people who have no idea about the facts that are in this book.

For example, if humans are the sole cause of global warming, then why is Mars getting warmer too?

There are a lot of amazing facts like that in there that you probably didn’t know.

The one thing I would have liked to have seen more of is more of what we can do. What I mean is that whether we’re going to melt or freeze, we need to do something about the way we treat the earth. The repercussions aside, humanity is treating the earth like crap, and we will pay for it in one way or another.

The Short Story

I firmly believe that it is the informed country that can truly take steps towards making the world a better place for everyone. If you want to be more informed about global warming (with a list of sources to back up your knowledge) then you need to read this book.

***
Rating: 3.5 stars

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***
The Sky’s Not Falling!: Why It’s Ok to Chill About Global Warming
By Holly Fretwell
Holly Fretwell Books
ISBN: 978-0976726944
Length: 128 Pages

About the Book

Wes Pennington finally has a mystery manuscript worth selling, but the price might be his life!

More than anything, Wes wants to see his writing in print and for sale. After a horrendous break-up with his vampire-obsessed girlfriend, his well-meaning roommates sign him up for a writers’ conference in Cincinnati. We is elated when a New York literary agent likes the draft of his manuscript and arranges to meet him at the conference.

Once there, Wes meets the girl of his dreams and feels on top of the world…until the agent turns up dead!

The Long Story

One of the first rules you learn as a writer is that you don’t write stories about writers. The stories rarely read well. But, if you can write it well…

Wes Pennington is a funny, slightly overdramatic character I couldn’t help but love. He is like a shaggy puppy that might annoy you in other ways but is too cute to abandon. He’s by no means a superhero, but I highly enjoyed reading the story from his perspective.

Horger writes with a focus on events and people rather than description, something that lends to an authentic first-person perspective.

My nitpick for this book comes at the end. While Horger has set up an interesting premise for his mystery overall, he throws me out of it in the ‘explanation phase’ and didn’t bring me back in. I felt as if there was a large part of the story – namely involving Alexandra’s family – wasn’t explained well enough for a satisfying ending.

Even so, I didn’t feel so left out of it that it changed my overall opinion of the book.

The Short Story

I recommend this book as a fairly light read that has both humor and mystery.

***
Rating: 3 Stars

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Whom Must I Kill to Get Published?
By Jason Horger
Buy it on Amazon
ISBN: 9781907386008
Length: 249 Pages

About the Book

Rosette is a child of two worlds: Gaela, steeped in magic, and an Earth choked with failing technology. The key to their survival is literally in her blood, a spell passed down through her family line to preserve the one they’re sworn to protect.

Unaware of her lineage, Rosette runs scared when her family is murdered. She takes refuge with Nell, a shape-shifting high priestess of the ancient blood, who teaches her the arts of witchcraft, stars and sword.

Shadowed by the fabled Kreshkali, queen of the underworld and mistress of the wolf-like Lupins, Rosette and the temple cat, Drayco, find themselves little more than a step ahead of those who will do anything to control the portal that links the many-worlds.

The Long Story

When I first began reading The Spell of Rosette, I found the beginning to be slightly confusing. However, the synopsis sounded interesting enough for me ignore the niggling confusion and keep reading. I am definitely glad I did.

For the first time in a long time, I was swept away by a book. It was quite easy for me to sit down with this book for a few hundred pages and not realize I had been reading for as long as I had. I’m not sure if it’s Falconer’s writing style, the story itself or a combination of both, but this ‘epic but intimate’ novel kept me turning pages.

Readability is paired with a main character I quite like: Rosette. While she is a heroine (of a sort; see my comments about the ending), she is also engaging through her flaws. Stubborn and seemingly quite willing to make silly mistakes, I identified with her more than I usually do with fantasy or sci-fi heroines.

The end, unfortunately, came with a slight twinge of disappointment. Nell makes the comment, “That was easier than I thought” about a certain event (not the ‘final battle’) and therein lies my problem with the ending: it was too easy. I felt as if Falconer was in a hurry to get things done.

The ending is good, yes, but things felt rushed and I would have liked to have seen Rosette have a bigger role in ‘the final battle’ given all the build-up about how special she is. Perhaps more in the next book?

The Short Story

All in all, I quite enjoyed The Spell of Rosette and recommend it.

***
Rating: 3 ½ stars

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***
The Spell of Rosette
Kim Falconer
http://www.kimfalconer.com
ISBN: 9780732287719
Length: 506 pages

About the Book

Lucy Springer thinks she’s got it tough. She’s living through renovation hell, her two kids seem more challenging than ever, and her once successful acting career has been reduced to the odd commercial.

Then Max, her husband, absconds to Bali with an unknown companion and things go from bad to disastrous.

But Lucy doesn’t give up easily. Juggling increasingly chaotic building dramas, bewildered children, her crazy best friend-slash-agent Gloria, her ever ‘helpful’ mother and chasing after Max, Lucy Springer is determined to get her life onto an even keel – and more.

The Long Story

Lisa Heidke has written a fun, diary-style novel that will having you smiling, laughing and shaking your head over everything Lucy Springer has to deal with. Can she sort it all out in just sixty-four days?

Lucy Springer is far from perfect, but those very things make her an incredibly loveable character. She takes things in stride, and I love that she never becomes vengeful or sour with the world even when it seems she’s getting it from every angle. She deals with things a lot better than I would, that’s for sure.

The juxtaposition between mature woman and young woman with unachieved dreams makes it easy to identify with Lucy as a woman.

Heidke’s style of writing – including and beyond the dairy-style of this book – is fresh and ‘real’. She doesn’t waste words (being similar to Lucy in that way) and has a dry humour I would expect from an Australian author.

The Short Story

I recommend this book as a fun, easy to lose yourself in read with a main character you’ll come to love.

***
Rating: 4 stars

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Lucy Springer Gets Even
By Lisa Heidke
http://www.lisaheidke.com/
ISBN: 978-1741755831
Length: 384 pages

About the Book

Penelope Lennox’s life changes dramatically, to say the least, when her boyfriend dumps her and her parents decide to take a family trip – to Costa Rica! The trip isn’t quite the rotten thing Penelope expected, however, as she learns about the plight of the leatherback turtle while getting to know a particularly handsome surfer…

The Long Story

I wouldn’t be doing myself or my readers any favours by saying this book wasn’t in need of an editor.

As a story, this book as a lot of potential. There is a lot of opportunity to learn about not only the efforts to save the leatherback turtle but also surfing culture and Costa Rican culture as well. I found what was touched on fascinating, and I wanted to read a lot more about it.

This book focused too much on the musings and often superficial thoughts of a teenager instead of a beautiful place to explore and a cause to alert people to. I didn’t know the leatherback turtle was in so much peril…and after reading the book, I still don’t know much more than I did before, other than a few random facts.

As a book, it is lacking in the hard editing department. The tenses (past and present tense) changes mid-sentence, the main character’s voice is strong but I found it eventually grew annoying in the sense she didn’t seem to have many deep and caring thoughts that penetrated the surface character very often. Penelope’s ‘epiphany’ seemed to be necessary for the plot rather than something real, and my biggest pet peeve…

The sexual intensity between Penelope and her boyfriend was too fast, largely unbelievable, and also unnecessary with some aspects.

Overall, I think this story needs to be edited thoroughly and rewritten with more of a focus on the cause it is trying to support.

The Short Story

I don’t recommend this book as it currently is.

***
Rating: 1 star

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***
Turtle Feet, Surfers Beat
By Marina Kuperman
???
ISBN: ???
Length: ???

(Unable to find details on Amazon and no longer have the ebook.)

About the Book

Reporter Sylvia Amenabar loves her vida loca. Just months ago, she and her three best friends – Adriana, Juli and Tori – were happily single, hoisting mojitos at their weekly get-together. Now, everything’s changed. All four women have sexy men in their lives – and Sylvia’s not sure she likes it that way.

Sylvia’s got a reputation to maintain as Miami’s hottest new journalist. But when her latest assignment threatens to smear Adriana’s boyfriend, Riley, and too-good-to-be-true hottie Carlos, and her mother is hell-bent on reuniting with her father, Sylvia finds that life and love and family aren’t things you can control!

The Long Story

I always love a good chick lit book, and with things getting a little hot and steamy right in the first chapter, I knew for something good with South Beach Chicas Catch Their Man.

There is a lot going on in this book, something that I enjoyed very much. Sylvia faces a lot of choices as her friends move along happily in their steady relationships and she has to dig into the painful past of Carlos and much of the force to figure out who’s dirty, who’s clean, and just who is involved.

Not only are there a lot of choices to make, there are a lot of things – friendships and relationships – that ride upon those choices, upping the drama to new levels.

Even though this was a sequel, I didn’t feel particularly put off during reading it because of that. I, of course, now want to read the first one, but I don’t feel it’s a necessity.

I enjoyed this book a lot not only because I was relieved to not have to hunt down the first book to understand what was going on but because it showed five (watch out for Sylvia’s mum!) successful women who built it all themselves and are now enjoying the best out of life. It is always a pleasure to see female characters in a book who aren’t completely hopeless with men, their jobs and just about everything else.

Caridad does well not only exploring the relationships of younger women but also in exploring the relationships of the forty-somethings who society sometimes forgets about in the romantic realm.

The Short Story

This book is perfect for a bit of light (and hot!) reading for the last days you can manage to get on the beach this season or during your candlelit baths.

***
Rating: 4 stars

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***
South Beach Chicas Catch Their Man
By Caridad Pineiro
http://www.caridad.com/
ISBN: 9781416514893
Length: 285 pages

About the Book

The Truth is a story told in a diary style format about the life of a ten year old girl and the changes that are happening in her life as she grows. She talks about the major events in her life, including her first love, her first armpit hairs, and book club meetings with her friends.

The Long Story

In terms of the story, I found this book to be quite enjoyable. I found myself wishing the book was longer because I felt there were many more truths and childhood discoveries I wanted to be touched on. However, it was only because I was reminded of my childhood experiences, which this book does a good job of doing.

I read along not just as a casual reader but also as an older sister to ‘the girl’. I laughed as she frowned about having to deal with tampons and pads, and I sighed wistfully when she talked about enjoying her bike rides and the wind through her hair. (When did I stop riding my bike?)

Reading this book truly gave me a sense of what it was like to be a young girl again and of all of the possibilities that were open. The Truth may be aimed at younger girls, but it put me in a good mood and helped me to see all the possibilities I still have open to me as a woman.

The Short Story

This book is worth reading if you’ve found yourself wondering if you always wanted to be such a career woman or a stay at home mom. It provides a unique perspective most of us have long forgotten about. I found myself often wondering if I stayed true to the promises I made to myself growing up and if I have so far become the woman I wanted to be.

***
Rating: 3 ½ stars

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***
The Truth: I’m 10, I’m Smart, and I Know Everything
By Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein
http://www.enchantedself.com/
ISBN: 978-1889409351
Length: 110 pages

About the Book

Following on the heels of the best-selling book The Truth, Secrets is the continuing diary of a girl moving into her teenage years. The Girl has plenty to fill her journal. The pages reveal a new school, a new baby in the family, new friends, a new guy and a new set of issues to face. Share the secret world of an almost-teen as she learns which secrets to share and which to keep to herself.

The Long Story

As the synopsis says, Secrets takes up where The Truth left off (and I should have though to post that review last week, but I will post it next week). Having read the first book, I was eager to see how The Girl was progressing with getting older and facing all those girly things that are frightening when they first happen.

Reading the book was an interesting reminder of my younger years, and it made me wish I had a book like this during that time. Sometimes something is incredibly meaningful not because it tells you what to do but because it helps let you know that you are not alone when you go through tough stuff; this book provides that feeling.

I did find myself growing sad with The Girl’s preoccupation with how unhappy she was with her body, but that’s mostly because I see the truth in it. Body issues are such a hard thing for girls to deal with these days, and while it made me sad, I think it’s just more that girls who read this will be able to identify with.

As with the first book, Secrets comes with a set of discussion questions at the end, which I think are a great idea. It’s not always easy to talk to your children, so the questions will help.

The Short Story

I recommend this book even if you are ‘a bit old’ for it. You might not identify with everything in there, but it is a good reminder of childhood, something we should not be in too much of a hurry to forget.

***
Rating: 3 ½ stars

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***
Secrets: You Tell Me Yours and I’ll Tell You Mine… Maybe
By Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein
http://www.enchantedself.com/
ISBN: 9780979895210
Length: 124 pages

About The Book

Beside each body, he leaves a simple charm bearing a woman’s name. Ruth. Martha. Judith. The victims were strangers to each other, but they have been chosen with the utmost care. Each bears a striking resemblance to Kendall Shaw, a local anchorwoman… each brutally strangled by a madman whose obsession will never end…

The deeper Kendall Shaw and Detective Jacob Warwick dig into the victims’ backgrounds, the more terrifying the discoveries. For from the shadows of the past, a legacy of evil has resurfaced. Every murder, every moment has been leading to Kendall. And this time, nothing will stop the killer making her his final victim…

The Long Story

As I have mentioned before, I never considered myself a murder mystery woman until I started reading books by Mary Burton. Her latest book, Dead Ringer, doesn’t disappoint.

Dead Ringer picks up a while after I’m Watching You left off, with the focus now on Kendall Shaw. Having mostly healed from her brush with a murderer, she’s doing pretty well with moving on with her life. This is a book that readers of I’m Watching You called for, as it brings in the romance between Kendall and Jacob – the sparks of which we saw briefly in the first book.

If you’re expecting a practically sizzling romance, then it’s time to adjust your glasses. Kendall and Jacob certainly don’t lack for chemistry or passion, those elements just don’t get as much ‘on screen’ time as they could. Which is arguably just fine, given Burton writes murder mysterious and not straight romances.

However, true to form, Burton has created a book that well and truly stands up on its own. You don’t have to read I’m Watching You to enjoy this book nor is it better to read one or the other first if you decide to get them both.

The Short Story

While I enjoyed Dead Ringer very much and recommend it as a good read, I can’t help but fell that the ending was a bit rushed. Be it because of a deadline or because Burton’s heart wasn’t completely in it, there was just a tiny sliver missing for me to give this a five out of five stars.

***
Rating: 4 Stars

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***
Dead Ringer
By Mary Burton
http://www.maryburton.com/
Length: 384 pages
ISBN: 978-1420100273