Down Under Views

About the Book

The combination of food and sex is by far not a unique or new concept in the world of sexual bliss. The book Erotica Café, however, is.

A distinctive collection of fun, sexual recipes and interesting sexual facts regarding the link between food and sex.

We have included a fun “Kiss” scale from one to ten, rating each recipe. The rating formula was based on fun, passion and pleasure.

The Long Story

Recently I decided that I should spice up my reading list a little bit by adding something fun. Described as a sensual recipe book with humor and fun facts as well, Erotica Café, appeared to be the perfect book for me to read next.

Lo and behold, I was wrong.

I probably should have figured out by the first page with the weirdly alternating fonts and lack of chapters or other organization, but I kept on.

While many of the recipes sounded tasty and easy to make, I didn’t get to read them all. I kept getting distracted because along with no chapters, there are also often no page breaks. This book’s arrangement is like someone’s scrapbook – all kinds of interesting pieces with no organization. Let me amend that – I have seen plenty of scrapbooks more reader/viewer friendly and organized than this book.

Erotica Café, appears to be a book that its creators didn’t take seriously enough to set up in a reader-friendly manner, so I don’t think it’s any surprise that I don’t take it seriously either. I would have been immensely better if the creators had just taken some time to format it properly.

But that is a far off dream, as the publisher – Rain Publishing – no longer exists.

The Short Story

I don’t recommend this book for anything other than a brief browse through. If you’re looking for seductive recipes and/or erotic lore, there are plenty of better books out there that will do the job quite nicely.

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Rating: 0 stars

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Erotica Café
Tilly Rivers
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?id=51701
ISBN: 978-0978125776
Length: 189 Pages

About the Book

We all know that diets don’t work, yet most of us continue to be swayed by their promise. After all, who doesn’t want to be a little bit thinner? Who doesn’t want to zip her skinny jeans without (literally) holding her breath? You can’t blame a girl for trying even the most desperate of measures.

As a fashion and beauty journalist, Mimi Spencer spends much of her time surrounded by the catwalk elite, engulfed in the culture of thin. Fed up with years of deprivation and dieting, she created the anti-diet. In 101 Things to Do Before You Diet, Spencer shares her strategies for trimming and flattering every inch of your body and shows you how she finally lost those pesky last few pounds – and how you can, too.

The Long Story

This is one of the very few books I have bought after reading someone else’s glowing review.

Mimi Spencer has taken on the world of trying to get ‘trim, taut and terrific’ like many others, but she has done it in an anti-diet way through common sense. Flitting through everything from how to cut those extra calories to bum and tum flattering apparel, Spencer takes an all-around approach to getting you looking and feeling great.

I have to say, as someone who is used to reading books about either what I should be doing with my body or how horrible I’ve been to my body without realizing it, it was a relief to read a book that treated me like a person. And a woman.

The best part about this book is that Mimi Spencer knows that no matter how good or bad you look on the outside, you will never be the woman you want to be without feeling sexy on the inside. This is a point that so many books just plain ignore, and is something that really made me feel comfortable ‘listening’ to Spencer’s tips.

The ‘101 Steps’ layout of this book makes it a great ‘pick up, put down’ kind of book. While that doesn’t work for fiction, it does for this because it gives you plenty of time to really think about what Spencer is saying.

I couldn’t agree with all her suggestions – Tip 27: Buy a Corset should have ‘if you have $200 to spare’ attached to it – and found some of the fashion parts to be a bit boring. I don’t care if pointy-toed heels are fashionable; I think they look horrible. I also don’t have the money to get the clothes she suggests.

However, despite my brief boredom with a few fashion tips, I quite liked this book. Her tips are common sense and don’t leave you with any excuses while still being sympathetic because it’s all coming from a woman who knows. I look at Spencer’s picture and wonder what in the world she has to complain about, but the words say more than just looking at her ever could.

As a credit to how many studies she quotes and the kind of studies, I am not handing this book off until I get time to investigate some of them. A lot of the things quoted are recent and fascinating, and I’m looking forward to doing more reading.

The Short Story

I highly recommend this book from the standpoint that it focuses on self-love and common sense tips in all areas of beauty – both inside and out.

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Rating: 3 ½ stars

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101 Things to Do Before You Diet: Because Looking Great Isn’t Just About Losing Weight
Mimi Spencer
http://www.mimispencer.com/
ISBN: 9781605298481
Length: 234 pages

About the Book

Sophie lived in the town of Market Chipping, which was in Ingary, a land in which anything could happen, and often did – especially when the Witch of the Waste got her dander up. Which was often.

As her younger sisters set out to seek their fortunes, Sophie stayed in her father’s hat shop. Which proved most unadventurous, until the Witch of the Waste came in to buy a bonnet, but was not pleased. Which is why she turned Sophie into an old lady. Which was spiteful witchery.

Now Sophie must seek her own fortune. Which means striking a bargain with the lecherous Wizard How. Which means entering his ever-moving castle, taming a blue fire-demon, and meeting the Witch of the Waste head-on. Which was more than Sophie bargained for…

The Long Story

Having long been a fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s film work with animated films like Spirited Away, I watched Howl’s Moving Castle as soon as I could get my hands on it. And I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Of course, after hearing that Howl’s Moving Castle is based on a book, I bought the book as soon as I could and devoured it.

Diana Wynne Jones has a unique style of writing that makes you feel less like you’re reading a book and more like you’re hearing a story. That may sound confusing, but it comes down to Jones’ conversational kind of writing even in the rhythm with which she writes. While it does take away from being able to lose yourself in the story at times, it still lent to the fairytale feeling of the overall story.

Along with writing in a conversational tone, Jones concentrates on little details that aren’t repeated. Readers should make sure they pay attention to details, or they might find the very end to be a little confusing or out of the blue.

Anyone who has seen the movie should not approach the book expecting the same thing. While you can expect some changes to any movie that originally came from a book, the movie took changes to another level. Both book and movie are quite similar until about halfway through. Then the movie and book go in different directions, not even truly meeting back up for the ending.

I found the ending to be somewhat anticlimactic, but I’m also used to reading more sweeping, epic tales of fantasy rather than realistic ones. Howl’s and Sophie’s relationship is a subtle one, and the ending fit her personality quite well. I should be happy that Jones didn’t beat the reader over the head with the events of the ending, but I still finished the book feeling not unhappy but definitely a smidge unsatisfied.

The Short Story

I recommend this book as a unique story in writing style and content. I only offer the warning that you shouldn’t dig in expecting the movie.

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Rating: 4 stars

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Howl’s Moving Castle
Diana Wynne Jones
http://www.leemac.freeserve.co.uk/
ISBN: 9780064410342
Length: 329 pages

About Red Dust

After the death of her husband, Adam, in an horrific plane crash, Gemma Sinclair defies community expectations – and Adam’s dying words – by taking on the daunting task of managing the 100,000-hectare station he bequeathed her.

As if Gemma’s grief and the job of looking after Billbinya Station aren’t enough, a wave of innuendo sweeps the community that Adam’s death was no accident.

Struggling to uncover the truth of these rumours while battling to keep Billbinya afloat, Gemma wonders if she’ll ever find peace – or love – again.

The Long Story

I have always said that I am not one for reading books with mystery, but I think I will have to change that claim after practically devouring Red Dust.

Red Dust starts out with Gemma Sinclair grieving for her dead husband and feeling confused about his last words – the ones that warned her that ‘they’ could be coming after her, too… But Gemma barely has time to grieve, let alone work out whatever her husband meant. That is, until stock stealing comes to light – and Gemma is a main suspect.

With the incredible amount of sadness and loss Gemma felt right from the beginning, I immediately sympathized and identified with her as a woman. Fleur McDonald did well with creating a main character who is all woman but still has the Australian spirit of not taking any bullsh*t from anyone.

Her abilities with character creation extends out to a cast of ‘good guys’ who are easy to love and ‘bad guys’ who make the reader feel like stomping them in the mud.

International readers who are concerned about dealing with Australian terms shouldn’t be worried. While I did have to ask my husband about a couple things – ‘damper’ is bread you make over the campfire – there aren’t any terms that will throw readers off so much they’ll have to stop reading. Even if you don’t have a resident Aussie to pester, you’ll still be able to read and enjoy the book.

My one small nitpick came towards the beginning of the book with two characters named Jack – Gemma’s father and the farm hand she hires on. However, with her father being a minor character, I only briefly paused at the common name and nothing more.

Fleur has a talent for weaving in romance that makes the story richer while not altering the focus of the book. I’m a sucker for romance in books, so I was happy to see touches of it here and there without it distracting from the big mystery everyone was trying to solve.

Besides the story told itself, the thing I enjoyed most about this book was learning about outback farm life. I’m decently acquainted with farms, but Fleur throws you right into the action of shearing time without turning it into a lecture. The story still flows and moves all while you’re ‘observing’ farm life, and the dusty background of reality makes it even easier to lose yourself.

The Short Story

Red Dust is a beautiful book about the lives of Australian outback people – especially farmers – that takes you right into the lives, dreams and hearts of the people involved. I highly recommend this book.

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Rating: 4 ½ Stars

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Red Dust
Fleur McDonald
http://fleurmcdonald.com/
ISBN: 9780741756296
Length: 348 pages (large print)

About the Book

Caterina Shaw’s days are numbered. Her only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene treatment – a risk she willingly takes. But now Caterina barely recognizes herself. She has new, terrifying powers, an exotic, arresting body – and she’s been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run.

Mick Carrera is a mercenary and an expert at capturing elusive, clever prey. Yet the woman he’s humting down is far from the vicious killer he’s been told to expect: Caterina is wounded, vulnerable, and a startling mystery of medical science. Even more, she’s a beautiful woman whose innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her exactly how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both…for a dangerous group is plotting its next move using Caterina as its deadly pawn.

The Long Story

If someone had told me that I would be reviewing a book that mixed science fiction, mystery, suspense and romance, I would have been hard pressed to believe it would be a good book. However, Caridad has gone and shown me how multiple genres can be blended in such a beautiful, seamless way so as to create an excellent read.

Pineiro has a great ability for creating characters who have amazing strengths paired with equally believable vulnerabilities. Never once did I doubt that Mick struggles with guilt over supporting his family via questionable missions. Caterina’s fear and then growing strength helped me identify with her throughout the course of the book.

Readers shouldn’t be nervous about being overwhelmed by the science or by any possible jargon. Pineiro does a great job of making all the science parts read very true to form without confusing the reader. I’m not exactly familiar with gene therapy, but I never once felt thrust out of a scene because the dialogue or writing was beyond my knowledge.

I think the best of the book is that there is another one coming soon…

The Short Story

Caridad Pineiro easily blends science fiction, romance and suspense together in a book that hooked me from the beginning and didn’t let me go until the last page. I highly recommend this book.

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Rating: 4 ½ Stars

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Sins of the Flesh
Caridad Pineiro
http://caridadpineiro.com/
ISBN: 9780446543835
Length: 324 Pages